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9/20/12 3:20 PM

Letter From the Tulsa Press Club President

n behalf of the board and members of The Tulsa Press Club, I would like to welcome you to Tulsa for the 2013 Great Plains Journalism Awards and Distinguished Lectureship. We are honored to welcome such an outstanding group of journalists representing eight states to this event. This event was designed to celebrate the professionals who hold people in power accountable, who expose injustice and tell us stories, with words and images, that can change how we think about important issues. As an organization committed to quality journalism, we are proud to celebrate all of you. The Great Plains Journalism Awards has grown so much over the years and is now one of our premiere events that support the Tulsa Press Club mission of promoting the highest standards among journalists and encouraging the exchange of ideas between members of the media. The Tulsa Press Club has been promoting these values since our founding in 1906. Thank you for joining us in our efforts to build a strong journalism community in the central United States and for sharing with us the outstanding work contained in this book. We hope you enjoy your visit to Tulsa and plan to come back again next year. Sincerely, Mercedes Millberry Fowler President, Tulsa Press Club, 2013

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Meet the presEnters

Alec Klein

Ben Montgomery

Tim Rasmussen

Klein is the director of the Medill Justice Project, an investigative journalism enterprise that examines potentially wrongful convictions. For two decades, Klein worked as a newspaper reporter at The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Baltimore Sun and The Virginian-Pilot. His investigations have led to significant reforms, congressional hearings, federal law, criminal convictions and more than half a billion dollars in government fines. He is the author of “Stealing Time: Steve Case, Jerry Levin and the Collapse of AOL Time Warner,” which was an acclaimed national bestseller.

Montgomery is an enterprise reporter for the Tampa Bay Times, founder of the narrative journalism website Gangrey.com. In 2010, he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in local reporting and won the Dart Award and Casey Medal for a series called “For Their Own Good,” about abuse at Florida’s oldest reform school. He grew up in Oklahoma and studied journalism at Arkansas Tech University. He worked for the Courier in Russellville, Ark., the StandardTimes in San Angelo, Texas, the Times Herald-Record in New York’s Hudson River Valley and the Tampa Tribune before joining the Times.

Rasmussen is the assistant managing editor for photography and multimedia at The Denver Post. The Post has won numerous awards under his leadership, including the 2012 and 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. The Best Use of Photography from NPPA’s Best of Photojournalism and 9 Regional Emmys. Before joining the Post, Tim was the director of photography of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale. Tim started his photo editing career as Visuals Editor at the Free LanceStar in Fredericksburg, Va., where the paper was awarded Best Use of Pictures from Pictures of the Year in 2002.

Meet the Judges • Lane DeGregory, Pulitzer Prizewinning author of “Girl in the Window,” Tampa Bay Times • Charles Apple, Focus Page Editor, Orange County Register; Blogger, apple.copydesk.org • Loren Omoto, Course Director, Full Sail University • Jenni Pinkley, Senior Producer and Multimedia Editor, Minneapolis Star Tribune • Mike Bambach, USA Today • Mike Abrams, The New York Times • Todd Bayha, Assistant Art Director, The Columbus Dispatch

• Rich Boudet, Sunday Sports Editor, The Seattle Times; Founder of SportsDesigner.com • Tom Warhover, Chair of Print and Digital News Faculty, University of Missouri • Michael Zajakowski, Features Picture Editor, Chicago Tribune • Donald Luzzatto, Editorial Page Editor, The Virginian-Pilot • Kerry Dougherty, Metro Columnist, The Virginian-Pilot • Sara Lyle, Deputy Editor, Woman’s Day • Steve Slon, Editorial Director, Saturday Evening Post

• Ken Budd, Executive Editor, AARP magazine • Jane Elizabeth, most recently the deputy local editor for digital content at The Washington Post. • Erica Mendez Babcock, University of Missouri • Ying Wu, University of Missouri • Brian Kratzer, University of Missouri • Jeanne Abbott, University of Missouri • Walt Taylor, Cartoonist, The Virginian-Pilot

• John Arwood, Business Editor, Charlotte Observer • Michael Bennett, Former Publisher and Editor, Cleveland Jewish Publication Co.; former Features Editor, The Plain Dealer in Cleveland; President, Cleveland Press Club. • Alia Rau, Legislative Reporter, Arizona Republic • Dan Shearer, Editor, Green Valley News (AZ)

Meet the emcee Kristin Dickerson

Dickerson co-anchors Tulsa’s Channel 8’s evening newscasts at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. with Mark Bradshaw. Kristin spent five years on the morning shows. For Good Morning Oklahoma and Good Day Tulsa, she could be found skydiving, rock climbing, noodling for catfish, or most often on horseback. A native of Las Cruces, N.M., Kristin moved to Oklahoma to ride horses for the Oklahoma State University Women’s Equestrian Team. During her senior year, she earned an individual national championship

and was awarded the top national honor in intercollegiate equestrian, the AQHA Cup. Before graduating from Oklahoma State University, Kristin came to Channel 8 as an intern. After nearly six months of free labor, she somehow convinced the station to hire her. Kristin considers the opportunity to mingle in the community and meet her fellow Oklahomans the best part of her job. When not at work, she can be found volunteering at local events, emceeing fundraisers, and serving as a board member for The Center for Individuals with Physical Challenges.

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Agenda The Tulsa Press Club Great Plains Journalism Awards and Distinguished Lectureship 2013 9 to 10:45 a.m. Ben Montgomery presentation Crystal Ballroom Tim Rasmussen portfolio review Mayo Writing Room, Mezzanine 11 to 11:45 a.m. Panel of journalists discuss latest issues and trends Crystal Ballroom Noon to 1:30 p.m. Great Plains Journalism Awards Banquet Crystal Ballroom Welcome by Tulsa Press Club President Mercedes Millberry Fowler Luncheon Keynote by Alec Klein Master of Ceremonies Kristin Dickerson, KTUL anchor 1:45 to 3 p.m. Q&A with Alec Klein Crystal Ballroom Q&A with Ben Montgomery Mayo Writing Room, Mezzanine 3 to 4:45 p.m. Presentation by Tim Rasmussen Crystal Ballroom 5 to 7 p.m. Reception Penthouse Bar

With appreciation Great Plains Journalism Awards and Distinguished Lectureship committee Nicole Amend Kevin Armstrong Nicole Burgin John Clanton Matt Clayton Amanda Clinton Jason Collington Michael Overall Ashley Parrish James Royal Mike Simons Christopher Smith Amanda Thrash Saint Francis Health System for printing our booklet Tom Gilbert and Tulsa World for printing our gallery Tulsa Press Club Foundation

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Table of Contents Contents News Package Winner..................................... 8 News Package Finalists.................................... 9 Project/Investigative Reporting Winner...............10 Project/Investigative Reporting Finalists.............11 General News Reporting Winner........................12 General News Reporting Finalists......................13 Narrative Story/Series Winner..........................14 Narrative Story/Series Finalists.........................15 Beat Reporting Winner...................................16 Beat Reporting Finalists..................................17 Feature Writing Winner..................................18 Feature Writing Finalists.................................19 Business Reporting Winner..............................20 Business Reporting Finalists.............................21 Business Feature Winner.................................22 Business Feature Finalists...............................23 Sports Reporting Winner.................................24 Sports Reporting Finalists................................25 Sports Feature Winner...................................26 Sports Feature Finalists..................................27 Sports Column Winner....................................28 Sports Column Finalists..................................29 Review Winner.............................................30 Review Finalists...........................................31 Entertainment Feature Winner.........................32 Entertainment Feature Finalists........................33 Specialty Feature Winner................................34 Specialty Feature Finalists..............................35 Special Section Winner...................................36 Special Section Finalists.................................37 News Page Design Winner................................38 News Page Design Finalists..............................39 Feature Page Design Winner............................40 Feature Page Design Finalists...........................41 Editorial Cartoon Winner................................42 Editorial Cartoon Finalists...............................43 Editorial Portfolio Winner...............................44 Editorial Portfolio Finalists..............................45 Personal Column Winner.................................46 Personal Column Finalists................................47 Headline Portfolio Winner...............................48 Headline Portfolio Finalists..............................49 Great Plains Writer of the Year.........................50 Great Plains Writer of the Year Finalists..............53 Great Plains Newspaper of the Year...................54 Great Plains Newspaper of the Year Finalist..........55 Great Plains Newspaper of the Year...................56 Great Plains Newspaper of the Year Finalists........57 Photo Illustration Winner................................58 Photo Illustration Finalists...............................59 General News Photography Winner....................60

General News Photography Finalists...................61 Spot News Photography Winner.........................62 Spot News Photography Finalists.......................63 News Photography, Multiple, Winner..................64 News Photography, Multiple, Winner..................65 Feature Photography, Single, Winner..................66 Feature Photography, Single, Finalists.................67 Feature Photography, Multiple, Winner...............68 Feature Photography, Multiple, Finalist...............69 Sports Action Photography Winner.....................70 Sports Action Photography Finalists....................71 Sports Feature Photography Winner...................72 Sports Feature Photography Finalists..................73 Portrait Photography Winner............................74 Portrait Photography Finalists..........................75 Video Winner..............................................76 Video Finalists.............................................77 Audio Slideshow Winner.................................78 Audio Slideshow Finalists................................79 Multimedia Project or Series Winner...................80 Multimedia Project or Series Finalists.................81 Magazine Photography, Portrait, Winner..............82 Magazine Photography, Portrait, Finalists.............83 Magazine Illustration Winner............................84

PREVENTING PROBLEMS. PROVIDING SOLUTIONS. REPRESENTING MEDIA COMPANIES AND ENTITIES ACROSS THE REGION IN A VARIETY OF DEFAMATION, INVASION OF PRIVACY, FREEDOM OF INFORMATION & FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT CASES. MEDIA & FIRST AMENDMENT TEAM MEMBERS: S. DOUGLAS DODD DAVID MCCULLOUGH MIKE MINNIS AMANDA L. THRASH TWO WEST SECOND STREET, SUITE 700 TULSA, OKLAHOMA 74103-3117 918-582-1211 | 918-591-5360 Oklahoma City: 405-319-3500 Norman: 405-319-3501 WWW.DSDA.COM

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Table of Contents Magazine Illustration Finalists..........................85 Magazine Photography, Multiple, Winner..............86 Magazine Photography, Multiple, Finalists............87 Magazine Photography, Feature, Winner..............88 Magazine Photography, Feature, Finalist..............89 Great Plains Magazine Photographer of the Year....90 Great Plains Magazine Photographer of the Year, Finalist......................92 Great Plains Magazine Photographer of the Year, Finalist......................93 Great Plains Newspaper Photographer of the Year..94 Great Plains Newspaper Photographer of the Year, Finalist......................96 News Writing, Magazine, Winner.......................97 Feature Writing, Magazine, Winner....................98 Feature Writing, Magazine, Finalists...................99 Profile Writing, Magazine, Winner.................... 100 Profile Writing, Magazine, Finalists.................. 101 Column Writing, Magazine, Winner.................. 102 Column Writing, Magazine Finalists.................. 103 Page Design, Magazine, Winner....................... 104 Page Design, Magazine, Finalists..................... 105 Magazine Cover Winner................................ 106 Magazine Cover Finalists............................... 107 Great Plains Magazine Writer of the Year....................................... 108 Great Plains Magazine Writer of the Year Finalist. 111 Great Plains Magazine of the Year................... 112 Great Plains Magazine of the Year Finalist.......... 113 Great Plains Magazine of the Year Finalist.......... 114 Best Website Design Winner........................... 115 Best Website Design Finalist.......................... 116

Best Website Design.................................... 117 Blog Writing Winner.................................... 118 Blog Writing Finalists................................... 119 Graphics/Illustration Winner.......................... 120 Graphics/Illustration Finalists........................ 121 Great Plains Website of the Year..................... 122 Great Plains Website of the Year Finalist........... 123 Great Plains Website of the Year Finalist........... 124 Great Plains Student Photographer of the Year.... 125 Great Plains Student Photographer of the Year Finalist.................... 126 Great Plains Student Photographer of the Year Finalist.................... 127 Great Plains Student Editor in Chief of the Year... 128 Great Plains Student Editor in Chief of the Year, Finalist.................. 129 Great Plains Student Editor in Chief of the Year, Finalist.................. 130 Great Plains Student Designer of the Year.......... 131 Great Plains Student Designer of the Year Finalist.......................... 132 Great Plains Student Designer of the Year Finalist.......................... 133 Great Plains Student Writer of the Year............. 134 Great Plains Student Writer of the Year, Finalists. 137 Great Plains Student Newspaper of the Year....... 138 Great Plains Student Newspaper of the Year, Finalist....................... 139 Great Plains Student Newspaper of the Year, Finalist....................... 140 Great Plains Website of the Year..................... 141 Great Plains Website of the Year Finalist........... 142

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News Package Winner Publication: The Des Moines Register By: Perry Beeman Judges’ Comments: Thorough, well-written with clarity and ease — but not dumbed-down. Excellent voices throughout the stories and clear insight into the plight of the people involved. Writer made this more than a shrimp-vs.-corn contest; he elevated that debate to a more global level. In addition, the infographics, videos, photo galleries and other resources were not just pretty add-ons: They truly served to pull the reader deeper into the story. If I were a biology or environmental science teacher, this would be required reading — and the students would truly enjoy it.

Excerpt from “Dead Zone” CHAUVIN, La. — Generations of shrimpers, crabbers and oystermen have set out from this bayou village to net their catch. They share an emotional bond with Iowa’s farmers: Both harvest nature’s bounty to earn a livelihood. These fishermen depend on the sea, just as the nation’s top corn growers rely on the rich Midwest soil. But there’s a key difference. Iowa farmers always know where they’ll find their crop. For those who work these waters, locating their harvest has become an increasingly taxing game of hide-and-seek. Nitrates from the fertilizer and manure that Iowa’s farmers apply to their fields, mixed with sewage and runoff from suburban lawns, flow 800 miles down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. There, the potent blend feeds algae that bloom, die and decompose, robbing the Gulf’s waters of oxygen and creating a so-called dead zone — also known as hypoxia — each sum-mer along Louisiana and Texas. Shellfish and other creatures capable of moving to more hospitable waters do so. Those that can’t perish. Since the dead zone’s discovery four decades ago, the federal gov-ernment has spent billions of dollars —no one can say exactly how much —to study its origins and reduce its impact. But instead of slowing, the toxic flow of nitrates has increased —along with the average size of the dead zone, a Des Moines Register in-vestigation has found. In Iowa alone, farmers have received $3.3 billion in federal payments since 1995 from the Conservation Reserve Program — more than any other state. The program is intended to reduce runoff and erosion and preserve wildlife habitat by encouraging land owners not to plant crops on land most vulnerable to erosion. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has spent another $223 million over

the past two years on water quality improvement projects in Iowa and other states in the Mississippi River watershed. Yet despite such efforts, the bond of river and nature between Iowa and Louisiana has grown ever more strained: What helps one crop thrive causes the other to move on or die. Among the Register’s findings: » Nine states account for 75 percent of the nitrates flowing into the Gulf. Over 11 percent of that comes from Iowa, making it and Illinois, which contributes more than 16 percent, the two largest sources. » The vast majority of that nitrate pollution — about 70 percent — is the result of agricultural runoff, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. And as demand for corn has soared in recent years, farmers in Iowa and elsewhere have faced increasing pressure to plant more acres and use more fertilizer. » Voluntary programs, including some backed with billions of dollars in federal subsidies, have failed to stem the fertilizer runoff rushing downstream to Louisiana. Even as ef-forts were under way to reduce runoff 45 percent by 2015, data show nitrate levels have instead jumped another 10 percent since 1980. » Some of Iowa’s neighboring states — Minnesota and Wisconsin

amongthem—limit how much nitrogen or phosphorus can enter waterways. Iowa’s political leaders, farm organizations and many individual farmers have opposed similar restrictions. » Elevated nitrate levels in rivers and streams are also exacting a toll in Iowa, causing bacteria outbreaks in lakes, threatening fish populations and triggering higher water treatment costs. That means bigger waterbills for residential and business users. To be sure, few people here — from the governor to the Gulf fishermen whose livelihoods are in jeopardy — underestimate the importance of agriculture in Iowa and throughout the Midwest. They understand the region feeds the nation. In an interview with the Register, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said he’d like to see more progress more quickly. But he stopped short of calling for tough regulations in farm states upstream. Jindal said restoring the Gulf will take cooperation among the states. “I think it’s a national treasure we all need to be worried about,” he said. “We all have to work together on using the best science, the best techniques when it comes to soil management. That’s good for farmers as well. There are things we all can do.”

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News Package Finalists Publication: Lawrence Journal-World By: Shaun Hittle, Mike Yoder

Publication: The Argus Leader By: Steve Young, Emily Spartz, Joel Brown, Patrick Lalley

Excerpt from “Trail of Abuse”

Excerpt from “South Dakota to South Sudan”

He built his life around children. As a teacher and later a vice principal in the Kansas City, Kan., school district in the 1960s and 1970s, James Douglas Jackson, now 72, interacted with hundreds of kids on a daily basis; thousands over the years. His Kansas City home was a stone’s throw from Kennedy Elementary School, and a block from another middle school and city park. Years later, as his own children became teenagers, Jackson volunteered with the Boy Scouts of America in Kansas City, tagging along with dozens of boys on overnight camping trips. In the 1990s, Jackson and his wife opened a scuba supply store in Lawrence, later adding a pool where Jackson offered scuba lessons to kids. Nearly every step of the way, Jackson was accused of sexually assaulting boys. But little was done to prevent him from abusing in the future. Last month, the Boy Scouts of America released thousands of its internal “perversion files“ on offenders such as Jackson, drawing back the curtain on cases of sexual abuse in scouting in Kansas and across the country. Jackson’s case illustrates how society simply shuffled him along in spite of allegations of abuse, free to move onto the next set of victims. ‘Swept under the rug’ As Mark McMeans, now 51, went about his daily school schedule as a seventh-grader at Arrowhead Junior High in 1975, Jackson — the school’s vice principal — knew exactly where to find the 13-year-old at any point in day.

DUNYAL, South Sudan — David Jal squats low beneath a broiling African sun, forehead buried in his right hand, thoughts drifting away in the shimmering heat. Things are not going as planned. On the cracked, dry earth of South Sudan, even hope melts. Jal fled this village as a boy almost three decades ago, one of the “Lost Boys” of Sudan, as the mud huts burned and gunfire mowed down cattle and humans alike. He’s returned with the optimism and success of an educated, successful American man, convinced that flowing water will change this dusty patch of Third World poverty into something cleaner, something better. The journey alone was daunting, from South Dakota to Amsterdam to Ethiopia by air, only to reach the fetid chaos of Addis Ababa, followed by rickety truck rides and a risky ferry across the Gilo River before finally arriving in South Sudan, a land still percolating with instability. East Africa is not the land of getting things done efficiently or easily. There are no roads, no mass production of goods and materials, and no shortage of corruption. Boring a hole in the ground, or building a school, will test even the most resolute man. Jal understands that. But the waiting has become long even for this son of the Sudan. His 100-watt smile has begun to flicker. The broad shoulders on his 6-foot-2, 242-pound frame are slumped. “It is frustrating,” he says, lifting his head out of his hand to stare off at the empty horizon. “They tell me they will be here, and then they are not.”

Publication: Tulsa World By: Cary Aspinwall, John Clanton, Hilary Pittman, Ziva Branstetter, Tim Chamberlin, Christopher Smith, Debbie Jackson, Dave Housh, Phil Lamb, June Straight

Excerpt from “Grand Shadows” GRAND LAKE O’ THE CHEROKEES — Politicians headed to prison on corruption convictions usually slink out of town or get sent packing by angry constituents. Back in 1982, Delaware County Commissioner H.B. Richie got a party. Before he reported to federal prison for taking kickbacks, locals threw him a hog fry gala in a show of gratitude. His parting words: “I regret getting caught, but I don’t regret a hell of a lot of what I done.” “If you are going to do anything, don’t get caught.” Grand Lake is massive in terms of miles of shoreline and impact: It stretches serpentine-like through Ottawa, Delaware and Mayes counties. Waterfront homes sell for $500,000 into the millions, making it a haven for well-to-do retirees. The lake itself is a playground for many of the state’s affluent. But in the hills and valleys that surround it, there are shadows of darker stories — part of a history of crime and corruption that lurk behind the hard-fought progress and placid lake life. Women and men “go missing,” several deaths that might have been homicides are ruled suicides — and sometimes those charged with upholding the law have been on the wrong side of it, landing in jail, on trial or resigning. Some locals grumble about the recent half-cent sales tax increase to pay for Delaware County’s $13.5 million settlement in a federal civil rights suit, for sexual assault and mistreatment of female inmates at the county jail.

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Project/Investigative Reporting Winner Publication: Topeka Capital-Journal By: Andy Marso Judges’ Comments: Good catch on secret meetings at governor’s mansion. The investigation takes on powerful forces, challenging open meeting laws; there’s even some humor here. Good bread-and-butter investigative reporting. This deals with the importance of open government and holding officials accountable.

Excerpt from “Cedar Crest dinners cook up controversy” Sen. Dwayne Umbarger, R-Thayer, pulled into the public parking lot on the west side of the governor’s mansion at Cedar Crest just before 6 p.m. Wednesday. Umbarger strode to the stairs that lead up to the mansion and announced himself on an intercom system. He was instructed to drive around to a private parking lot, one guarded by a black iron gate that controls who gets in and out. Umbarger was among Republican members of the Senate Ways and Means Committee invited to Cedar Crest that night for a “legislative dinner” — an event that didn’t appear on any Senate calendar. Over the past month, Gov. Sam Brownback has hosted several such dinners, some of which may have violated the Kansas Open Meetings Act. “The issue is whether a View video of majority (of the committee) met and whether they were discussing government business,” said Mike Merriam, a Topeka attorney who represents the Kansas Press Association and The Topeka Capital-Journal. “The specifics of the discussion are immaterial to KOMA.” The dinners generally are restricted to Republicans. According to Ways and Means Committee Chairwoman Carolyn McGinn, only five of the 13 committee members showed up at Cedar Crest on Wednesday. But two members of the House Appropriations Committee who attended a Cedar Crest dinner Tuesday said a majority of that committee was present, and topics of discussion included taxes, Medicaid, school fi-nance and the state budget — all of which Brownback has listed as top agenda items. “On the face of it, it seems like a KOMA violation,” Merriam said. Sherriene Jones-Sontag, the governor’s spokeswoman, disagreed.

“Social dinners hosted at Cedar Crest give the governor and legislators an opportunity to get to know one another away from the Statehouse,” she said in an emailed statement. “All 165 legislators and their spouses, regardless of their political affiliation, have been invited to join the governor and first lady for dinner last year and this year. These dinners did not violate state law.” Other committees that have been invited to Cedar Crest include the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System Select Committee and the Senate Commerce Committee. When asked for a list of guests who attended those functions, Jones-Sontag said it was “private.” “You’ll have to file an open records request,” Jones-Sontag said. The Capital-Journal filed the request Friday morning and received a response stating it was being processed. Matt Patterson, an assistant district attorney in Shawnee County, said he couldn’t offer an advisory opinion on the dinners without more information, but said District Attorney Chad Taylor enforces KOMA in matters large and

small. “Any time somebody brings something like that to our attention, Chad’s pretty aggressive in making sure that’s enforced,” Patterson said. “We don’t take that lightly.” Patterson noted that his office conducted an investigation of Kansas State Board of Education member Walt Chappell’s verbal KOMA complaint against that body, even after Chappell said he didn’t want an investigation because of the expense. House Speaker Mike O’Neal, R-Hutchinson, said he didn’t believe the governor’s dinners violate KOMA because they are “social gatherings” where no binding action is taken. When informed that KOMA prohibits private committee discussion, as well as binding action, O’Neal said he had no further comment. Merriam said Kansas law allows committees to vote to exempt themselves from KOMA. But House Appropriations Committee Chairman Marc Rhoades, R-Newton, said Thursday he didn’t believe his committee had such an exemption.

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Project/Investigative Reporting Finalists Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Joe Duggan, Robynn Tysver

Publication: Topeka Capital-Journal By: Tim Carpenter, Andy Marso

Publication: Tulsa World By: Ziva Branstetter, Curtis Killman, Casey Smith

Excerpt from “Jon Bruning”

Excerpt from “Policy Matters”

Twenty-nine of 34 members of the 2012 House and Senate tax committees stand to gain financially from a key element of the new income tax reform law signed by Gov. Sam Brownback. Shakeup of Kansas’ tax system by the Republican-led Legislature and Brownback eliminates the state tax on nonwage income from limited liability companies, sole proprietorships, partnerships, trusts, rental property and farms. The reform delivers to lawmakers operating these businesses the equivalent of a 6 percent bonus check. It also exemplifies the challenge facing members of Kansas’ citizen legislature as they maneuver through the intersection of personal business and political duty. Avoidance of ethical dilemmas in the form of conflicts of interest has always created tension among public servants, but current Kansas representatives and senators are tested more than in the past. “The idea of a citizen legislature is very much a challenge,” said Bob Beatty, a political scientist and analyst at Kansas First News. “What state governments do now can be incredibly complicated and also involves a lot of money. To ask the average citizen to hold down a regular job while also dealing with responsibilities of being a legislator is very, very, very difficult.” The defining characteristic of the formula in Kansas is that work of the 165 legislators remain a part-time avocation. Members also are to stay engaged in their respective communities through work or service.

Excerpt from “EMSA: An investigation” EMSA has sued at least two Tulsa residents over ambulance bills they didn’t owe because they were already enrolled in a program that adds a monthly fee to utility bills for ambulance service, records show. One woman said she was “on the verge of a nervous breakdown” after the Emergency Medical Services Authority turned her account over to a law firm for collection. Another man said he didn’t know EMSA had won a judgment against him in Tulsa District Court earlier this month until informed by the Tulsa World. Records show EMSA’s attorneys were sending notices to the man’s former address while his current address is listed in city utility records as covered under the program. The agency has received complaints from residents in Tulsa and Oklahoma City who were billed and turned over to collections even though they said they were enrolled in the utility program, records show. EMSA is a government agency that provides ambulance service to more than 1 million people in Tulsa, Oklahoma City and surrounding areas. Residents in both cities pay a fee on utility bills for ambulance service: $3.64 per month in Tulsa and $3.65 per month in Oklahoma City. Kelli Bruer, a spokeswoman for EMSA, said in an email to the World that the agency makes multiple attempts to confirm whether patients live at an address covered under the utility program. She said EMSA tracks accounts by address, not name, because of the number of common names and because the program covers all permanent members of the household.

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General News Reporting Winner Publication: Oklahoma Watch By: Ron J. Jackson Jr., Graham Lee Brewer, Katherine Borgerding, Juan Sanchez, Darren Jaworski Judges’ Comments: In a category with many strong entries, this stood out for its scope, depth and honest reporting. Oklahoma is changing, and Oklahoma Watch went beyond the numbers and into the communities to tell us why and how. Once I started reading, I couldn’t put this down.

Excerpt from “Immigration in Oklahoma” GUYMON—It’s a weekday morning, and downtown Guymon is bustling. Guatemalans walk into a clothing store, passing a small group of Mexicans chatting on the sidewalk. Across the street, a man of Kenyan descent walks along the curb. Above it all, the sound of Al Green’s silky smooth voice spills from outdoor speakers. “Well, we’re mostly Mexican and white, so we ought to have black music,” explains Guymon Main Street Director Melyn Johnson. “You just have to have the diversity to make it better. A mutt is always stronger than a purebred.” Across the Oklahoma landscape, an alarming number of communities are morphing into ghost towns. They are places where youngsters have fled to bigger cities, leaving farms and schools to consolidate and populations to shrink. But not Guymon. Situated in the center of the Panhandle, Guymon is bursting with activity. Downtown buildings are full; motels are booked; construction is constant. In recent months, the town witnessed the opening of a new fire station and animal shelter and broke ground on a 19,000-square-foot library. An Oklahoma Watch analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data helps explain why: Guymon is the only city in Oklahoma where Hispanics have become the majority, accounting for 52% of its 11,442 official residents in 2010. Some Guymon authorities insist the percentage is actually much higher because many recent immigrants were not included in the 2010 headcount. That’s an impressive milestone in a state where Hispanics represent less than 1 percent of the national Hispanic population and just 9% of the total state population. But there are also migrant and undocumented workers to take into account, and it’s unlikely either group

was well represented in the Census Bureau, estimates. ThePew Hispanic Center estimates Oklahoma had from 65,000 to 85,000 undocumented immigrants in 2010. Guymon city officials unsuccessfully appealed the 2010 Census results, arguing their tally fell far short of the true number. They hired a third party to conduct a study, which estimated Guymon’s population between 17,000 and 18,000, with the Hispanic share hovering around 50 percent. Earlier this year, some Americans were startled when the Census Bureau projected that whites will become a minority population nationwide by 2023. Former Census Bureau Director Steve Murdocksays that historic shift is driven by two key demographics—both present in Guymon. “One is an aging, literally off-theend-of-the-life-chart set of non-Hispanic whites,” Murdock said. “Their fertility has been below replacement for over 20 years. The average non-Hispanic white woman is 40-41 years of age. That population is going to increasingly disappear from occupations as they age. “The other population is young and primarily minority. The average Hispanic woman in the U.S. is 25. What

happens with that group is important to understanding the future of the country.” Johnson, the Main Street program director, summed up what appears to be the prevailing sentiment around this Panhandle community: Workers, no matter their nationality or legal status, are bringing not only money and growth to Guymon, but also new energy and life. “We respect people who will work hard,” she said. “We respect that a lot more than if you’re third generation and a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.” Boomtown Guymon’s vibrant and heavily occupied downtown stands in stark contrast to many small cities across the state. A zapatería stocked with stylish shoes, a shop that sells quinceañera dresses and a community theater are just some of the tenants that fill nearly every storefront. “If the building owners want to rent them, they’re full,” Johnson said. “I’m going to guess that half of those businesses are Hispanic. It’s pretty representative of our population.” The shortage of space is being felt heavily in the housing sector.

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General News Reporting Finalists Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Joe Duggan, Robynn Tysver

Publication: The Argus Leader By: Jonathan Ellis

Excerpt from “Jon Bruning”

Excerpt from “Workers: Serious problems at detox center”

LINCOLN — Most millionaire politicians achieve wealth before winning office. Jon Bruning blazed a different path, one in which an ambition for affluence led to involvement and investment in at least 17 private companies, nearly all while serving as Nebraska’s attorney general. Along the way, the Republican front-runner for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat built a multimillion-dollar net worth while drawing a salary that ranged between $75,000 and $95,000 as the state’s top lawyer. His business pursuits have emerged as an issue in the campaign, prompting critics to question how he could find the time to fulfill his public responsibilities. The soon-to-be-43-year-old attorney general has obtained significant ownership in several Nebraska banks, a bank management company and a storage unit company with locations in Nebraska and Iowa. Those are the companies he kept. Bruning also has been involved in companies that sold cattle, produced high-tech security systems, purchased insurance policies and administered Botox treatments at an Omaha “rejuvenation clinic.” He and a college friend even explored buying a minor league hockey team in Kearney. Some of the ventures were never intended to turn a profit, some lost money, some never got off the ground. Some involve state-regulated industries, including banking, livestock and medicine, which raises questions about whether they could present a conflict of interest for the attorney general. Bruning sat down recently and discussed his business pursuits with The World-Herald. While he makes no apologies for his financial success, he took little credit for it, describing himself as a passive investor in companies run by close friends. His involvement in the operations is so minimal, he said, he was unaware that the sale price of one of his banks recently was $4.3 million. “If you’re seeing a guy who is moderately disinterested in the day-to-day workings of these business enterprises, you’re right, ” he said. “I mean, I don’t have time for it. I’ve got to be attorney general and I’ve got to run a campaign.” In an effort to further understand how Bruning made his money while holding a full-time constitutional office, The World-Herald reviewed hundreds of public documents related to his bank enterprises, mortgage loans and home equity lines of credit. The newspaper also sought out private attorneys, finance professors and some of Bruning’s business associates to sort through the complexities of his holdings.

Current and former employees of the Minnehaha County Detoxification Center say the facility suffers from serious and, in some cases, dangerous problems. For some members of the city’s homeless community it is becoming nothing more than a homeless shelter, the past and present employees warn. These employees cite a host of issues at the facility, including questionable practices with medical records, safety issues for the staff and unclean conditions ranging from feces and blood smeared on walls to food that sits out for hours before being eaten. Graffiti on the walls also signals a growing gang problem, the employees say. Center administrator Keith Larson acknowledged the graffiti problem, saying he is working with the county to have the walls repainted. The painting started as an effort to allow patients to show “artistic expressions,” but it got out of hand. “To be fair, we have lost the battle with some of the graffiti,” Larson said. “It was getting disturbing. It was getting to be too much.” In addition to Larson, the Argus Leader interviewed five people — two who still work at the center and three who said they left the facility of their own volition. Larson, meanwhile, said he is stepping down as administrator and will return to a job at the facility as a detox technician because he wanted more time with family. The choice, he added, was his. “We’re having a transition of management going on and, hopefully, we’ll have it done in the next three or four weeks,” he said. Minnehaha officials say they didn’t know Minnehaha County officials said they are unaware of the problems described by the employees. “Those things have not gone to us,” Commission Chairman Dick Kelly said. The facility, on the second floor of the Minnehaha County Public Safety Building, is accredited by the South Dakota Department of Social Services. Other facilities are in Rapid City, Mitchell and Watertown, department spokeswoman Kristin Kellar said. Kellar, in an email, saidthat any accusations against an accredited provider should be made to the Division of Community Behavioral Health.

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Narrative Story/Series Winner Publication: Tulsa World By: Cary Aspinwall Judges’ Comments: This is a vivid and sad retelling of a complicated crime that landed a kid behind bars for life. Aspinwall moves easily between analysis and story. She develops empathetic characters without overreaching. Well done.

Excerpt from “Murder was the case” In the earliest hours of Jan. 3, 1997, 13-year-old Jesil Wilson knocked on the door of Letoria Knighten’s townhome. He asked for Mitchell, her 18-yearold brother. He told her it was important. Mitchell Knighten stumbled sleepily down the stairs. The sister heard two voices — “just a normal conversation,” according to court records. “Dude that was out there asked him, ‘Do you have his stuff?’ And he said, ‘I ain’t got your stuff,’ “ Letoria Knighten testified. As she pressed her ear against the door and spied out the peephole, she saw Jesil’s 18-year-old cousin, Zachary Ferguson. She couldn’t see Jesil, but a security camera captured footage of three teens. They were there to get a gun, one Mitchell had taken from Jesil on New Year’s Eve. Mitchell refused to give the gun back, pushing Jesil and threatening to “get his gauge” and kill them all. Jesil stepped back into the street as Zachary walked toward Mitchell, called him a “buster,” aimed and fired. Three shots, one crumpled body. Three boys ran from the scene. Mitchell’s pulse faded. The blood prevented paramedics from inserting a tube down his throat to help him breathe. In the chaos, a couch was flipped over in Letoria Knighten’s living room. A .22-caliber pistol fell out of its hiding place and landed near Mitchell’s lifeless body. Knocking on the door that night took Jesil from middle school to maximum-security prison. Prosecutors made the case that he was guilty of first-degree murder in Mitchell’s death.

The judge who ruled that Jesil should stand trial as an adult said he lacked the “fire in his belly to get better and make himself a decent human being and show remorse.” Almost two years passed before Tulsa County prosecutors filed criminal charges against Jesil. By then he was 15. Ferguson, his cousin, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole. Jesil’s case didn’t go to trial until 1999, when he was 16. Whether he deserved a chance in Oklahoma’s juvenile justice system depends on whom you ask. Why he didn’t get that chance may have had to do with a number of factors: poverty, education, gang affiliation, questionable legal representation, disputed evidence and his own actions in the years that followed. Now 29, Jesil has spent the better part of his life behind bars. New Year’s Eve As 1997 arrived, a New Year’s Eve party descended into chaos at the Skate World rink near 21st Street and Garnett Road. Tulsa World archives refer to it as a disturbance where “several hundred

juveniles destroyed property inside the building.” Some 20 police cars arrived so officers could sort out the mess. Jesil, whose street name was “Lil’ Hoodsta,” was there with a handgun. At some point, Mitchell Knighten took the .22-caliber pistol from the 13-yearold. Witnesses and police said Mitchell took it to keep Jesil from hurting anyone. He reportedly intended to return the gun to Jesil’s mother, who lived in the same apartment complex as Mitchell’s sister, just across the street from Skate World. Before this, the boys had been friends. Knighten’s relatives did not respond to interview requests for this story. The police who interrogated Jesil told him that everyone else involved had already claimed that the gun at the center of the dispute was his. In an interview from prison, Jesil maintained the gun Mitchell took from him belonged to Ferguson and the older Neighborhood Crips, the gang both boys ran with. Whenever they were out packing heat, the older guys told Jesil if police pulled them over, he was to say it was his gun or “jump out and run with it,” Jesil said.

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Narrative Story/Series Finalists Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Joe Duggan

Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Joe Duggan

Excerpt from “Biding his time with a drug-fueled captor”

Excerpt from “The young man with a short fuse finally exploded”

ALLIANCE, Neb. — Chas Lierk is about to take the biggest gamble of his life. But for now, the 62-year-old pharmacist follows the gunman’s orders. Lierk has been held hostage for nearly seven hours, barricaded in a back office at his Alliance pharmacy. Now Lierk’s captor points an AK-47 at his back and tells him to move. The gunman’s cellphone has died, and Lierk has suggested retrieving his own phone from the drugstore counter. So Lierk moves. Right behind him is the 27-year-old drug addict who took the pharmacist hostage when a drug robbery spun out of control. Lierk has been patient all morning and afternoon, but maybe he’s running out of time. Already today bullets have flown overhead twice as his captor traded gunfire with law enforcement officers trying to end the standoff. A state patrolman and two police officers have been wounded. By now Lierk has heard the gunman admit to killing two people before the robbery. Lierk wants to see his wife, Ellen, again. He wants to hug his sons and his daughter, hold his baby granddaughter, laugh with friends, play golf, travel, live out his days in the community he loves. So he focuses on finding the right moment to escape. The gunman follows Lierk out of the office, covering him with the AK-47. Lierk sees his phone on the counter, along with broken glass, a shattered computer and bullet holes. “I’ve got it,” he says, holding up the phone. The gunman orders his hostage to return to the office and starts backing up as Lierk walks toward him. Lierk notices that the assault rifle is pointing down, toward the floor. Ten, maybe 12 feet separate the men. As the gunman backs through the office doorway, the pharmacist is nearly astounded by what has happened. “I can’t see his face,” Lierk will say later. “I take it if I can’t see him, he can’t see me.” And just like that, the right moment arrives.

ALLIANCE, Neb. — Her cellphone rings at noon Tuesday. It’s Andy. Finally. But by now, her son has assumed a different identity: He is “the gunman.” By now, Andres Gonzalez has spent more than three hours in Thiele Pharmacy and Gifts, a business near the corner of the busiest intersection in downtown Alliance. By now, he has shot Alliance Police Officer Kirk Felker in the arm as Felker ran to the scene of an armed robbery and has shot State Trooper Tim Flick through an interior doorway that connects the pharmacy with an adjacent building. Alliance Police Officer Matt Shannon has been struck by shrapnel. But Gonzalez is still holding pharmacy owner Charles Lierk hostage. The mother knows all this by the time her son calls. She tells him to free the hostage. Let Charlie go, she says. “I begged him to please stop,” she says. “I begged him to put down his gun and walk out.” She waits. “He said, ‘Mom, I can’t deal with this right now. I just called to tell you I love you.’” The call ends. *** LorriJo Loch saw the body for the first time Friday. She said her 27-year-old son was shot in the head by members of the Nebraska State Patrol’s SWAT team when they stormed the building about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, ending the standoff after more than 14 hours. Gonzalez traded gunfire with them at the end, she was told. State Patrol officials have declined to provide details about those final moments, saying the incident must be reviewed by a grand jury. What’s clear is that Gonzalez wounded three officers and the 62-year-old pharmacy owner, shooting him as he escaped from the store and ran for his life. Gonzalez’s actions cost downtown businesses income and fractured a sense of safety in this western Nebraska community of 9,000. As it turns out, the mayhem in downtown Alliance represented the final, desperate act of a killer. During the standoff, Gonzalez told his former girlfriend in a phone call that he had killed his father, Larry Gonzalez, a 62-year-old train conductor who appeared to be wellliked in the community. The elder Gonzalez was found dead Tuesday in the Alliance home he shared with his son.

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Beat Reporting Winner Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Todd Cooper, courts Judges’ Comments: Reporter turned what could have been ordinary crime and court articles into wonderful storytelling.

Excerpt from “Proving a rape without a witness” freedom. Wearing a blouse and WIFE OF BLUEJAYS UPROOT “We were young, loving, scarf swirled with purple, the CREIGHTON SYCAMORES COACH BEATS outgoing kids who had a 20-year-old woman stepped TOUGH FOE house to ourselves,” she said. slowly to the witness stand in “We abused it to the extreme.” a Douglas County courtroom. Their eve of Christmas Eve It was time to confront the gathering — a collection of man she believed raped her. TIF loss 2009 high school graduates, Big problem: Annie (the could put including Podrazo, an alum woman’s nickname) had no crimp in of Skutt High School — had memory of being with defengrowth party favors and balloons and dant Nicholas Podrazo the PROVING A RAPE ■ Omaha and some other cities already pingpong. But this wasn’t night she was found naked in top the cap proposed WITHOUT A WITNESS on the tool used for Chuck E. Cheese’s. a fetal position in the snow, development. That night, partygoers said, miles from home. Podrazo brought over rum She couldn’t even rememand a box of “whip-its” — ber seeing Podrazo that day, canisters of nitrous oxide, the let alone at a pre-Christmas “laughing gas” administered party where the two cuddled by dentists. on a couch and shared shots. Witnesses described how A toxic cocktail of drunkPodrazo and Annie — both 19 enness and trauma wiped at the time — and several othaway her memory, like a virus ers used the laughing gas and erases a hard drive. balloons to get a few-seconds’ Her last memory, her only Gingrich’s S.C. victory high. memory, of that night was resets the “You get kind of lightheadstanding in a circle, raising a GOP race ed and a whomp noise in your toast and inhaling a shot of head,” said one woman who, rum. as she testified, looked like So the question emerged, a she was wearing last night’s question as wide as the gap in Starting next Sunday: Perspectives Omaha Economic Index Omaha weather Index eyeliner. “You know, like her memory: shines light on recovery whomp-whomp.” How do you prove a rape Others played beer pong when there are no witnesses, — a drinking game in which when the woman has no /MO* LEASE FO FOR ORR partygoers guzzle beer for recall, when the man’s DNA every pingpong ball that lands isn’t left behind? in a keg cup. It was the eve of Christmas Eve — Prosecutors say you do it in the Festivities in full swing, Podrazo Dec. 23, 2010 — but the folks at 2211 same way you solve a murder. and Annie sank into a couch. She Maple St. didn’t need an excuse to You turn to the little things: A void barely knew Podrazo, having met him in the snow. The warmth of a car hood. party. at the house once before. Another time, Annie, two men and two women A timeline provided by good Samarishe said, he gave her and a roommate were living at a house rented by Richtans. A detailed exam of the woman. A a ride. ard Gregory, whose roommates called scouring of the crime scene. A defenThat day, she had begun drinking him “Ricky Bobby.” dant’s statement elicited not by police shots of rum about 4 p.m. By the time To them, every night — heck, every but by his friends, two party boys Podrazo arrived after 8 p.m., she was day — was a party. They were peace turned private detectives. so intoxicated that, she later said, she lovers and pot smokers — Annie affecWould it be enough? had no recollection of him being there. tionately referred to them as 19-yearA jury would decide. old hippies with too much newfound *** Doug McDermott leads a balanced Creighton team to a 75-49 Missouri Valley victory over Indiana State. SPORTS

Theresa McDermott cheers on her spouse and son cancer-free, six years after her diagnosis. LIVING

ONLY IN THE WORLD-HERALD

JANUARY 22, 2012 • SUNRISE EDITION

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BY JEFFREY ROBB

WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

A city tax incentive that has helped shape Omaha’s skyline, boost major employers and develop popular shopping districts would be slowed, if not shut down, in the eastern part of the city under a legislative proposal. Omaha wouldn’t be the only city hampered by the bill. If the proposal is passed, several dozen Nebraska cities would lose the ability to use the incentive called tax increment ﬁnancing, or TIF. Legislative Bill 918 would put a new cap on use of the incentive, which allows commercial and redevelopment projects in blighted areas to pay project costs with what they would spend on property taxes. The bill would cap the incentive’s use within a city and within the related school district or any other government district that draws on the affected tax base. The proposal’s sponsor, State Sen. Abbie Cornett of Bellevue, said she wants cities that use the incentive to bring school districts into their discussions. See TIF: Page 4

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ON PAGES 6&7A: The former U.S. House speaker keeps a wife by his side, ﬁnds one key friendship tested.

A bare patch of pavement and other crime scene details were key for prosecutors to prove rape in a case in which a woman had no recall of events.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Surprising his rivals and upending the Republican race for the presidency, Newt Gingrich won the pivotal South Carolina primary, 10 days after a fourthplace finish in New Hampshire left the impression that his candidacy was all but dead. Gingrich rode to victory by winning a plurality among a wide range of important Republican voting blocs, outperforming the rest of the four-person field among evangelical Christians and Tea Party supporters, men and even women, despite the publicity given to problems in his first two marriages. Gingrich now heads to Florida, where he faces a daunting test in seeking to capitalize on his new status as the candidate who poses a singular insurgent See Primary: Page 7

BY TODD COOPER | ONLY IN THE WORLD-HERALD

earing a blouse and scarf swirled with purple, the 20-year-old woman stepped slowly to the witness stand in a Douglas County courtroom. It was time to confront the man she believed raped her. Big problem: Annie (the woman’s nickname) had no memory of being with defendant Nicholas Podrazo the night she was found naked in a fetal position in the snow, miles from home. She couldn’t even remember seeing Podrazo that day, let alone at a pre-Christmas party where the two cuddled on a couch and shared shots. A toxic cocktail of drunkenness and trauma wiped away her memory, like a virus erases a hard drive.

>> A special section on what you need to know about ﬁnances, health and education in your teens and 20s. >> The following two weeks, those same topics will be explored for your midlife and later years.

Her last memory, her only memory, of that night was standing in a circle, raising a toast and inhaling a shot of rum. So the question emerged, a question as wide as the gap in her memory: How do you prove a rape when there are no witnesses, when the woman has no recall, when the man’s DNA isn’t left behind? Prosecutors say you do it in the same way you solve a murder. You turn to the little things: A void in the snow. The warmth of a car hood. A timeline provided by good Samaritans. A detailed exam of the woman. A scouring of the crime scene. A defendant’s statement elicited not by police but by his friends, two party boys turned private detectives. Would it be enough? A jury would decide. See Rape: Page 2

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Beat Reporting Finalists Publication: The Argus Leader By: John Hult

Publication: The Oklahoman By: Nolan Clay, Robby Trammell

Excerpt from ‘Methamphetamine killed that girl’

Excerpt from “Notorious Gambler”

The death of a toddler in a tribal housing project in rural Wagner that went unreported for a day and a half has left Francis Zephier outraged. On Thursday, Charles Mix County prosecutors charged the caregivers of RieLee Lovell with child abuse and failure to report the death of a child for the events surrounding the discovery of the 2-year-old’s body July 4. Court documents released in the case against Taylor Cournoyer, 21,and Laurie Cournoyer, 28, say the husband and wife used methamphetamine, marijuana and prescription sleeping pills in the hours after the toddler’s death and that neither of them could pinpoint the last time they saw the child alive. The two were related to Lovell and caring for her but were not her parents. An 11-year-old male relative, who also had been living in the home, is in custody but has not been charged. Like the Cournoyers, Zephier lives in tax credit housing under the watch of the Yankton Sioux Tribal Housing Authority. Zephier lives in Lake Andes, 16 miles from the Cournoyer’s home, but she says the problem of methamphetamine abuse runs through tribal tax credit housing, and the effect it has on Indian families has been ignored by authorities for far too long. “Everybody wants to sugar-coat it, but we have to be honest: methamphetamine killed that girl,” Zephier said. “My niece, her parents are on meth … She could have been just like RieLee.” Zephier says it’s time for the tribal community to stand up to the dealers and users, especially in tribal housing. Users will hide from state or local police on tribal land, she says, and tribal officers don’t do enough. When parents and caregivers are awake and partying for days on the powerful stimulant, she said, children go unfed and unattended. “The kids are tired of it,” she said.“When the parties start, the kids are happy because they have their freedom. But seven days later, when they haven’t eaten, that’s when the problems happen.” Yankton Sioux Tribal officials declined to comment Friday. Council member Ida Ashes said the council will meet Monday to discuss the tribe’s response to the issues raised by Lovell’s death and offer a statement at that time. Policing problems Jurisdictional issues have plagued enforcement of drug laws on reservation land for decades, U.S. Attorney Brendan Johnson said. State police cannot make arrests on tribal land, and tribal police lose jurisdiction on state or local land.

The University of Tulsa’s athletic director was suspended with pay Tuesday after the FBI identified him as an “admitted gambler” who was involved with Oklahoma City “bookie” Teddy Mitchell. Ross M. Parmley, 39, was named athletic director Jan. 19. He has worked for the university’s athletics department since 2005. Parmley has not been charged. The university placed Parmley on paid administrative leave hours after The Oklahoman contacted his attorney for comment. Mitchell, 58, is awaiting trial on a federal indictment that accuses him of operating an illegal gambling enterprise. Parmley admitted to FBI agents he bet on college and professional football games for years before quitting gambling early in 2010, a source told The Oklahoman. He told the agents he used the Internet to make the bets. He also told FBI agents that he made payments to Mitchell on losses and collected from Mitchell on wins, the source said. He told agents in the 2011 interview that he had informed TU officials he was cooperating with the investigation, the source said. Parmley was never a target or subject of the gambling investigation but is cooperating with federal authorities, his attorney, Derek Chance, said Tuesday. Parmley does not know yet if prosecutors will ask him to testify as a witness at Mitchell’s trial, the attorney also said. “That’s, of course, up to the U.S. attorney’s office,” the attorney said. Chance said Parmley did not testify before the grand jury that indicted Mitchell in September. Parmley was described in an 84-page court affidavit unsealed last week as an “admitted gambler with Mitchell.” FBI Special Agent Francis J. Bowles Jr. reported in the affidavit that Mitchell deposited a $1,782 check from Parmley in a bank account between Nov. 7, 2009, and Dec. 10, 2009. The agent reported Parmley identified the check as a gambling payment. Mitchell contends he is a professional gambler who acted legally and paid taxes on his gambling income. He is accused in the indictment of making millions of dollars by hosting illegal high-stakes poker games at his home and by illegally taking bets on sporting events. The grand jury also indicted two of Mitchell’s sons, six other men and a Costa Rican company. The trial is set to begin in April in federal court in Oklahoma City. Mitchell’s defense attorney, Scott Adams, confirmed Tuesday that Parmley was a client of Mitchell.

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Feature Writing Winner Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Matthew Hansen Judges’ Comments: I didn’t want to read any more war stories. But sitting in that young Spanish teacher’s classroom, clicking through a power point of her piece of the conflict, seeing the fighting through her eyes, having her share her perspective with her students, I was caught in the minutia of the blood and bumpy ambulance ride and the enormity of the problem a generation of returning vets is already facing. Perfectly framed, wonderfully woven, written with just enough emotion — and big-picture context. This story should be framed in every recruiter’s office and on every Congressman’s desk.

Excerpt from “Miss Spors’ War” On the day the Iraq War ends, Rachelle Spors stands up from her desk in her Omaha Bryan High School classroom. She dims the lights. She surveys the 30 students in her freshman-level Spanish class. She tries to breathe deeply. She tries to loosen that triple knot inside her chest, the one she’s been tugging on for the better part of seven years. No luck. So she simply proceeds with her PowerPoint presentation,because Miss Spors has learned that when it gets this dark, all you can do is feel your way forward. Click. First slide. Fort Riley, Kan., November 2004. A group shot of Spors and the rest of her platoon. Young faces, flushed cheeks, wide smiles. One woman holds her index finger aloft. We’re No. 1. In a week, the Nebraska National Guard’s 313th Medical Company ships out to Iraq. These are the people I went to war with, she tells her students. These are my friends. Click. Al Asad, Iraq, summer 2005. An exterior shot of her barracks, which look like a rundown trailer home. We packed six people into a bedroom here, she says. The showers squirted foul-smelling water. The toilets seldom flushed. The photo says what Miss Spors doesn’t have to: War isn’t “Call of Duty 3.” Click. A bare-bones operating room. Someone has hammered two-by-fours into a makeshift operating table. Someone has covered the table with a sheet of red plastic.

Here is where they brought the tough cases before they were airlifted to Germany. Here is where she learned to be a medic. Here is where they saved people, and where they sometimes didn’t. Click. Here she is, ﬂashing a toothy grin outside her hospital. Notice the sandbags around the window? Notice how relaxed she looks? Click. Here is an Iraqi child, his face and sweater smeared with dirt. He beams, ﬂashing the peace sign to the camera. Click. Here is a medevac helicopter. She would sprint out to choppers like this, grab the stretcher with three other medics and carry a wounded service member inside. Miss Spors did this 300 times. She did it enough to guess when the young American or Iraqi on the stretcher

would make it, and when he would not. She keeps this last part to herself. Click. Finally, here is a twisted and charred and barely recognizable hunk of metal. The wheel rims are still there, but the tires are gone. The explosion melted them. The vehicle’s front end is still there, but the doors and the roof are gone. The rollover and the fire incinerated them. Her students have no idea they are staring at a military ambulance. “This is the vehicle I was pulled out of,” she says on the day the Iraq War officially ends. “This is what I survived.” She pauses. She tries to breathe deeply. She tugs at the triple knot again. No luck. She flips the classroom lights back on.

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Feature Writing Finalists Publication: The Oklahoman By: Ken Raymond

Publication: Tulsa World By: Cary Aspinwall

Excerpt from “Translator in Iraq”

Excerpt from “Being Katie”

Watching the men approach, Ahmed Abdullah readied the Glock 9 mm pistol in his lap and waited. Traffic had stalled, as it often did, on Main Supply Route Tampa. American forces somewhere ahead were sweeping for improvised explosive devices, turning the highway from Balad south to Baghdad into a makeshift motor camp. Parked vehicles, scattered haphazardly on and off the pavement, had disgorged their occupants into the summer heat. People stood in clusters to talk or walked in search of a breeze. Not all of the vehicles were empty, though. Abdullah, for one, remained in his sweltering Ford Windstar minivan, leaning outside the driver’s side window. His face betrayed no evidence of the fear that was trickling like perspiration down his spine.

The graduating seniors at Bixby High School walk to their seats in the Mabee Center under a sword salute by the Marine Corps Junior ROTC students of Lt. Col. Randy Hill’s class. Fashion among Bixby’s senior class girls dictates that many wear neon-hued platform stilettos with their Spartan blue graduation gowns and caps. About one-third of the way through the alphabet, Hill’s daughter, Katie, glides down the stage, and school administrators offer her a steadying hand down the stairs, as they do for every senior girl — even though Katie is wearing sparkly flat sandals. No platform heels needed, at 5-foot-10 she’s tall enough to be a model or Miss Universe, if she wanted. (The pageant recently allowed its first transgender competitor.) Katie takes her seat and waits patiently through “achieve your dreams!” speeches by the principal and three valedictorians, through her peers whose names start with A through G. When the time comes, she saunters back to the stage and waits for her name to be called so she can grab her diploma cover and shift the tassel on her mortar board. Katie. Rain. Hill. Just like any other graduate.

Surrounded by danger Abdullah, now 31, was no stranger to terror. He’d lived with it his entire life; by now it was as familiar as hunger and discomfort. All three were the product of growing up in an Iraq governed by dictator Saddam Hussein and the Sunni-led Ba’ath Party. Hussein had risen to power through luck and intention. He was an early member of the revolutionary Baathists, who merged a wave of nationalistic fervor with socialism. Hussein failed in an attempt to assassinate a government official, then survived exile and imprisonment to become a political strongman, officially taking power as Iraq’s president in 1979. The occasion was marked by blood. Hussein immediately denounced many of his fellow Baathists as traitors, and within two weeks, hundreds had been executed. Hussein was a Sunni, like Abdullah and about 80 to 90 percent of Muslims worldwide. In Iraq, though, the majority population is Shi’a. The two major Islamic sects are much the same but divide along some theological, legal, economic and social lines. Both suffered under Hussein’s totalitarian regime. “Hussein ... was one of the world’s indisputably evil men: He murdered as many as a million of his people, many with poison gas,” Dexter Filkins wrote for The New York Times Magazine in 2007. “He tortured, maimed and imprisoned countless more. His unprovoked invasion of Iran is estimated to have left another million people dead. His seizure of Kuwait threw the Middle East into crisis. “More insidious, arguably, was the psychological damage he inflicted on his own land. Hussein created a nation of informants — friends on friends, circles within circles — making an entire population complicit in his rule.”

A daddy-daughter dance So much can change in a year. That walk across the stage made Katie the first openly transgender student to graduate from an Oklahoma high school — but this year, she wasn’t alone by any means, says Oklahomans for Equality Executive Director Toby Jenkins. A few days after Bixby’s ceremony, another transgender girl graduated from a local private Catholic school, and several metro-area schools have openly transgender students, he said. Katie has been a girl in the legal and emotional sense since around her 15th birthday, when she told her mother she was a girl trapped in a boy’s body. Katie was born Luke, but being a boy just never fit. She sank into a deep depression for several years before she realized that she was transgender and asked her mother for help becoming Katie. At her graduation ceremony in May, she most certainly was not alone. Her mom, Jazzlyn Hill, was in her cheering section along with her grandmother, brothers, her new boyfriend and his mom — and her father, Randy Hill. Since Katie’s story appeared in the Tulsa World in May 2011, some of the biggest changes involve the men in her life. Lt. Col. Randy Hill was at Bixby’s graduation to oversee his JROTC students handling color guard and sword salute duties, but he was also there for Katie.

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Business Reporting Winner Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Paul Goodsell Judges’ Comments: This series of stories is a first-rate example of what a newspaper can do to bring a story home to its readers. We’ve all heard about jobs being shipped to China, but the Omaha journalists took us there. Excellent reporting and photography that no doubt added to the public dialogue around these important issues.

Excerpt from “The China Connection” BEIJING — Bian Ai Jie lives in a one-room apartment she shares with a friend on the 13th floor of a 28-story building in this city of 20 million. On the back of the sofa is her copy, in Chinese, of the recent biography of Apple founder Steve Jobs. It’s partly covered by the empty box from her roommate’s new iPhone, a U.S.-created and Chinese-made luxury that Ai Jie covets. But right now the 23-year-old, who likes to be called Amily, pays a third of her salary for the tiny room that lacks its own bathroom or kitchen. She moved here a year ago, right after college, from a town on the North Korean border. At her urban advertising job, she helps companies develop logos and other strategies for promoting their brands. Amily is part of the new face of China — a wave of optimistic, young, upwardly mobile consumers who are crowding into cities and open to new ideas, even as they wrestle with economic and social stumbling blocks. Similarly, China offers both challenges and opportunities for Nebraska businesses that want to expand their efforts to tap China’s 1.3 billion people, including its growing middle class. China’s middle class emerged in the past 15 to 20 years and now makes up about 25 percent of the population, 50 percent of the urban population, according to Helen Wang, a consultant and author of “The Chinese Dream: The Rise of the World’s Largest Middle Class and What It Means to You.” It’s an estimated 300 million people — almost the size of the total U.S. population. “It would be foolish to leave this huge market alone,” Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman said during a recent interview. Today, Heineman arrives in Beijing to lead a trade mission aimed at boosting the state’s exports and attracting

Chinese investment in the Cornhusker State. Delegates will meet with Chinese government officials and business leaders in Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai. The trip is focused on helping Nebraska businesses — including smaller companies such as a Roca, Neb., pipe organ manufacturer or a Laurel, Neb., company that makes an ethanol-based product that can be used to make “greener” plastic — export their products to China. The trade mission also is expected to highlight some existing — and growing — Nebraska business activity in China from pioneers such as Columbus-based Behlen Manufacturing Co. and Sarpy County-based Werner Enterprises to academic connections involving the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The weeklong mission is sure to highlight how far China has moved in its transformation from a low-wage manufacturing powerhouse into a modern, consumer-driven economy and how much Nebraska already is connected to China’s vast, fast-growing

economy. In all the obvious ways, Nebraska can seem far removed from this city of ancient imperial buildings and glittering contemporary high-rises. When it’s dinnertime in Beijing, halfway around the world, Omahans are just waking up. As the third-mostpopulous city in China, Beijing has more than 10 times as many people as the entire state of Nebraska. And dense smog hangs over the city, obscuring distant buildings. You can go days without seeing the sun. But those differences don’t prevent Nebraska’s connections with either Beijing or China overall, and they go much beyond the “Made in China” labels that jam the shelves of Target and Walmart stores across the Midlands. For example, Nebraskans are profiting from the steel poles that help light China’s brand-new highways, part of an infrastructure construction boom. Nebraskans are starting to make money by helping Chinese families care for that nation’s growing elderly population.

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Business Reporting Finalists Publication: Des Moines Register By: Victor Epstein

Excerpt from “Most transactions suspended at Cedar Falls-based PFGBest” Investors in PFGBest today are trying to figure out how millions could be missing from the Cedar Falls-based futures broker. The National Futures Association Monday directed PFGBest to freeze most customer transactions Monday, the same day the company’s founder allegedly attempted suicide in a nearby development. The 22-year-old company is a broker for trades in U.S. commodity and foreign exchange futures and options. A review of its bank accounts on Monday revealed that about $220 million was missing, triggering an emergency enforcement action by the National Futures Association (NFA). “Ahead of the situation, we were given multiple reassurances from senior management that the firm was in good financial health and that they were in compliance,” said Lauren Nelson, a spokeswoman at Attain Capital Management in Chicago. She said today that Attain had worked for several years with PFGBest and had “a fair amount of business” with the company. “We had no indication that anything like this was about to occur,” said Nelson. “It’s disturbing to say the least. And the most disturbing component in all of this is how badly the regulators dropped the ball in the situation.” Nelson pointed to NFA’s enforcement action that indicated “shortfalls have been happening since 2010. And we’re just hearing about it now.” Russell R. Wasendorf Sr., PFG’s founder, chairman and chief executive officer, is in critical condition at the University of Iowa Hospitals, according to Reuters. He was reportedly found in his car near the company headquarters Monday morning, along with a suicide note. “This action is effective immediately and is deemed necessary to protect customers,” NFA said in a prepared statement and in enforcement documents. “PFG has failed to demonstrate that it meets capital requirements and segregated fund requirements. NFA also has reason to believe that PFG does not have sufficient assets to meet its obligations to customers.” NFA is the self-regulating organization for the U.S. commodities and futures industry. PFG is one of its members. The independent brokerage firm deals mostly with local traders, small market players and farmers. It employs about 300 people and has offices in both Cedar Falls and Chicago. Attain’s Nelson said regulators were suppose “to be receiving daily and monthly segregation reports. They’re also supposed to be conducting annual audits during which time they confirmed bank account balances with financial institutions that PFGBest was working with.

Publication: The Oklahoman By: Adam Wilmoth, Jay Marks, Paul Monies, Don Mecoy

Excerpt from “Chesapeake stock dips on news of CEO loans” Chesapeake Energy Corp. shares tumbled 5.5 percent Wednesday After a published report showed that CEO Aubrey McClendon has borrowed up to $1.1 billion against his stake in Chesapeake wells. Reuters reported Wednesday that the loans were to fund McClendon’s investment in Chesapeake’s Founder Well Participation Program, under which McClendon can take a 2.5 percent stake in every well drilled by the company. Sources quoted in the article questioned whether McClendon’s personal debt level on the company wells has created a conflict of interest and whether the company should have more thoroughly disclosed the financing deals. Chesapeake has denied conflict or wrongdoing in the matter. “The Founders Well Participation Program (FWPP) has been in place since the company’s founding and was reapproved by shareholders by a wide margin in 2005,” Chesapeake said in a statement Wednesday. “The terms and procedures for the program are clear and detailed in every proxy for all shareholders to see.” Under terms of the program, McClendon can buy into a stake in all the company’s wells, but he cannot choose to participate only in some of the wells. While the well participation program has been included in Securities and Exchange Commission filings, Chesapeake has not disclosed that McClendon has used his stake in the wells as collateral for loans. Records discovered by Reuters show McClendon has borrowed up to $1.1 billion, which is the same amount Forbes estimates to be McClendon’s net worth. Chesapeake said the program is legal and ethical and that it provides an additional incentive for McClendon to work hard for the success of the company. “Loans secured by oil and gas assets are commonplace in the industry and have been employed by Chesapeake corporately during its 23-year existence and by Mr. McClendon during the 20 years the FWPP has been in existence, thus increasing the alignment of interest between Mr. McClendon and the company because both have loans and pay interests on the capital provided through such loans,” Chesapeake General Counsel Henry J. Hood said in a statement. The news drew a wide range of reaction Wednesday on Wall Street. The company’s stock price dipped more than 10 percent early in the day before recovering to a loss of 5.5 percent, or $1.06 a share, to close at $18.06. The price drop erased nearly $640 million of the company’s value of $11.6 billion.

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Business Feature Winner Publication: Des Moines Register By: Victor Epstein Judges’ Comments: The Register shines a light on the firing of low-level bank employees for petty crimes years in the past, at a time when bank executives are not held accountable for suspect practices. The gentleman fired by Wells Fargo puts a very human face on this issue. A good story, well-told.

Excerpt from “A fake dime costs one Wells Fargo employee his job ... 49 years later” DES MOINES, Iowa — Richard Eggers doesn’t look like a mastermind of financial crime. The former farm boy speaks deliberately, can’t remember the last time he got a speeding ticket, and favors suspenders, horn-rim glasses and plaid shirts. But the 68-year-old Vietnam veteran is still too risky for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, which fired him on July 12 from his $29,795-ayear job as a customer service representative. Egger’s crime? Putting a cardboard cutout of a dime in a washing machine in Carlisle on Feb. 2, 1963. “It was a stupid stunt and I’m not real proud of it, but to fire somebody for something like this after seven good years of employment is a dirty trick when you come right down to it,” said Eggers of Des Moines. “And they’re doing this kind of thing all across the country.” Big banks have been firing low-level employees like Eggers since the issuance of new federal banking employment guidelines in May 2011 and new mortgage employment guidelines in February. The tougher standards are meant to weed out executives and mid-level bank employees guilty of transactional crimes, like identity fraud or mortgage fraud, but they are being applied across-the-board thanks to $1 million a day fines for noncompliance. Banks have fired thousands of workers nationally because of the rules, said Natasha Buchanan, an attorney with Higbee & Associates in Santa Ana, Calif., who has helped some of the

banking workers regain their eligibility to be employed. “Banks are afraid of the FDIC and the penalties they could face,” Buchanan said. The regulatory rules forbid the employment of anyone convicted of a crime involving dishonesty, breach of trust or money laundering. Before the guidelines were changed, banks widely interpreted the rules to exclude minor traffic offenses and some other misdemeanor arrests. New rules have eliminated exceptions for expunged crimes and certain minor offenses and expanded the categories of employees covered, Buchanan said. Grassley on firings: They ‘seem unfair’ Critics point out that big banks have

insulated top executives from criminal accountability by signing multimillion-dollar federal settlements in which they admit no wrongdoing. On the same day that Eggers was fired, Wells Fargo & Co., the largest U.S. bank by market capitalization, paid $175 million to the U.S. Justice Department to settle allegations it had targeted black and Hispanic homeowners for subprime loans. “On the face of it, these situations seem unfair,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said in a statement. “The public is right to question why top executives aren’t being held accountable, especially when banks themselves are using federal regulations to justify firing rank-and-file workers.” Wells Fargo confirmed Eggers’ termination. “We are operating in an environment where we’re facing new regulations and a heightened level of scrutiny on all our activities,” said Wells Fargo spokeswoman Angela Kaipust. “The expectations that have been placed on us and all financial institutions have never been higher.” Bank of America has embarked on a similar firing binge to shed any employee convicted of a criminal offense involving dishonesty, breach of trust or money laundering, employment attorneys say. Bank of America spokeswoman Ferris Morrison said the nation’s thirdlargest bank by market capitalization is applying the FDIC standards the same way as its peers.

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Business Feature Finalists Publication: Tulsa World By: Michael Overall

Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Steve Jordon

Excerpt from “Longterm jobless find it much harder to find work”

Excerpt from “Gifts by the millions”

Wearing a coat and tie, John Witt hands out a business card that identifies him as a project manager with a master’s degree and 25 years of experience. “Call me,” he said. “No, wait. Email me.” The card has two phone numbers listed on it, but they don’t work. “Due to my current predicament,” he explains. Working for a local property management firm, he stayed so busy that he often skipped lunch. But late one afternoon last July, his supervisor asked him to step into her office. Witt felt as if the room tipped sideways. “But why?” he wanted to know. “I can’t tell you that,” the boss answered. “Just hand in your keys.” Witt didn’t know it yet, but the moment he walked away from his old desk, he was in a race against the odds. In the first few months after a layoff, people have about a one-in-four chance of finding a new job, according to national statistics from the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit research group in Washington, D.C. Then it gets worse. After six months — officially counted as “long-term unemployment” — the odds drop to one in eight. After nine months: one in 10. “At first,” Witt remembers, “I thought, ‘Well, OK. I can get another job, probably better than the one I had.’ “But the optimism gradually drains away and after a while — I’ll be honest — sometimes I have to force myself to walk out the door and keep trying.” ‘A bad sign’ Economists use jelly beans to explain the problem. When you lose your job, you fall into the candy jar, landing on top of the pile where new employers reach in to grab handfuls — and where you have the best chance of being taken. But if you don’t escape quickly — whether you’re an unpopular flavor or just unlucky — you’ll find yourself pushed toward the bottom of the jar, buried under more recent layoffs. “It has always been harder to find a job the longer you are unemployed,” said Michael Greenstone, a professor of economics at MIT and a senior fellow at Brookings. “But the situation facing American workers today goes well beyond historical norms.” Before the economy collapsed in 2008, for example, the average laid-off worker spent just eight weeks looking for a job.

This is a story about a knock on a door 71 years ago, a Nebraska family’s generosity and the economics of farmland. It’s also a bit of a mystery about why a couple from central Nebraska made a donation that ended up being worth nearly $4 million to an Omaha-based charity that for 119 years has focused on finding homes for children in need. The story begins with Carl Ike, whose job for the Nebraska Children’s Home Society was to visit small-town and rural families and ask for donations to help children who were given up for adoption, neglected or abandoned. Some people would donate cash, some eggs or produce or clothing. On Feb. 22, 1941, Carl visited Stephen and Nellie Cole on their farm near Lexington. The Coles donated $2 and, over the next decade or so, gradually built up to $30 a year in donations. Carl had sewn a seed that would bloom today in ways neither he nor the Coles could have imagined. Carl was one of the society’s “field men,” a half-dozen traveling fundraisers who lived in Kearney, Norfolk, Scottsbluff and other Nebraska communities. Often retired teachers or school principals, they sometimes visited parents who had adopted children through the society. But more often, those visited were just families with big hearts. The men were known to visit local bars and pass the hat too. A friendly smile and conversation over the lunch counter, on the farmhouse porch or off the back of a tractor brought support for the Children’s Home’s budget as well as spread its name statewide. Harris van Oort, who retired as the society’s director in 1996, didn’t know Carl but knew later field men. “They drove all over, stayed in old hotels and ate in greasy spoons,” van Oort said. “It was not a high-flying job. But I always felt that they created a lot of good will for the Children’s Home.” The jobs were phased out in the 1970s as the last of the field men retired and their fundraising was replaced by mail solicitations. In the 1980s, the society began opening offices around the state, with 10 locations today. In the first half of the 1900s, the safety net for children sometimes was thin. Unwanted or troubled children were the responsibility of each county, and services varied. This was a time when orphanages might house children for years, and older children who got into trouble often were sent to reform schools. The Children’s Home was founded in 1893 on the ideals of Dr. E.P. Quivey, who was chaplain of the Iowa State Reformatory. He believed that juvenile delinquency could be eliminated by putting young boys into decent homes instead of reform schools.

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Sports Reporting Winner Publication: Tulsa World By: Bill Haisten, Mike Averill, James Royal Judges’ Comments: How to cover breaking news. An excellent job of responding to the day’s events with a comprehensive report, including the graphic.

Excerpt from “‘A difficult day’: TU rolls as Green Wave player is seriously hurt”

After a week of 100-degree misery, University of Tulsa fans seemed to savor a 70-degree Saturday morning. During the first half, Chapman Stadium was energized. TU’s offense functioned at a championship level. The Golden Hurricane defense limited Tulane to 82 yards. TU rolled to a 35-3 advantage. The fun ended on the final play of the half, when Tulane senior safety Devon Walker — in an attempt to tackle TU’s Willie Carter — and Green Wave teammate Julius Warmsley were involved in a helmet-to-helmet collision.

A crowd of 17,880 was nearly silent as Walker lay motionless on the turf for about a half-hour. Multiple witnesses reported seeing medical personnel administering what they believed to be CPR before he was taken to St. Francis Hospital. It was announced later Walker had sustained a spinal injury, and his condition was classified as serious. The game did resume after a halftime that was about twice as long as usual, and the Hurricane went on to record a 45-10 victory in the Conference USA opener for both teams. “I hope he has a safe

recovery,” Hurricane senior defensive tackle Cory Dorris said of Walker. “All our prayers go out to him.” From a humanity standpoint, the Walker injury disheartened everyone in the stadium. From a football standpoint, TU dominated in every sense. The Hurricane had 651 total yards to 177 for the Green Wave. “I thought it was a very aggressive, workmanlike performance,” TU coach Bill Blankenship said. “One of the things we challenged our players on was, don’t let the plays come to you — make

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something happen. “I thought we played really aggressive defense and got after their quarterback.” The Hurricane improved to 1-1 overall, while Tulane is 0-2 and stuck in a 12-game losing streak. “The offensive line helped me out more than you would actually think. When they’re in a rhythm, I just get to sit back there... and just play catch with the receivers,” said Tulsa quarterback Cody Green, who was 16-of-26 passing for 274 yards and two touchdowns — a 74-yarder to Thomas Roberson and a 16-yarder to Jordan James.

Sports Reporting Finalists Publication: The Oklahoman By: Darnell Mayberry

Publication: Tulsa World By: John E. Hoover

Excerpt from “Bye, Bye, Beardy”

Excerpt from “The risks they take”

Sam Presti, from the very beginning, gave it to you straight. “There are some inherent challenges that we face,” he began saying at the start of July, when this four-month roller coaster first took off. Through every twist and turn, and clearly there were plenty despite how silky the ride seemed due to 118 days of unharmed silence coming out of backroom negotiations, the Thunder’s general manager never gave up hope. “James is somebody we value,” Presti repeatedly said. “We think he’s an important part to what we’re trying to do.” But Presti never made any promises. “I can’t tell you how it’s going to end.” On a frosty final Saturday night in October, we received our answer. The Oklahoma City Thunder traded reigning Sixth Man of the Year James Harden to Houston, parting ways with a critical component in last year’s success that saw the franchise journey to its first NBA Finals. Harden will be sent to Houston for Kevin Martin, rookie Jeremy Lamb, two first-round picks and a second-round pick. The Thunder is also sending center Cole Aldrich and guards Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward to the Rockets. The deal comes on the heels of negligible progress being made on a contract extension for Harden following nearly four months of negotiating that began on July 1. As a result, the Thunder parted ways with the fan favorite after stagnant talks made it clear Harden would be too much of a financial burden to keep. “We wanted to sign James to an extension, but at the end of the day these situations have to work for all those involved,” Presti said in a statement released by the team late Saturday night. If no deal was reached on an extension by Wednesday’s midnight Eastern deadline, Harden would have become a restricted free agent next summer. Houston is believed to now be ready to ink Harden to the maximum-allowable contract that Harden has long been believed to covet. A report by Yahoo! Sports on Saturday afternoon said Harden recently turned down a four-year extension worth roughly $52 million but was still in negotiations with the Thunder. The report also was the latest to say Harden is pushing for a max deal, expected to be roughly $60 million over four years. But with max contracts extended to Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook — as well as more than $52 million invested in Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins over the next three seasons alone — the Thunder faced the possibility of stiff penalties under the new, more punitive collective bargaining agreement.

How does a football player play without fear? How does a parent ever let their son suit up again? How does a coach go to work every morning knowing the possibility of incomprehensible grief and hardship is but a play away? Devon Walker woke up a week ago having swum in the fountain of youth. A hard-working, hard-hitting defensive back who walked on and earned a scholarship at Tulane University while studying cellular and molecular biology, Walker put on his pads last Saturday against Tulsa intent on having a great senior season. Now, after a freak injury that left him with fractured cervical vertebrae and undisclosed damage to his spinal cord, Walker lays in a Saint Francis Hospital bed, his future uncertain. Life’s cruelties permanently damage the soul. How can sport’s greatest game do this to us? How can something so wonderfully brilliant also be so unspeakably horrible? “We’ve always been told, ever since we were little, ‘Don’t play timid. Play fast, play fast, play fast.’ We’ve always been taught that if you play fast, that stuff won’t happen,” said Tulsa quarterback Cody Green. “But in reality, it happens to anyone at any time. That’s the thing that’s really bad about it, and is gonna scare a lot of people.” It already has. Scared them to the core. “My mom called me about it,” Oklahoma State receiver Tracy Moore said. “She’s one of those moms that worries. (There’s another kind?) It’s a dangerous game. The pads can only protect so much.” “That’s my mom’s worst nightmare,” said Oklahoma defensive tackle Jamarkus McFarland. “My mom is really anxious about that, protective about that.” How did ancient gladiators step into the arena knowing this might be their day to die? How do race car drivers buckle up? How do America’s bravest run into burning buildings or stare down crazed gunmen or rush Osama Bin Laden in his own living room? After Devon Walker, how do football players reconcile their fear? “Everybody knows something like that could happen to them,” said OSU receiver Josh Stewart. “But it’s just a love for the game. You love it so much you kind of block that out. In your head, you can’t get hurt.” Surely Devon Walker thought that way just one week ago. Now, across America, sideline doctors and athletic trainers and high school coaches and youth league parents are all checking themselves. Are we prepared for calamity?

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Sports Feature Winner Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Dirk Chatelain Judges’ Comments: An unforgettable story, beautifully told. Brilliant job with the lead and ending, bringing the story back to today.

Excerpt from “An unforgettable character” LINCOLN — The kids wanted a dog. How could Milt Tenopir say no? So the Nebraska offensive line coach hunted through the newspaper and found an overpriced cocker spaniel. His two young stepchildren named him after their favorite football player, a Husker center who spent a lot of time at the Tenopir house. Jake. “Doesn’t sound too flattering,” Tenopir says, “but that’s what the kids wanted to name him.” He tells the story from a quiet sports bar, stopping to spit tobacco into an empty water bottle. It’s Oct. 12, a cold, gray Lincoln morning, a decade to the day after a terrorist bomb annihilated an Indonesian nightclub. Of all the memories of Jake Young, his old coach remembers the dog. And what happened next. Tenopir left for work one morning, steering his Chevy pickup down his long, narrow, wooded driveway off South 40th Street. He received a call from his wife. The dog had followed him to the street. Got hit by a truck. Tenopir went home and told the kids. They had a ceremony in the backyard. They buried Jake beneath two pines next to the garage. A week later, the namesake for that dog — a blond-haired, hard-wired Texan insomniac who would go on to be a two-time All-American, a two-time academic All-American, a marathon runner in Chicago, a corporate lawyer in Kansas City, a rugby star in Hong Kong and, according to a teammate, “an unforgettable character” — showed up at the Tenopir house with a gift. A mutt from the pound. The kids gave the dog the only name that made

sense: Jake the Second. *** Game day. Oct. 20, 2012. Smoke rises from charcoal grills into a blue sky. Nebraska’s first road trip to Chicago in 80 years has drawn thousands of Husker fans. In an alley west of Northwestern’s Ryan Field, three old Husker line mates — mid-40s and balding — sip beers and wait for kickoff. Doug Glaser. Bill Bobbora. Jim Wanek. They used to be four. Wanek describes the scene at the 1997 Big 12 championship game — they attended as spectators. Nebraska beat Texas A&M 54-15 en route to a national championship. Aggie fans didn’t like that. Out of nowhere, one walked up to Bobbora’s dad and punched him in the face. That started a brawl, during which Big Red was badly

outnumbered. Bobbora came up with a strategy: Shove the Aggie fans toward Jake Young, who was “round-housing” like Joe Frazier. It worked for a while. Then, suddenly, Jake shouted “Timeout!” “The whole fight stops,” Glaser says. Jake’s glasses had fallen off. He wasn’t rejoining this scrum until he found them. “He’s just one of those guys, when you met him you just knew there was something special about him,” Bobbora said. “Some people you say, ‘Wow, I want to follow him.’ It wasn’t necessarily that with Jake. It was more like, ‘Wow, I want this guy on my side.’” Who was Jake Young? To Husker football fans, he was the first true freshman lineman to letter at Nebraska in the modern era. A threeyear starting center and linchpin of the Huskers’ dominant rushing attacks in the late-’80s.

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Sports Feature Finalists Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette By: Lane Kramer

Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette By: Robert Yates

Excerpt from “Hope floats”

Excerpt from “Helmets on, caution practiced”

Yem Prades knew he might never see his family again if he climbed aboard the boat that would take him out of Cuba, but he didn’t have much of a choice. If he wanted a better life, he had to be on that boat. After spending eight days in remote shacks hidden deep in the Cuban jungle, Prades wasn’t about to miss his opportunity to flee Cuba and chase his dream of playing professional baseball in the United States. “The boat came in, and the people were just going crazy in desperation to get out,” said Prades, a 24-year-old center fielder for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals who defected four years ago. “The people were jumping in the water, trying to jump in the boat and then falling back into the water. I even jumped in the boat and fell out. “The boat wasn’t going to wait.” It was the beginning of a long, difficult journey that Prades hopes will one day lead to the major leagues. But all he and the 50 or so others were worried about at that moment was getting out of Cuba. “We were just so happy,” Prades said through an interpreter during a recent interview at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale. “Everybody on the boat was just hugging each other and crying.” in an automobile accident at 30. “He was the guy that really got me into baseball,” Prades said. Prades spent three years playing in the Cuban industrial league — essentially a semipro league — where his baseball skills started to draw attention. One day a family friend approached Prades about trying to get out of the country and playing professional baseball. Prades wasn’t sure at first. “I wanted to get out and have a better life, but the only way to get out of Cuba was tough,” he said. Prades continued playing in the industrial league and going about business as usual, but he had made up his mind by the time he was contacted again about fleeing Cuba. Two men, who Prades said he’d never met, showed up at his house one day with one of his teammates. They took the players to a meeting far away from Prades’ home, where another man told them he was familiar with their baseball skills and was interested in helping them get out of the country. Prades told the man he was interested, but that the man would have to guarantee Prades he would get out of the country. Prades knew if he were caught, his baseball career in Cuba would be jeopardized. The men assured Prades he would be fine, and after the meeting Prades returned to his home and went back to his normal life. He received another call about a month later.

The first day of Sylvan Hills football practice had been over roughly three hours, but there was still a reminder of how dangerous Arkansas heat can be during the summer. Bears Coach Jim Withrow said he was in a meeting with his assistants early Monday afternoon when a former student at the school came to the field house requesting water. Withrow said the student, who attends the University of Arkansas, subsequently fainted from apparent heat exhaustion, moments after jogging on the track at Bill Blackwood Field in Sherwood in temperatures approaching 110 degrees. “He just walks up and passes out,” Withrow said, adding the student was out for about 30 seconds. “We did everything we were supposed to do on that crisis plan.” Withrow said coaches used ice packs, water and the shower to treat the student. Paramedics gave the student intravenous fluids and he was “OK” early Monday afternoon, Withrow said. “Hope I never use it again,” Withrow said of crisis training. Coaches must attend classes on dealing with heat illness and concussions every three years, as mandated by legislation approved in April 2011, which is part of sweeping reform regarding player safety in Arkansas high schools. The Arkansas Activities Association’s 19-member board of directors further strengthened sports medicine requirements in June, adopting, among other things, a five-day heat-acclimation window for preseason football practice. The new guidelines took effect Monday, the first day of fall drills for most high schools around the state. Withrow said he applauds the changes, particularly when athletes have to practice in extreme temperatures. “It’s something I don’t think you can talk enough about,” Withrow said. Sylvan Hills, like many schools around the state, avoided the most intense heat Monday and practiced from 8 a.m.-10 a.m. Conversely, Helena-West Helena Central was scheduled to practice at 5:30 p.m. Monday. The temperature in Little Rock was 110 degrees at 2:04 p.m. Monday and 111 — the third-highest reading in city history — at 3:50 p.m. It had already climbed to 100 degrees at 10:17 a.m., shortly after Sylvan Hills had completed practice. “I felt it at 5:30 this morning,” Withrow said of the heat. “When I walked out the door, I couldn’t believe it.” Withrow described Monday’s practice as light, but said several players still threw up.

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Sports Column Winner Publication: The Oklahoman By: Jenni Carlson Judges’ Comments: The best columnists report with a point of view, and such is the case with these three finalists. In the end, Jenni Carlson’s columns transcend sports by relating powerful, unforgettable moments. She succeeds by showing, not telling, in of meticulous detail. It’s a testament thathttp://archive.newsok.com/Repository/getFiles.asp?Style=OliveXLib:Lo... she keeps the reader focused Article - Pride the Cougars not on her but on what she’s writing about. As a result, we get a unexpected view of an NBA superstar some fans love to hate, the power of friendship as teammates rally around an ailing teammate and a widow’s Publication: The Oklahoman; Date: Oct 25, 2012; Section: Sports; Page: 1C resilience in the midst of tragedy. Carlson captures the larger human experience within sports that connect with all readers.

Excerpt from “Pride of the Cougars” EDMOND — Look in the middle of the boys clad in purple jerseys and white helmets, and you’ll see the red head. He wears no helmet, but that purple jersey that he has on is something special. The other boys raise their arms into the air, ready to break the huddle and start the game. Their hands create a dome over the red head. Keegan Erbst doesn’t raise his arm. He can’t. “One, two, three!” he yells. “Cougars!” the boys answer. As they run onto the field, Keegan instead powers his motorized wheelchair to the sideline. He has never played a down of organized football, and he never will. Keegan has muscular dystrophy. The disease is relentlessly attacking Keegan’s muscles, slowly but surely rendering them unusable. He can’t run, can’t jump, can’t play the sports that he loves so much. But because of three of his best buddies, he is now part of the football team at Sequoyah Middle School in Edmond. While we rarely delve into the world of middle school sports, wonderfully rare stories create an exception. This is one of those times, a tale of friendship that transcends its subjects’ ages. It starts with Keegan and Lucas Coker. The boys met when they were only 4 years old. They became fast friends. In second grade, they met Colton 1 of 2 James, and the two friends became three. In third grade, they met Parker Tumelson, and three became four. Keegan never ran the fastest or jumped the highest. When he was 6

years old, he was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, an especially aggressive form of the incurable disease. It takes away the ability to walk, the ability to lift objects, and eventually causes heart disease and breathing difficulties that often prove fatal when the patients are only in their 20s. None of that, though, stopped Keegan from growing into a normal kid. He built rockets at science camp. He fell in love with OU football. He became an Xbox junkie. And he played with his buddies. They would play football at recess. Then, when it was no longer football season, they’d play basketball or baseball or soccer or whatever else was in season. Some of the other kids weren’t so inclusive. Once on the playground, a kid pushed him down. “And we shoved that other kid off him and helped Keegan back up,” Colton said proudly. Even when Keegan had to start using a wheelchair in fourth grade, Lucas,

Colton and Parker still found ways to include him. He would play center and snap the ball. Or he would play quarterback and flip them the ball. Or he would play receiver and catch the ball in his lap. “They didn’t leave him, didn’t push him by the wayside,” Keegan’s dad, Scott, said. “Whatever they did, they were all together.” But when Lucas, Colton and Parker started playing school ball as seventh graders a year ago, there wasn’t a way to include Keegan. Or was there? They started tossing around the idea of getting him involved with the team. Maybe he could have a jersey. Maybe he could come to games and be on the sideline. Take a moment and consider that we’re talking about middle school boys here. How often do teenagers think of anyone other than themselves? When Lucas, Colton and Parker went to check out their football equipment earlier this fall, they decided they wanted Keegan to have a jersey.

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11/16/2012 9:45 AM

Sports Column Finalists Publication: Tulsa World By: John E. Hoover

Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Tom Shatel

Excerpt from “Shame on OSU for scheduling Savannah State”

Excerpt from “A long-term investment”

STILLWATER — If Boone Pickens really does want to upgrade Oklahoma State’s future nonconference football schedules, he might need more money. The Cowboys paid Savannah State $385,000 for Saturday’s season opener that, if not for the ongoing philanthropic efforts of OSU coach Mike Gundy, could easily have turned into another Cumberland-Georgia Tech. Instead of matching that record 222-0 score from 96 years ago, Gundy “called off the dogs” as he promised he would, benching his true freshman quarterback and the rest of his starters in the first half of what became an almost grotesque 84-0 Cowboys victory. Eighty-four to zero. “I don’t think I should have to comment on what the score is,” Gundy said. “I think it’s irrelevant at this point. You’re searching for something to write on. We’re just glad the game came out like it did.” And that’s how No. 19 Oklahoma State opened defense of its very first Big 12 Conference championship, its first outright league title in six decades, its best season in school history, by beating the dollars and cents out of an overmatched, underfunded — let’s just say it — a lousy team from the NCAA’s lower subdivision. Savannah State was 1-10 last season and would be hardpressed to win any games this year with the squad that dragged itself out of Boone Pickens Stadium on Saturday. “I don’t want to comment on anything on Savannah State out of respect to them,” Gundy said. “I don’t think it’s fair to them. The game was scheduled and we played it. It’s irrelevant.” Mike Lupica, stay in your chair. Gundy’s hands are clean. He said he doesn’t control scheduling, and he was playing third-stringers and walk-ons from the second quarter on. Savannah State’s coaching staff actually thanked Gundy that the beat-down wasn’t worse. It certainly could have been. OSU fans came 55,784 strong and got loud as their orange and white locomotive plowed over the Tigers play after play after play. But soon enough, not long after Gundy emptied the benches, it resembled something out of the Roman Coliseum. Even Cowboy faithful had to turn away from the carnage: by the start of the second half, with OSU leading 49-0, the seats were barely half full. By the end, maybe 2,000 remained. It seems bloodlust only goes so far. Long-suffering Oklahoma State fans, so eager to celebrate last season’s many accomplishments, deserved a better show than this.

One of my favorite sports interviews didn’t take place in a dugout, a football locker room or a musty old gym. To find this Hall of Famer, I had to go to the Kiewit Plaza in midtown Omaha. The security guard at the front desk had me sign in. Then, he called upstairs to let them know I had arrived. I was given a number to push on the elevator, which was programmed to go to the specific floor. Once I got off the elevator, a voice over a loudspeaker called me over to a door labeled “Berkshire Hathaway.” The lock on the door was released, and I went in to find Warren Buffett. Buffett, of course, is chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, which now owns The Omaha World-Herald Co., the company for which I work. It occurred to me recently that with Berkshire’s recent run of newspaper acquisitions, Buffett might be interested in talking sports with a newspaper columnist. I asked. He said yes. And there I was. The office had a stately feel, an old-world look you’d find on Wall Street or an important law firm. Buffett was on the phone, so I sat in the small waiting area. And I could have sat there for hours. The first thing visitors see is that the most important financial mind in the world is one whale of a sports fan. Inside two large display cases are mementos that any man cave or sports bar would be proud to show. Footballs signed by Tom Osborne, Bobby Bowden, Jim Tressel, Bill Snyder, Roger Staubach, Chase Daniel and Jeff Jagodzinski. Baseballs signed by Ernie Banks, Nolan Ryan, George Brett, Whitey Herzog and Albert Pujols. A Kansas City Chiefs helmet signed by Charlie Weis. A Michigan helmet signed by Bo Schembechler. A Lakers jersey signed by Kobe Bryant. A Cleveland Cavaliers jersey signed by LeBron James. A boxing glove signed by Muhammad Ali. And that’s just the reception area. Down one hall was a collage of old baseball photos on the wall, including Buffett heroes Stan Musial and Ted Williams. There’s a photo of Buffett and Tiger Woods, from the time Buffett caddied for Woods — a classic story I ask Buffett about below. There’s a photo of Paul Hornung with Vince Lombardi, which Hornung signed to Buffett, “You and Lombardi would have been famous friends.” In one of Berkshire’s offices, on two shelves, there were basketballs autographed by Pat Summitt and John Calipari and footballs autographed by Mike Stoops and Kirk Ferentz.

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Review Winner Publication: The Oklahoman By: Dave Cathey Judges’ Comments: Crisp writing and colorful imagery throughout. This writer makes me hungry — for the food and for more of his work.

Excerpt from “Oklahoma City Arts Festival foods go head-to-head at Culinary Arts competition” For the first time in the history of the Oklahoma City Festival of the Arts, food vendors entered their best dishes into a competition. Among the three judges who sampled dishes from each cart and booth — about 30 altogether — was yours truly. Along with Laveryl Lower, owner/ manager of the Metro Wine Bar and Bistro, and Terry Adams, executive director of the Cherry Creek, Colo., Arts Festival we began with the cart foods and worked our way toward Culinary Arts row. The Kona Ice, Maui Wowie smoothies, Dippin’ Dots and Italian Ice were welcome respite on a warm day, edging dangerously toward hot — though after last summer we got a new definition for the term. The assortment of caramel apples at Rodney and Lisa’s could’ve been from Willy Wonka’s factory, offering dreamy caramel apples dappled with decadence for every heart’s desire. My Reese’s Pieces apple was a time machine to a spring day seated on a park bench, legs swinging over the sidewalk, face smeared with caramel and apple juice. Hazel Purkey, of Gore, offered expertly made pecan logs at the Nuts and More Territory Tellers cart. Creamy in the center, crunchy on the surface, this is a throwback treat to days of divinity and fudge, which Hazel also happens to make and peddle at the festival. Cinnamon-dusted pecans from Just Nuts were perfect for toting around the festival as was the caramel corn from Sweet Corn Express. On the arch-shaped row of vendors, Adella’s wowed us with their version of Italian Nachos — large pasta slices deep-fried and topped with Alfredo sauce, grated cheese, Italian sausage, jalapenos and pepperoncinis. One of the new booths this year is

the Australian Jaffle booth, which specializes in the aforementioned wafflepancake variation from Down Under. Jaffles are used like sandwich bread to house sweet and savory choices. We were served the savory, which was filled with organic zucchini, Mozzarella, tomato and basil. Add Waldorf salad or Indonesian rice salad, and this might be the best vegetarian option ever to hit the Festival of the Arts. The Spicy Gyros Sandwich from PaPa’s Greek Food was a nice twist on the usual pita wrapped around ground lamb loaf shavings. Carter and Craig’s fish tacos were tasty as ever, and I noticed some fried okra on the menu. Todd’s Bodacious Burrito’s were, as usual, large enough to warrant a stop at a weigh station. Gopuram offered a nice sampling of the Indian cuisine they’ve become known for. The tacos from the Indian Tacos booth were spot-on. Cafe do Brasil has become a main-

stay at the festival in recent years for good reason, their Chicken Stroganoff was a light, pleasing dish in a sea of deep-fried nirvana. Speaking of deep-fried, Cajun King makes its first appearance at the festival, offering almond-flour-battered catfish destined to be a crowd-pleaser. Among the sweets were Helmut’s Fruit Cup, which was a refreshing departure. The Caramel Knowledge sundae from Bon Appetit Catering will be a hit with children. Two annual stalwarts, Strawberries Newport and the Tequila Bread pudding, proved why they’re among the most popular entries every year. Winners will be announced Thursday at a festival breakfast. Check back with NewsOK.com for an updated story and on the Food Dude blog for some behind-the-scenes info about the Culinary Arts competition. The festival continues through Sunday.

30 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

Review Finalists Publication: Tulsa World By: Michael Smith

Publication: The Oklahoman By: Dennis King

Excerpt from “Review: ‘The Expendables 2’”

Excerpt from “Stellar acting boosts optimistic film based in India”

“The Expendables 2” is both a better movie and more dumb-fun than its predecessor for the same reason: less talking, more blowing the crud out of everything. That doesn’t mean there’s any less acting. There’s just less of tough guys like Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham trying to have conversations with some degree of depth when they are experts at conveying that they have each other’s back with a wink and a grunt. There’s less Dolph Lundgren and Terry Crews trying to outdo each other with “Who’s tougher?” confrontations when all these meatheads require to show their mettle are firearms the size of suitcases and knives that would send Crocodile Dundee crying for his mama. We love these guys because they are men of action, not words. This men-on-a-mission movie is unapologetic and extremely efficient in providing its target audience of adrenaline junkies and fans of middle-aged action-movie favorites excessive firepower. We love moments like the one inside an airport overrun by good guys and bad guys, in which Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis are driving through the terminal in a smart car with both car doors ripped off, shooting everything and everyone, while Chuck Norris takes out a guy who lands on the conveyor belt for the X-ray machine and gets checked like carry-on baggage. If you’re not smiling at this description alone, “Expendables 2” is not the movie for you. If high-caliber weapons that cause chunks of flesh to go flying and blood sprays reminiscent of sprinklers upset your constitution, this is not your picture. This is macho-movie proficiency from director Simon West (“Con-Air”) that meets grindhouse sensibilities as to the over-the-top violence. I’m thrilled to see that it’s playing at the Admiral Twin, because the drive-in is the perfect showcase for this throwback of action and actors. The story isn’t about much beyond revenge, and the writers (Stallone among them) know that this is enough. That’s part of the film’s streamlined beauty, avoiding personal stories that would slow down the charged pacing. There’s an Eastern-European thing going on (Bulgaria locations stand in for Albania and Russia) with JeanClaude Van Damme delicious as a sadistic villain seeking to steal plutonium and sell it off to the highest bidder. Sure, the mercenaries known as the Expendables band together to halt this threat. But it’s all in the name of revenge when Van Damme’s Eurotrash baddie (named Jean Vilain, no less) kills one of the Expendables early on in a particularly nasty manner.

If for nothing else, “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” deserves praise for courting an underserved box-office demographic (so-called “senior citizens”) and for assembling an energetic, wily A-team of English actors to demonstrate that dramatic chops definitely do not diminish with age. While this canny if schematic adaptation of Deborah Moggach’s genial geriatric novel “These Foolish Things” might have limited appeal to younger audiences, it nonetheless offers an object lesson in the potent allure of great acting and in the powers of openness, curiosity and tolerance to stave off the ravages of old age. Ably directed by John Madden (“Shakespeare in Love”) from a serviceable script by Ol Parker (“Imagine Me and You”), “Marigold Hotel” is freighted with obvious life lessons and given to sappy situations. But with a cast led by Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Maggie Smith and Bill Nighy, as well as exuberant young Indian star Dev Patel (“Slumdog Millionaire”), it manages to trip lightly past its pitfalls and deliver an honest jolt of world-weary optimism. The by-the-book setup is this: Seven cash-strapped British retirees respond to a glossy brochure from the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (for the Elderly and Beautiful) in bustling Jaipur, India, where they’re promised cozy accommodations in their golden years for a cut-rate price. In other words, they’re invited to outsource their retirements. In rote fashion, we’re introduced to the seven pensioners: recently widowed Evelyn (Dench, 77), whose late husband frittered away their savings; timid Douglas (Nighy, 63) and his shrewish wife, Jean (Penelope Wilton, 65), who invested their savings in their daughter’s failed Internet startup; faded playboy Norman (Ronald Pickup, 71), who still passes himself off as 40-ish on dating sites; oft-married lonely heart Madge (Celia Imrie, 59), desperate to avoid being a stay-at-home grandma; and recently laid-off housekeeper Muriel (Smith, 77), a tart-tongued xenophobe who travels to India mainly for a cheapo hip replacement operation. And rounding out the septet is the melancholy Graham (Wilkinson, 64), a High Court judge who spent his privileged youth in India and is returning to deal with some surprising unfinished business from his past. Naturally, when the elders arrive they discover that all is not as advertised. The opulent Marigold Hotel (photo-shopped in the brochure) is a ramshackle hovel. There’s the harried, good-natured young proprietor, Sonny (Patel), scurrying around trying to keep the establishment running; there are no doors on some rooms; and birds are flitting in and out of broken windowpanes.

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Entertainment Feature Winner Publication: Tulsa World By: Michael Smith Judges’ Comments: Nice, evocative, scene-setting piece. Great quotes. Brisk pace.

Scene

Excerpt from “Star search: Filming in Osage County Back Down’: Read a review of the has Oklahomans on the lookout” ‘Won’t movie. D3

D1 Saturday | September 29, 2012 | tulsaworld.com

STAR SEARCH

but very visible — set PAWHUSKA — The Living on this day. bus pulls up to a curb Wright in “I’ve got a good downtown Pawhuska. A picture of George here,” slumped-shouldered man Healthy food said Kim Schupbach emerges, pulling on his at the Tulsa of Pawhuska, showing suit jacket and approachState Fair: fact a friend a particularly ing his father.orThe man is fairy tale? I only go to the fair because of pensive shot of Clooney upset and apologetic (“I the food. Specifically, I only go to the fair because of my job. Buthis I’ve always on her phone. “See, in set the alarm,” he tells had fun whenever I’ve gone, and night with food writer this one, he’s thinking father). TheirThursday conversation Nicole Marshall Middleton was no exception. We were there to try the new about me,” she said concludes when the man stuff, as well as classic fare — from the fried watermelon and chocolate poppers (fried jalapenos stuffed with a flirty smile, breaks into tears and hugs with cream cheese, wrapped in and dipped in chocolate) to inducing other women his consolingbacon thefather. familiar, favorite stuff like corn dogs and fried pickles. Find the story about all of our listening to giggle like They repeat these acfavorites in Sunday’s Tulsa World Scene. Being onand Weight Watchers, I little girls. tions for an hour, after couldn’t help but feel guilty with each bite — which, I’m proud to Friday was the lunch, these men begin say, was mostly just that: bites. Along for our tasty fair ride were three others. Typically, we’d third day this week for talking, crying embracorderand something and share it, which is an excellent tip to cut caloriestimes. when you’re at the fair. friends Julie Dumoning many more But splitting menu items isn’t your only health consolation on the midway, as some vendors offer ceaux of Bartlesville The man is Benedict healthy snacks, from delicious roasted corn (skip the butter — and Patty Sanders of Cumberbatch, an which takesEngsome fortitude to say) to grilled chicken skewers. We even a Caesar chickenfor wrap — just Nowata to visit the lish actor bestsaw known ask them to give you the Caesar on the side or hold it completely. Thursday’s sojourn to the set of “August: Osage portraying a fairgrounds modern-day was my first in quite a few years, though, so I’m sure County.” “Sherlock” on PBS.outThe I’m missing on some tasty but Chris Cooper (left) and Benedict Cumberbatch film a scene for “August: Osage County.” waist-friendly things. What are your favorites, where On Monday, father is Academy AwardBY MICHAEL SMITH are they and, if you recall, how much money? tulsaworld.com/ Let me know atCooDumonceaux was winning actor Chris PAWHUSKA — The bus pulls up livingwright. to a curb in downtown Pawhuska. A TULSAWORLD.COM slumped-shouldered man emerges, working as a nurse per, one of Hollywood’s For more “August: Osage County” pulling on his suit jacket and approaching his father. The man is upset See a slideshow of Friday’s shoot and at Bartlesville’s Jane best-known character read all of our continuing coverage on the and apologetic (“I set the alarm,” he movie. tells his father). Their conversation concludes when the man breaks into tulsaworld.com/osagemovie Phillips Hospital when actors in movies including tears and hugs his consoling father. They repeat these actions for an Hollywood’s best-known character hour, and after lunch, these men Julia Roberts and Meryl “American Beauty” and actors in movies including “American begin talking, crying and embracing Beauty” and “The Muppets.” many more times. Streep were filming. The production is “August: Osage “The Muppets.” The man is Benedict Cumberbatch, County,” and on Friday the movie an English actor best known for por— based on Tulsa native Tracy traying a modern-day “Sherlock” on On Thursday, they The production is PBS. The father is Academy AwardGeorge Clooney talks with crew members during filming for winning actor Chris Cooper, one of SEE FILM D2 “August: Osage County” on Friday in Pawhuska. dropped off their kids “August: Osage County,” Roasted corn is among healthier choices at the fair. at school and visited and on Friday the movie — filming in a Bartlesville shoot. based on Tulsa native Tracy The activity closed off a small portion neighborhood, where they received a tip Letts’ award-winning play — filmed insects and treat accordand picked the Brookabout Friday’s filming in Pawhuska. of downtown scale Pawhuska, creating a in Pawhuska, the county ingly. side area in front of KJRH, Bill seat of Osage Garden tips The containers are plantchannel 2 as a start. The first Sevier ed twice yearly. After the year there were only eight If “Our mulched well,ultimate shelgoal is get our picture perimeter around which local residents County. The past week has featured outSupertunias have performed pots, but a great receptered and watered, cannas Ask a Master their last act, it will be time tion from area merchants and elephant ears can usuto replantcell the pots for fall prompted an expansion. The with ally survive with Tulsa wintersGeorge Clooney,” said taken gathered in clusters, armed door photography ofGardener multiple scenes, and winter. program was fortunate to in the ground outdoors. Hopefully this project get a generous grant from If you didn’t fertilize Dumonceaux, sitting on the steps of Q: I am interested in the flower phones snapping photos to prove that will continue to expand as offering residents of Osage and Washthe Kaiser Family Foundayour fescue lawn yet, do pots on Peoria Avenue in the tion to assist in the purchase a part of a Tulsa beautificaso now and repeat the Brookside area. I understand the of containers, the plants and tion process, a process in application in November. City Hall and shooting one picture after they were there. lenses. ington counties an occasional peek at Master Gardeners are responsible which many other groups soil. Some had longer Use 1 pound of nitrogen for them. What are the pretty pink have expressed interest. The grant money has per 1,000 square feet, per flowers in the pots? V.B., Tulsa motion picture. Similar urban beautification another. been stars used, but the program application. All of them had in their eyes. the making of this major A: The flowers filling and projects are now being seen continues to expand with Your favorite nursery or spilling over in the pots in many towns around the the merchants purchasing garden store has a good The pink flowers on Peoria Avenue in Brookside are Bubblegum are Bubblegum Supertucountry. They not only have and materials and — the a “I ofkeep telling her, ‘We need a Most of theplants stargazers term Soon the filming will move exclusiveselection spring-flowSupertunias and were installed in containers as part of a Master nias. These petunias are a “feel good” effect but also Master Gardeners caring ering bulbs. Plant them Gardener program called Tulsa Blooms. hardy and happy in the hot are definitely a benefit for for them. Dedicated Master after the soil cools — from strategy. We need a plan,’ “ said Sandthat all preferred toare“celebrity ly to a large home inasOsage County near weather as long they are thestalker” businesses of the merGardeners out every day mid-October into early visited Vernal, Utah, and has a jaw-dropping effect. regularly watered. chants involved. early in the morning handwinter. Buy healthy bulbs. saw what could be done The program has been in The containers are part of watering the nearly 75 pots Remember: The bigger at her friend and adding ers, smiling — had to ask the identity of Cooper the Kansas state line for filming through to beautify an urban area. place for about 25 years. a Master Gardener program along Peoria Avenue bethe bulb, the larger the Vernal has more than 1,600 Master Gardeners decalled Tulsa Blooms. It was tween 35th and 38th streets. blossoms. on their main cided to establish a similar started three years agoabout when containers The passionate volunteers “I’m not embarrassed at all because this and Cumberbatch from a distance. But November. The movie a dysfuncstreet in downtown, which program on a much smaller some Master Gardeners also monitor for disease and is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. I the women uniformly swooned over tional Oklahoma family also stars Meryl • MUGS wouldn’t call this stalking. This is enjoyGeorge Clooney, the producer of “AuStreep, Julia Roberts, Juliette Lewis and • PLATTERS ing the scenery.” County” with Grant Ewan McGregor, among others,with but Blastgust: fromOsage the Past at along Tapestry • T- SHIRTS Heslov, who was also on the closed•— they were not involved in Friday’s film NOTECARDS FROM THE BLOGS

World Scene Writer Jason Ashley Wright

TULSAWORLD.COM/LIVINGWRIGHT

Filming in Osage County has Oklahomans on lookout

MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

World Scene Writer

Tulsa World file

Bubblegum Supertunias bloom in Brookside

BILL SEVIER/Courtesy

If you have a garden-related question you would like the Master Gardeners to answer in a future column, call 918-746-3701.

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• CUSTOM COLLAGES 32 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

Entertainment Feature Finalists Publication: Tulsa World By: Nicole Marshall Middleton

Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette By: Bobby Ampezzan

Excerpt from “Music men: Three Tulsans whose music made their lives”

Excerpt from “Louis Clark Brock, Man of Steal”

They romance us with their melodies and entertain us with their charm. They are the musicians who make an evening out memorable with the songs we long to hear. Besides a nod at the tip jar, a quick request for a favorite tune, we may never meet the crooner at our favorite restaurants and clubs. Or know just how much we — their listeners — mean to them. ••• “I will live forever or die trying,” local musician Heinz Christian would say. Gentle and gracious, charismatic yet humble, Christian — always the entertainer — had a way with one-liners. Battling the cancer that spread throughout his body, he repeated that phrase often. Few who saw him sing and play piano at Bluestone Steakhouse or at area nursing homes in his final years knew he was dying. Music was Christian’s life. And he kept playing until the end. “I would not change a thing,” Christian said, reflecting on his career weeks before his Aug. 3 death. “I have been very fortunate.” Born Heinrich Mayer in Badgastein, Salzburg, Austria, Christian died in Tulsa at the age of 69. He chose Heinz Christian as his stage name and performed with the likes of Wayne Newton, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. at after parties during the heyday of lounge acts in Las Vegas. Eventually, Christian settled into Tulsa’s select circle of entertainers, playing at many restaurants and clubs. He was always musically inclined, said his ex-wife, Kristine Mayer. Mayer, the mother of two of Christian’s three sons, and Christian remained close friends, and she cared for him with other family members when his health took a turn for the worse. “His mother encouraged him to try out for the Vienna Boys Choir, but he had relative pitch instead of perfect pitch and he was turned down,” Mayer said. Yet, Christian became an accomplished pianist, moving to the United States in 1968. He wanted to work with computers, a burgeoning field at the time. But the desire to entertain stayed with him. “It started as a way to make some extra money and sort of took over,” Mayer said. “He didn’t read music. He played by ear.” Christian’s sons grew up on stage with him, learning how to entertain an audience.

Lou Brock. The sound of it calls to mind an idling dragster — L-o-u — suddenly stoked, spitting fire. BROCK! Zero to 90 feet in under four seconds. L-o-u-u-u BROCK! A sports reporter once tried to give the ballplayer a nickname. At the time, there was Mickey Mantle, “The Mick,” and Willie Mays, “The Say Hey Kid.” So, whattya say? Lou Brock really would prefer to hear “Mr. Brock,” if it’s all the same. Mr. Brock came through Little Rock in March to open the St. Louis Cardinals’ exhibit at the Clinton Presidential Center. He stopped by the Arkansas Travelers’ offices at Dickey-Stephens Park for an interview with the paper, and waiting for him was another Lou Brock. Louis Brock Holman. Call him, Mr. Junior. This Holman kid couldn’t dislodge his fist from his mouth long enough to say “Hello, Mr. Brock” — if he could even say “Hello,” which he can’t, being of an age not yet one full year. “He’s not very fast,” his mom, Jennifer Holman, confessed. “We’ll be in charge of that,” said the 72-year-old namesake, rather more sternly than jokingly. “I wasn’t very fast out of the block either. Then I met a man named Jesse Owens.” It’s true he met Jesse Owens, and it’s true Owens changed his speed on the bases. This was in the early 1960s, and Brock was in Chicago with his first team, the Cubs. He was training with the track team at the University of Chicago field house, and the sprinters were beating him off the line something terrible. When Owens showed up, the ballplayer took the opportunity to complain, “‘Mr. Owens, I’ve been told I’m fast. The newspapers say all these things. I can’t even keep up with this track team.’ “He said, ‘Sonny, your problem may be getting started. There’s a technique to that, and I’ll show you.’” Most people want to get up speed with their feet, Owens said. Uh-uh. Do it with your upper body. Explode in one movement. Most sprinters’ first strides are short, choppy. They’re driving with their arms. “That was a breakthrough,” Brock recalls. “I use the expression, ‘once I get started.’ There is a time element to ‘once I get started.’” So the great Jesse Owens helped the great Mr. Brock get started stealing.

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Specialty Feature Winner Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette By: Celia Storey Judges’ Comments: Nice blend of imagination and science. The piece buzzes with energy.

Excerpt from “A story with legs: Daddy longlegs are as harmless as they are misunderstood ” though if you go around Camp counselors live to Master class calling any spider that has terrify bug-eyed campers threadlike legs a “daddy with fireside fiction about PAGE 6E longlegs spider,” well, that the “Hook Man” and that MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012 ON THE WEB: www.nwaonline.com one would be a spider. foul fiend with The Golden Mena tour wheels out Because common folk Arm. But the stories that a bike ride do tend to apply comsink in like fangs, injectin the sky mon names willy-nilly ing young minds with — to crane flies, to skinny alarm that tingles decades spiders — let’s simplify: later — those tales are The daddy or granddaddy told in daylight by other longlegs that are most little campers, tales about likely to star in our fireside Things That Cling. chats are harvestmen, Things that cling to the and harvestmen have no undersides of tarps. Things venom. that cling to the corners In the kingdom of of cabins. To the backs of animals, phylum of arlogs. To that pile of leaves. thropods, they belong to We’re talking about — the same class as spiders, duh duh DUHNnnn — the Daddy longlegs are as harmless as they are misunderstood ticks, mites and scorpions harvestmen. — Arachnida. But harAnd the campers vestmen are of the order squeal, “Aaeeee!” Opiliones, while spiders Some campers call them are Araneae. daddy longlegs, some Not the same critter. call them granddaddy Spiders tend to be solilonglegs. Either name: tary hunters, but harvest“Aaeeee!” men can be flamboyantly Supposedly these dads sociable, gathering in hairy or grandpas lurk about masses with 25, 50 ... a human habitation in a state lot — huddled close, eight of frustrated appetite: SupSee AAEEEE! legs (or so) apiece and all posedly, they yearn to bite on Page 6E thosefreaky legs crissus, but their fangs are just COUCH TO 5K Hating the waiting? crossed. too small. Practice embracing Walking program’s 1st step is research Freaky but harmSupposedly, longlegs less, they are harmed by possess the World’s Most freaked-out humans who Potent Venom, able to drop don’t like them or the way a man in seconds flat. But they smell. And do they — whew— miserable little ever smell. mouth parts with shortyThe great folktale colshort fangs just cannot See WAITING See WALKING lector Vance Randolph get a grip around meaty on Page 3E on Page 3E reported in his 1947 antholhuman ankles. ogy Ozark Magic and FolkBut it’s campfire malarkey. Biologists (To which a scientifical lore that “an old fellow” in Polk County know the arachnids commonly called child might reply that chiggers are even had once upon a time assured him: “If daddy or granddaddy longlegs are not smaller than daddy longlegs and that you mash a daddy longlegs ... it smells doesn’t appear to stop them from chow- the world’s most poisonous spiders. just exactly like bedbugs.” Longlegs are not even spiders — aling down on ankles.)

ACTIVESTYLE

Matt Parrott prepares you to run outside and play.

∂ ∂

CELIA STOREY

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

If you’ve ever driven up Rich Mountain in Polk County, you know one meaning of the word “scenic.” Deep green mounds of broccoli rising from white mist and stretching away to an azure horizon, where eagles whirl ... right? Something like that. A new bicycle tour, Wheel A Mena, will explain a secondary meaning of the word for anyone who cares to study the spectacular landscape of far western Arkansas from the seat of a bicycle. Set for 10 a.m. Saturday, Wheel a Mena: Tour to the Top offers a 30mile or a 70-mile tour beginning and ending in Mena’s Janssen Park. “Tour” means you can pedal fast or slow at your own pace, with no expectation you need to “race,” which is good, because ... Both routes will travel the Talimena Scenic Byway. That route may not cow motorists who’ve been to Colorado, but it is impressive nonetheless and will most assuredly challenge bicycle riders. These are mountainous ascents and descents. After sign-in (which starts at 8:30 a.m. in the park) both groups will set out together at 10 a.m. in a parade, with an escort to U.S. 71. They will pedal east and then north to Acorn, where they’ll turn onto U.S. 270. The first aid station will be the Rich Mountain community store; Mena Chamber of Commerce secretary Melony Speer says her buddies will greet you there, on the left of 270. From the store, if you plan to do the long ride, you’ll head west to Oklahoma on U.S. 270; but if you’re aiming for the 30-miler, you’ll immediately begin your ascent up the 2,681-foot Rich Mountain. It’s a 4mile climb — climb — to Queen Wilhelmina State Park and another rest stop. There’s a 360-degree vista of the Ouachita Mountains from the fire tower on Talimena Scenic Drive. The 70-milers get to see that view, too, but later. What goes up will come down, and the 30-milers will leave the state park using the Talimena National Scenic Byway. It will not be downhill all the way. This is scenic country, remember, so there will be a few ascents on the way back to Mena. But there will be turnouts where riders can rest and enjoy the view; and the hardest climbing will be behind them. And they’ll know the Polk County/Mena Rotary Club volunteers will be waiting for them in Janssen Park, ready to stuff them full of spaghetti. Those choosing the 70-mile route will face even longer ascents and steeper descents as they travel into Oklahoma before turning around and heading back to Mena using the Talimena Byway. Registration, which costs $50 for either tour, is available until Wednesday at bikereg.com. You can also wait to register in person, at the log cabin at Janssen Park beginning at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. More information is at (479) 3942912 and wheelamena.org.

NARA SCHOENBERG CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Being an active American means you have to wait. Traffic slows to a stop, your chances of arriving at work on time plummet, and suddenly all you can think about is how much you detest the innocent stranger in the car in front of you. Waiting isn’t easy, in traffic or anywhere else, as those plumes of smoke emanating from your ears would tend to suggest. “This is a challenge,” says Victor Davich, author of 8 Minute Meditation (Perigee). “The Chinese symbol for challenge is risk and opportunity, and this is an opportunity to become more in touch with yourself,

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/MICHAEL STOREY

Daddy longlegs — aka harvestmen — retreat within the crevices of a sign on the Charlton Trail near Lake Ouachita. Although they are arachnids, they are not spiders and neither bite nor sting.

JZXe k_\ g_fkf XYfm\ ]fi dfi\ Zfek\ek

A story with legs CELIA STOREY

freaky legs crisscrossed. Freaky but harmless, they are harmed by freaked-out humans who don’t like them or the way they smell. And do they ever smell. The great folktale collector Vance Randolph reported in his 1947 anthology Ozark Magic and Folklore that “an old fellow” in Polk County had once upon a time assured him: “If you mash a daddy longlegs ... it smells just exactly like bedbugs.”

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Camp counselors live to terrify bug-eyed campers with fireside fiction about the “Hook Man” and that foul fiend with The Golden Arm. But the stories that sink in like fangs, injecting young minds with alarm that tingles decades later — those tales are told in daylight by other little campers, tales about Things That Cling. Things that cling to the undersides of tarps. Things that cling to the corners of cabins. To the backs of logs. To that pile of leaves. We’re talking about — duh duh DUHNnnn — the harvestmen. And the campers squeal, “Aaeeee!” Some campers call them daddy longlegs, some call them granddaddy longlegs. Either name: “Aaeeee!” Supposedly these dads or grandpas lurk about human habitation in a state of frustrated appetite: Supposedly, they yearn to bite us, but their fangs are just too small. Supposedly, longlegs possess the World’s Most Potent Venom, able to drop a man in seconds flat. But — whew — miserable little mouth parts with shorty-short fangs just cannot get a grip around meaty human ankles. (To which a scientifical child might reply that chiggers are

become more peaceful, and to allow life to move as it’s going to move for you on this particular moment on this particular day.” “If you embrace [waiting], there’s something purifying about it,” says John Cavadini, a theology professor at the University of Notre Dame. “Maybe it’s because it’s just so common. Maybe the reason we don’t like to wait is because it makes us feel, in fact, that we are common. We’re no different from anybody else; we have to wait in line. So, in some ways, embracing that means embracing that I’m a human being like everyone else.”

SO MISUNDERSTOOD

Democrat-Gazette file photo

Adult harvestmen seen in Arkansas live less than two months, Ray Fisher estimates.

even smaller than daddy longlegs and that doesn’t appear to stop them from chowing down on ankles.) But it’s campfire malarkey. Biologists know the arachnids commonly called daddy or granddaddy longlegs are not the world’s most poisonous spiders. Longlegs are not even spiders — although if you go around calling any spider that has threadlike legs a “daddy longlegs spider,” well, that one would be a spider. Because common folk do tend to apply common names willy-nilly — to crane flies, to skinny spiders — let’s simplify:

The daddy or granddaddy longlegs that are most likely to star in our fireside chats are harvestmen, and harvestmen have no venom. In the kingdom of animals, phylum of arthropods, they belong to the same class as spiders, ticks, mites and scorpions — Arachnida. But harvestmen are of the order Opiliones, while spiders are Araneae. Not the same critter. Spiders tend to be solitary hunters, but harvestmen can be flamboyantly sociable, gathering in hairy masses with 25, 50 ... a lot — huddled close, eight legs (or so) apiece and all those

As campfire season comes a-creeping, here’s some ammunition with which to arm scientifical kids, so they won’t grow up afraid of the harmless harvestman. The information comes from Jeffrey Barnes, curator of insect taxonomy and systematics in the University of Arkansas’ department of entomology (who just happened to have delivered a lecture about harvestmen to his taxonomy students the day we spoke); and from the Encyclopedia of Arkansas article “Harvestmen” and its coauthor, Ray Fisher, a doctoral candidate in the UA department of entomology who has a keen interest in the mites that infest harvestmen; and

ROSEMARY BOGGS

ARKANSAS-DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Have you ever found yourself looking forward to a new undertaking with an equal amount of dread and anticipation? It’s not that you necessarily don’t want to do the “thing,” it’s just that the “thing” may be a bit outside your comfort zone. When I was approached by the editor of this section to do a 10-week Couch to 5K effort and write about it for ActiveStyle, I was excited, but as the reality sank in, I will say, I had a few moments of apprehension about actually doing an organized event. But after checking out the local race offerings at arkansasrunner. com, I saw how many there are all over the state. I’ve been told by those in the know that all races are not created equal. If you ever decide to participate in an organized event and walk instead of run, it would be best to make sure that the race is as friendly to walkers as it is to runners.

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/KAREN E. SEGRAVE

34 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

Specialty Feature Finalists Publication: Tulsa World By: Jason Ashley Wright

Publication: Kansas City Star Magazine By: Cindy Hoedel

Excerpt from “Calling it a day”

Excerpt from “A Hopping Industry”

“Let me show you my scissors,” Tino Tudisco said, motioning for us to follow. In the back of his eponymous tailor shop at 6 E. Fifth St., Tudisco opened a cabinet and pulled out a huge, heavy pair of scissors, even bigger than the large black-handled ones on his cutting table. He unsheathed the pair from a light blue case — perhaps the reason they didn’t look anywhere close in age to the 50 years Tudisco has owned them, purchased in Italy. He’s keeping those, along with one of the sewing machines and an iron. “Not for business — in case we need something fixed,” said Tudisco, who is retiring the day before Thanksgiving and hopes someone will buy the business. Tudisco, who will be 83 next month, has been at his current location since 1994. But he’s been a tailor since he was 12 — “70 years,” he said. Born and raised in Potenza in southern Italy, Tudisco spent many years after in northern Italy, even working as a tailor in Milan. When the opportunity arose for him to take a job in the United States, he came to New York. He didn’t know any English. Considering the majority of people he ran into on a daily basis were Italian, from the grocer to the pharmacist, why bother? But in 1978, Tudisco and his South American wife, Inez, moved with their daughter, Claudia, to Tulsa. Upon moving here, they also had a son, Robert. A friend of Tudisco’s said he wouldn’t like Oklahoma, that he’d be back in a year or two. The tailor, however, proved him wrong. “I love this city,” Tudisco said. “It gave me the chance to raise my kids.” It was also here where Tudisco gradually absorbed an understanding of English — self-taught. “I’m sorry for my English,” he said on multiple occasions — even though he knows quite a bit and understood everything we said. Years ago, a woman at a shop he worked at in town would always laugh at him when he tried speaking English. “One day, I said, ‘How many languages you speak?’ And at that moment, she kept quiet,” he said, putting a finger to his lips. Tudisco has worked at a variety of places around town, including Renberg’s, a spot at the old Williams Center Forum and Brooks Brothers in Utica Square. In 1994, he opened his own shop. For decades, he’s maintained a staunch work ethic. Even after triple bypass surgery about 20 years ago, he was in the hospital one week. Two weeks after surgery, he was back at work.

LEON — In the heart of Kansas cattle country, a small family farm is producing the most sought-after meat rabbits in the nation. Rare Hare Barn, near tiny Leon (population 640) in the southern Flint Hills, has acquired cult-like status among chefs near and far for its humanely raised, hormone-free, heritage-breed rabbits. The timing couldn’t have been better for husbandandwife owners Eric and Callene Rapp when they decided to sell to restaurants in 2007. The farm-to-table movement was just taking hold among chefs, and food scares had diners hungry to learn about the origins of the meat on their plates as well as the wine in their glasses. One early customer was Chez Panisse. Alice Waters’ culinary temple in Berkeley, Calif., paid $600 in freight alone to have an order of 40 Rare Hare Barn rabbits shipped next-day air. In the past year, the Rapps have doubled production to 150 rabbits per month, but they still have to ration their supply. “Every rabbit we produce is sold before it is born,” Eric Rapp said. Restaurants in far-flung states often have to bide their time on a waiting list before they can place an order because the Rapps take care of their customers in Kansas and Missouri first. ••• A long sleepy U.S. 400, Turkey Creek is one of those country roads that come up quick, no light, no stop sign. The rock road ascends a low hill at a grade designed for trucks, not compact cars. At the crest sits Rare Hare Barn, looking like any regular farm in these parts. The house, barns, sheds and livestock pens, designed for function and built with utilitarian materials, do not compete in attractiveness with the wide views of rolling prairie in every direction. It’s hours since sunup, but a rooster is crowing and a sandy quarter horse named Mr. Mellow is nodding his head at an adorable white-with-brown-speckles Pineywoods cow and calf in the neighboring corral. In a smaller pen, black-and-white spotted Karakul lambs seek shade beneath a corrugated metal roof, while a shaggy NavajoChurro ram with curly horns basks in the strong late-April sun. The Doctor Dolittle-esque menagerie reveals the Rapps’ true passion: conserving rare and endangered breeds of livestock — cattle, sheep, chicken and, especially, rabbits. It’s the rabbits that five visitors from western Kansas, Missouri and Indiana have traveled to see today.

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org / 35

Special Section Winner Publication: Argus Leader By: Argus leader Staff Judges’ Comments: The McGovern package is a rich blend of storytelling, history and visual impact.

McGovern ARGUSLEADER.COM

2X 2M

GEORGE McGOVERN: 1922-2012

A MAN OF PEACE

SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE SECTION

1922-2012

McGovern

South Dakotan influenced a generation of Americans

By Jonathan Ellis jonellis@argusleader.com

nspiration will always be associated with George McGovern. The South Dakotan’s biography includes two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, three terms in the U.S. Senate and a anti-war fueled bid for the presidency in 1972.

That alone is enough to enshrine McGovern as political titan in South Dakota history. But that parochial view does not begin to account for the affect his words and deeds had on a generation of progressive American politics. Though routed by Richard Nixon in the 1972 election, McGovern’s campaign continued to influence the Democratic Party in the decades that followed. “In the storied history of American politics, I believe no other presidential candidate ever had such an enduring impact in defeat,” said Bill Clinton, who was speaking in 2006 at the opening of the McGovern Center for Leadership and Public Service at Dakota Wesleyan University. Clinton, along with his wife, Hillary Clinton, were among the legions of young people who worked or volunteered for the campaign in what was the first presidential election following the ratification of the 26th Amendment, which set the voting age at 18. McGovern was born in Avon, S.D., on July 19, 1922. His father was a Wesleyan Methodist minister. The family moved to Mitchell in 1928, and after graduating from high school in 1940, McGovern enrolled at Dakota Wesleyan University. It was there he met his future wife, Eleanor Stegeberg, of Woonsocket, S.D. The two were married Oct. 31 1943 — a date that McGovern often joked was either a trick or treat for Eleanor, who died in 2007. During World War II, McGovern flew a B-24 bomber in the European Theater, completing 35 combat missions. He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for harrowing missions in which he nursed his wounded bomber to emergency landings. On his final mission, with a gunner seriously wounded, McGovern managed to land his badly damaged bomber back at his home airfield in Italy. “He has an exciting life in many respects, even in terms of presidential candidates,” said Thomas Knock, a history professor at Southern Methodist University who is writing a twovolume biography of McGovern. “The story of his service in the war reads almost like a movie script.” After the war, McGovern finished college at Dakota Wesleyan in 1946, and earned master’s and doctoral degrees from Northwestern University in Chicago. In 1948 he attended the Progressive Party convention, a sign that his political views had shift-

‘I don’t think you hold political convictions just to be able to spout out a complicated philosophy or ideology. You try to support what you think is in the best interests of the country.’

George McGovern speaks at a campaign rally for Barack Obama in Sioux Falls in 2008. ELISHA PAGE / ARGUS LEADER

Although Stevenson lost to Dwight Eisenhower, McGovern’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed among Democratic officials. State Chairman Ward Clark asked McGovern if he would be willing to serve as the party’s executive secretary. At the time, Democrats exercised little, if any, power in South Dakota politics. During the 1953-1954 legislative sessions, the party held just two of 110 seats in the House and Senate. McGovern thought Clark’s offer was “ridiculous.” But after a few days of thought, he decided to take on the challenge. Using 3-by-5 note cards, McGovern compiled a filing system of potential supporters, building the party county by county. As he rebuilt support for Democrats, McGovern was also building a base from which to launch his George McGovern (left) with 1952 Democratic presidential nominee Adlai Stevenson own political career. and state party Chairman Ward Clark. Stevenson inspired McGovern to become a That came in 1956 when he ran for Democrat, and Clark recruited McGovern to build the state party. PHOTO COURTESY OF JON a U.S. House seat against incumbent LAUCK Harold O. Lovre, who won his seat in 1948. Lovre suffered from unpopular ed from his conservative upbringing. agriculture policies blamed on Eisenner of peace.” “At one point he would have dehower’s Republican administration. McGovern almost got a job teachfined himself as being a conservaBy cultivating the farm vote, McGoving at the University of Iowa. Had tive,” said John E. Miller, a professor ern won. that happened, he might have spent emeritus of history at South Dakota But despite a productive first term his life teaching, Miller said. State University. in Congress, McGovern’s hopes of But he ended up taking a teaching As a veteran who had fought in winning a second term appeared dim, post at Dakota Wesleyan in 1950. war, McGovern said he was attracted Throughout his adult life, Miller said, said Knock. Gov. Joe Foss, himself a to Progressive Party nominee Henry war hero who had won the Medal of McGovern was pulled between intelWallace, who opposed the military lectual pursuits and political activism. Honor by shooting down 26 Japanese buildup of the Cold War. Early one morning in 1952, McGov- planes, challenged McGovern, and his “The Russians had 27 million peocolleagues in the House figured Mcern was painting his university-prople killed in World War II, the whole Govern was done. vided house while listening to the country was laid to waste – I mean the acceptance speech of Democratic McGovern prevailed, and in 1960 physical country as well as the peopresidential nominee Adlai Stevenson. he challenged Sen. Karl Mundt. The ple,” he said in a 2011 interview. “And, It was a speech that won him over to contest resulted in his first loss, and it seemed to me they would probably President John F. Kennedy appointed the Democratic Party. be the last country in the world that McGovern as the first director of the “Here is a person who is talking wanted to start World War III. And so, common sense, and he’s doing it with Food for Peace Program, an effort to when Henry Wallace, who had been send food to poor nations and a properfect command of the English lansecretary of agriculture, and later gram that had charitable as well as guage,” McGovern said. vice president, when he started saystrategic goals of building allies durMcGovern tried to volunteer for ing what I thought, I swung over to ing the Cold War. For McGovern, the Stevenson’s campaign in South Dakohim. And there were probably some program marked the starting point of ta, but he found that Stevenson didn’t radicals in the party way out in left a crusade that he would fight the rest have an organization in the state. So field, but it didn’t include me. I was of his life: Feeding the hungry in the McGovern became the chief spokesthat ex-Republican who was looking man for the campaign in South DakoSee INSPIRATION, Page 3M ta. for somebody who would lift the ban-

McGOVERN THROUGH THE YEARS 1922 1945

1955

1928

1956

» Born in Avon on July 19.

» Daughter Ann is born. » Flies the last of 35 missions and then volunteers for flights to deliver food to starving Europeans. » Leaves Army Air Force as a first lieutenant. » Re-enrolls at DWU.

» After three years in Canada, the McGovern family moves to Mitchell.

1940

» Graduates from Mitchell High School, where he was a champion debater. » Enrolls in Dakota Wesleyan University, in Mitchell.

1941

» Begins dating his future wife, Woonsocket native Eleanor Stegeberg, whom he met when she and her twin sister defeated him and his partner in a high school debate. » Enlists in the U.S. Army Air Force, but his service is delayed as the air corps needed to get organized.

1943

» McGovern and a partner win a national debate tournament at North Dakota State University. » Called up for service and later commissioned as a second lieutenant. » Oct. 31: Marries Eleanor.

1946

1958

» Graduates from DWU. » Enters a divinity studies program in Illinois. » Daughter Susan is born.

» Re-elected to the House, defeating Gov. Joe Foss.

1960

1949

» Loses U.S. Senate race to Karl Mundt.

» Earns master’s in history from Northwestern University after having left divinity program. » Takes job as professor of history and political science at DWU. » Daughter Terry is born.

George McGovern received Distinguished Flying Cross in 1944. ASSOCIATED PRESS

1952

1961

» Takes post as director of Food for Peace in Kennedy administration.

1962

»Elected to Senate, defeating Joe Bottum.

» Writes seven articles for The Daily Republic on the differences between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. » Son Steven is born.

1953

1944

» Serves in Italy during World War II, flying bomber missions over Nazi-controlled territory.

» Daughter Mary is born.

» Elected to the U.S. House representing South Dakota’s First Congressional District, defeating Rep. Harold Lovre.

» Earns doctorate from Northwestern. » Resigns from DWU to take post as executive secretary of the South Dakota Democratic Party.

George McGovern and his wife Eleanor in their wedding photo in 1943. AP

1963

» Makes speech on Senate floor expressing concern about growing U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

1968

» In the wake of the assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, makes late run for the Democratic presidential nomination. Finishes third at convention. » Re-elected to the Senate, defeating former governor Archie Gubbrud.

ARGUSLEADER.COM

8X 8M

GEORGE McGOVERN: CHAPTER IV

THE REBUILDING By Steve Young

syoung@argusleader.com

fter his bruising presidential loss to Richard Nixon in 1972, and his subsequent Senate defeat to Jim Abdnor eight years later, there was talk that George McGovern’s political and public star had burned out.

That assumption, those who knew him best say, would have been wrong. From his 1980 loss to Abdnor to his appointment by President Clinton as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture in Rome beginning in April 1998, McGovern never walked away from his most burning passions — the liberal wing of the Democratic party, feeding the hungry and passing his knowledge on to others. “To be honest,” he said in an April 2012 interview with the Argus Leader, “that was a very productive time of my life. Sometimes life works that way; you accomplish more in defeat than you do in victory.” Swept out of office by the Reagan Revolution of 1980, McGovern refused to believe American liberalism was dead. So, in January 1981, he founded the political organization Americans for Common Sense to rally liberals, encourage liberal thinking, and combat the Moral Majority and other new Christian right forces. In 1982, he turned that group into a political action committee, raising $1.2 million for liberal candidates in congressional elections that year, then kept it going until he decided to run for president again in 1984. At the same time, McGovern taught and lectured at a number of universities here in America and in Europe, accepting one-year contracts or less. “After 1980, he had already achieved a very unique status, not just within the Democratic party but also in the country, as one of its most significant elder statesmen,” said Marshall Matz, a Washington, D.C., lawyer who was a former general counsel to McGovern. “I didn’t see much of a slowdown. He continued to be simply George McGovern, and active as a writer and speaker and talking head.”

ith little funding or staff, McGovern rode his name recognition to a surprise third-place showing in the January 1984 Iowa presidential caucuses. Understanding that he had little chance of winning, he nonetheless felt duty bound to try to steer the Democratic party debate in a liberal direction. After finishing fifth in New President Clinton shakes hands with McGovern after they arrived April 27, 1994, at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, in Santa Hampshire, McGovern announced Ana, Calif. They were attending funeral services for former President Richard Nixon. McGovern lost to Nixon by a landslide in he would step aside unless he fin1972. AP ished first or second in the Massachusetts primary. He came in Leader soon after his op-ed piece third and kept his word, dropping ran. “I keep hoping that maybe we out in March of that year. A month will maybe break through at some later, he was host of “Saturday Night point.” Live.” In an interview with the AssoWith the proceeds from the book, ciated Press, McGovern said he was he founded the Teresa McGovern paid $5,000 — the same as his lecCenter in Madison to help others sufture fee — to host the program, and fering from the combination of alcojoked that he did it because he needholism and mental health problems. ed the money. But he never really got over her “Anybody who’s arrogant enough death, said his friend and fellow to run for president shouldn’t fear Democratic South Dakota senator, ‘Saturday Night Live,’ ” McGovern Jim Abourezk. told the AP. “He still seems to be feeling guilty about her dying,” Abourezk said in n 1988, the McGoverns bought, April 2012. “I don’t know that anyone renovated and operated a 150has a real good answer for when one room inn in Stratford, Conn., “osof your family members becomes an tensibly to use for public policy addict. I have a child like that. I don’t conferences and institutes,” Knock know what to do. I’m sure he didn’t said. know what to do.” But the inn went into bankruptcy A group of students enjoy an informal chat with George McGovern after class at Knock said he thinks McGovern in 1990 and closed the following Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., on Nov. 13, 1990. Hundreds of students vied for tried to develop a bit more of a home year. Writing about the experience spots in his course on American foreign policy. AP life after he left the Senate in 1980. in 1992 in the Wall Street Journal, After spending 25 years in politics, McGovern blamed the bankruptcy s Dec. 12 turned into Dec. 13 in “he felt like he owed his family some tion, whose mission is to educate on the recession, on the cost of deal- American citizens and policymakers 1994, his daughter, Terry, fell time,” Knock said. And after his ing with federal, state and local reg- about the political, economic and into a snowbank outside a bar daughter’s death, he seemed deterulations that made life difficult for in Madison, Wis., while heavily insecurity issues influencing U.S. mined through his book, and through small businesses, and on the finannational interests in the Middle East. toxicated and died of hypothermia. his future writings on alcohol addiccial burden of dealing with frivolous Under the spotlight of heavy media McGovern was at the White tion, to help other families find the lawsuits. attention, McGovern revealed that House when the Oslo Accord was strength to confront the disease. Later in life, looking back on that signed between Palestine Liberation his daughter had battled alcoholism That striving continued the rest of failed business attempt, he said he for years and had been in and out of his life. So did his passion to help famOrganization leader Yasser Arafat wished he had gone through the ilies and children all over the world, treatment programs many times. and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak experience before he went into pub- Rabin in front of President Bill Clinespecially those who went to bed hunHe authored an account of her lic office. gry at night. That work would take life, “Terry: My Daughter’s Lifeton. The first direct, face-to-face “That knowledge,” he wrote, him to Rome as Clinton’s ambassador and-Death Struggle with Alcoholagreement between the PLO and “would have made me a better U.S. ism,” that was published in 1996. He to the United Nations on food and agIsraeli government, it was intended senator and a more understanding riculture. It would take him to the also spent much of the rest of his to be the one framework for future presidential contender.” poorest parts of Africa and beyond. life pushing for more national leadnegotiations between the PLO and “George is one of my heroes,” ership and a more unified vision for Israel. uring the 1980s, he was a feladdressing the problem of addiction, Abourezk said. “He’s the kind of guy Of course, the promise of that low at the Institute for Policy peace was short-lived. And even as that kept battling on. When he lost the writing an op-ed piece on that very Studies think tank in Washing- the framework of the accord was Senate race, did he relax and go fishtopic for the Argus Leader on April ton, D.C. And, after joining the 15, 2012. beginning to unravel, McGovern ing? No, he started a hunger camboard of the Middle East Policy “We don’t have much of an anwas being cast into what would turn paign, hunger against children. After Council in 1986, he became head of out to be one of the darkest chapters swer for it other than through the his loss to Nixon, and in the 1980 Senthe organization in 1991. In that role, of his life. determination of the victims’ famate race, he didn’t have to apologize he helped raise money for and diilies,” McGovern told the Argus for anything.” rect the small nonprofit organiza-

Former South Dakota Sen. George McGovern lost his bid to become president in 1972 to Republican Richard Nixon, but McGovern’s campaign influenced the Democratic Party in the decades that followed. GANNETT

INSIDE: George McGovern’s life, told in five chapters

‘That was a very productive time of my life. Sometimes life works that way; you accomplish more in defeat than you do in victory.’ GEORGE MCGOVERN, on his life after politics in the 1980s-90s

36 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

Special Section Finalists Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Omaha World-Herald Staff

Publication: The Oklahoman By: The Oklahoman Staff

Cold War

Mood

MEMORIAL DAY 2012

Paying tribute to those who won the Cold War

ON THE BRINK

The Cold War is defined foremost by what it was not: World War III. Nuclear devices were tested, creating ominous backdrops for troops in training. But the weapons were never used in the conflict. Instead, the Cold War unfurled over the frigid mountains of Korea and the steaming jungles of Vietnam. It stretched along European borders where NATO and Warsaw Pact tanks squared off. It flew a constant vigil in SAC airborne command posts. For 46 years, U.S. soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen devoted their lives to preventing nuclear war and lifting the Iron Curtain. Here is their story.

MEMORIAL DAY

OMAHA WORLD-HERALD

1952

1953

1954

M O N DAY, M AY 2 8 , 2 0 1 2

1955

1956

August

July 29

Aug. 6-7

March 25

June 15

October

The Federal Civil Defense Agency’s “Alert America” campaign comes to the Omaha University Fieldhouse. The WorldHerald reports that the most popular exhibit, which stresses civilian preparedness for nuclear attack, is “a miniature city that is atomized before spectators’ eyes.”

A 17-man RB-50 reconnaissance plane is shot down off the east coast of Siberia. John Roche, the co-pilot and sole survivor, recalls later he wasn’t concerned that the United States was in violation of international treaties with its spy ﬂights over the Soviet Union. His only concern when his plane went into the water: “How the hell can you save your own butt?’’ said the native Nebraskan.

Two SAC B-47s ﬂy 10,000 miles nonstop between Hunter Air Force Base in Georgia and French Morocco and back, refueling four times in the air with KC-97 tankers. This marks a change in SAC’s approach to war operations, which previously was based on deployment of bombers at forward bases closer to targets.

The ﬁlm “Strategic Air Command” has its “trade screening” at Omaha’s Orpheum Theater as part of a two-day celebration of SAC’s ninth anniversary. About 500 Omahans turn out in freezing weather to see stars Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson. The actors cut a threetiered birthday cake with SAC commander Gen. Curtis LeMay looking on. The movie later receives an Oscar nomination for its screenplay.

Thousands of Omaha-area residents take part in a practice evacuation of the city in the event of nuclear attack. While few businesses shut down completely, many dismiss at least part of their workforce when the sirens sound at 10:10 a.m. An estimated 10,000 Omahans evacuate to the Blair area and start back by noon. “Hundreds, however, remained at the Blair Park for picnicking, as they had reached the safety zone,” The World-Herald reports. Offutt Air Force Base reports that 1,335 vehicles carried about 3,600 airmen and 3,000 family members to the Nebraska Ordnance Plant at Mead. Farmer Chester Zwiebel, viewing the caravan, says he thinks the drill is “a lot of foolishness” and wonders where all the cars are going to be parked once they reach their destination.

Israel attacks Egyptian forces in the Sinai after Egypt, under increasing Soviet inﬂuence, takes control of the Suez Canal.

Oct. 21 The World-Herald calls Howard Nelson the city’s “most cautious citizen” in reporting that he is the ﬁrst local resident to build a bomb shelter. Nelson says the shelter, stocked with water and canned goods, might never be used for its intended purpose, but “it might come in handy for cyclones.” His mother, Mollie Nelson, scoffs. “Nobody else around here has a shelter,” she says. “I don’t see why we should have one.”

May 11 About 55,000 Omaha-area students take part in the ﬁrst citywide air-raid drills. “At the whine of warning sirens over the city, the children hurried to pre-selected spots in their school buildings and sat or lay down according to Civil Defense directions to get maximum protection from a supposed surprise attack,” The World-Herald reports. Once on the ﬂoor, the students covered their heads. The “duck and cover” drills are designed to teach civilians to “duck” at the sight of a nuclear blast and “cover” their heads to prevent injury. May 14 The Warsaw Pact is formed in response to West Germany joining NATO. The Soviet Union and its satellites pledge not to interfere in each other’s affairs, a provision that proves to mean little in later years in Hungary and Czechoslovakia.

Nov. 4 Warsaw Pact forces invade Hungary after its citizens revolt against the Sovietbacked government.

KOREAN WAR

Americans again hear call to arms BY DAVID HENDEE WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

arry Wiedeman missed the big war. He was a student at Norfolk High School when he enlisted in the Marine Corps during World War II. But the war ended in 1945, and Wiedeman didn’t graduate until the next year. Wiedeman served with postwar occupation forces in China, Japan and the Philippines. He was honorably discharged in 1948, came home to northeast Nebraska, enrolled in junior college business courses and served in the Marine Reserves. Two years later, the United States was in a new conflict — the Korean War — and Wiedeman was called back into uniform to be one of America’s first warriors in the Cold War. “No one thought there would be another war immediately . . . and just like that, they were all gone again,’’ Mary Wiedeman said of her late husband and other men. “There wasn’t any time between World War II and their discharges and they were in Korea.’’ The Korean War was America’s first battlefield clash with communism, and it militarized and hardened the Cold War. The sides were clear: Communist North Korea invaded South Korea, which was led by a U.S.-supported regime. The Soviet Union trained and equipped North Korea’s army. A United Nations coalition led by the United States fought beside South Korean forces. China’s entry into the Korean War in late 1950 in support of North Korea raised the stakes for America and accelerated the need for U.S. ground troops. Besides enlistees and reservists, more than 1.5 million Americans were drafted into the Army and Marines. Draftees represented 30 percent of America’s Korean War servicemen. One of those draftees was 23-year-old Gene Livingston, a farmer and rancher from Atkinson, Neb., who now lives in Omaha. “The war was bad,’’ Livingston said. “They were desperate for anybody warm.’’ Drafted in the fall of 1951, Livingston was given a choice: Army or Marines. “I told them, ‘I’d like to be the best. I’d like to be a Marine,’’’ he said, although he got a deferment for a few months to finish picking corn. Livingston had a hot introduction to combat in Korea. He and hundreds of new arrivals heading to the front in railroad cattle cars were ordered off the train to help stop an enemy breakthrough in late summer 1952. Under fire, Livingston and his M-1 rifle landed in a ditch. He didn’t fire a shot. A Navy corpsman grabbed him and started an arm-to-arm blood transfusion to the new Marine wounded by a burst from an enemy burp gun. “I was so scared I did just what they told me,’’ Livingston said. “I had a good life and planned on having more.’’ Livingston, a corporal, was soon assigned to the historical section at 1st Marine Division headquarters northeast of Seoul. He gathered daily reports from Marine units to create daily and monthly war diaries to run up the chain of command. He collected hundreds of photographs to accompany the diaries. Livingston’s job kept him on the front lines of history. He photographed Presidentelect Dwight Eisenhower, who visited troops in Korea in late 1952. “We thought he was the right guy to take care of the war,’’ Livingston said. Livingston traveled to Panmunjom, where truce talks eventually ended the fighting with the negotiated armistice — not a surrender — that endures today. “There were more guards than negotiators,’’ Livingston said. Livingston’s captain was a WWII veteran and reservist called back to war from a job as a college history professor. “He was upset,’’ Livingston said. “He said that he had served his time and didn’t know why he was in Korea.’’ Reservists led the expansion of the corps during the war, to 261,000 Marines from a force of 75,000 regulars at the start. Manpower demands on the battlefield made President Harry Truman’s post-WWII

U.S. Marines rest on Hill 148 in June 1952. Mary Wiedeman said her husband’s letters indicated that “they’d take a hill one day and lose it the next.”

A bookkeeper in civilian life, Harry Wiedeman of Norfolk trained for three months, then took a day to marry his hometown sweetheart, Mary Putjenter. Days later, he went to war — leaving his bride heartbroken in San Clemente, Calif. Soon she was on a U.P. train headed back to Nebraska.

The U.S. military was integrated in 1948. Walt Damon, left, was one of Gene Livingston’s fellow clerks in Korea. Livingston was an Atkinson, Neb., rancher when he was drafted.

order to integrate the military a reality during the Korean War. The number of black Marines grew to 17,000 by the end of the war, compared to 1,525 (nearly half of them stewards) in 1949. Livingston worked with a black staff sergeant, Walt Damon. Livingston, Damon and other clerks regularly shared monthly liquor rations passed along by officers. Koreans suffered greatly during the war, Livingston said. Refugees and locals often congregated near 40-gallon barrels that Marines used to wash their mess kits. Troops dumped garbage in one, flushed their mess kits in and out of another with soapy, hot water and rinsed in the third. Greasy scum that spilled out of the barrels and mess kits flowed into a ditch where Korean children skimmed it up with their rubber sandals and ate it. “I don’t know how they survived,’’ Livingston said. “North Korea did wrong with these people in starting the war.’’ Livingston returned to the United States on the same ship carrying the first prisoners of war released by North Korea at the end of the conflict in 1953. When Wiedeman, the WWII veteran from

Norfolk, had shipped out from Camp Pendleton with the 5th Marines in March 1951, the war had raged up and down the Korean peninsula for nearly a year. A bookkeeper in civilian life, Wiedeman trained for three months, then took a day off — March 1, 1951 — and married his hometown sweetheart, Mary Putjenter, in San Clemente, Calif. A few days later, he went to war. “I was left heartbroken in San Clemente when my husband sailed off to Korea,’’ Mary Wiedeman said in a recent interview. She and Vonnie Williams of Grand Island, the wife of Marine Maurice Williams, rode a Greyhound bus to Los Angeles and boarded a Union Paciﬁc train for Nebraska. Wiedeman was a squad leader with the 5th Marines. He arrived in Korea when the war had settled into a bloody stalemate. Mary Wiedeman, who lives in Tulare, Calif., said her husband’s letters home hinted at the futile ﬁght. She has Samsonite luggage full of his letters. “They’d take a hill one day and lose it the next,’’ she said. “Then they’d go over and take it back, then lose it again. They moved north, then south and the next day do it all over again. They didn’t complain much, but

no wonder they wondered what the war was all about. They weren’t making any headway.’’ Harry Wiedeman wrote about enemy soldiers surrendering en masse and American troops quickly erecting barbed-wire holding compounds. And he wrote about the human toll. A note from 1951: “We really had a pitiful job, had about 3,000 refugees and prisoners, mostly old men, women and children. They were carrying bags and bundles that were as big as they were, even the little kids no bigger than a bump on a log. Some of the little ones were lost and were just crying their eyes out. Had two hours of it, all walking single file, tired, hungry and hurting. We could not understand them, and not a thing we could do about it anyhow. What a big mess!’’ Although the United States reversed the course of the war in less than three months after its outbreak, the conflict was unpopular, bloody and seemingly unending. But in the nearly six decades since the end of fighting, democratic South Korea has prospered, while North Korea remains isolated and impoverished. Contact the writer: 402-444-1127, david.hendee@owh.com

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org / 37

News Page Design Winner Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Tammy Ytrri Judges’ Comments: The winning entry stood out among a strong field of contenders. The designer knew when to show restraint and when to turn up the volume without over-designing. The good use of imagery, attention to detail and use of whitespace helped to elevate this entry among its peers. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012 • SUNRISE EDITION • LOCALLY OWNED SINCE 1885

High expectations: The owner of Taxi’s Grille tries for another hit with a new venture, Mantra, in Benson. LIVING INSIDE

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY SHAREHOLDERS MEETING Forecasters expect drought to stick around through the end of the year

DRIEST SUMMER IN NEBRASKA

WARREN WON’T BE SILENCED

Martinez mentor a critical role

SUMMER A DRY RUN FOR FALL?

Average summer rainfall: 9.46 inches

Joe Ganz may have gone from starting QB to humble grad assistant, but he still has an inﬂuence on NU football, Dirk Chatelain says. Sports

BY NANCY GAARDER | WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

ONLY IN THE WORLD-HERALD

After an unbearably hot and dry summer, fall is shaping up to be fairly mild. • The only problem? No significant easing of the drought. • According to the outlook issued Thursday by the U.S. Climate Prediction Center, the odds favor warmer than normal weather through November across most of the United States, including Nebraska and Iowa. • And there is no sign of extra rain coming our way. • Warm and dry weather is good for golf outings, tennis and biking, but it’s not what farmers, ranchers and gardeners want. • The summer of 2012 will go down as the driest and third warmest on record for Nebraska, according to the National Climatic Data Center. In Iowa, it will be recorded as second driest and 10th warmest. • Saturday marks the start of fall. The change in seasons more than anything has been responsible for the easing of extreme heat, said Dave Fobert, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Valley. • All of Nebraska and Iowa are forecast to remain in drought through the end of the year. • The hot, dry summer is part of a larger trend. • According to the Climatic Data Center, the Earth weathered its third warmest summer on record and one of its 10 hottest years on record. • Globally, the land mass most affected by this year’s higher-than-normal temperatures has been the eastern two-thirds of the United States, including Iowa and Nebraska.

Warren Buffett is gaining a reputation for speaking out on social and political issues. See the special section for his views and what others have to say.

ALSO IN THE SECTION

Iowa utility’s soil testing creates stir in Thurman ■ A meeting with residents

today raises speculation about a nuclear plant.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1102, nancy.gaarder@owh.com

BY ERIN GOLDEN AND ANDREW J. NELSON

Check out what’s new in Omaha since last year’s gathering. Page 2S

WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITERS

THURMAN, Iowa — MidAmerican Energy appears to be looking at this community 40 miles south of Omaha as a potential site for a new nuclear power facility. About 40 landowners and other residents in Fremont County recently received invitations to a meeting today that will be hosted by the company in Hamburg. The note said only that MidAmerican is reviewing sites in Iowa for “future electric generating plants” and that the company plans to take soil samples from properties in the Thurman area. But fliers left at the Fremont County Courthouse for curious residents were more specific. Titled: “Nuclear Generation in Iowa,” the flier notes that in 2010, the Iowa Legislature directed MidAmerican to complete a three-year study on the construction of nuclear facilities in the state. It explains that taking soil samples to help determine if land in a particular area is suitable for a nuclear plant is part of the process — and that soil sampling is happening near Thurman. See Thurman: Page 2

2012 summer rainfall: 3.54 inches

SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2012 • SUNRISE EDITION

THIRD WARMEST SUMMER

INDEPENDENT. IN-DEPTH. INDISPENSABLE. ON OMAHA.COM

Big Red record

DEALS TODAY! See Page 4A

Bruning takes on gay bias ordinances

UNL awards diplomas to its largest class ever

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

Nebraska had the warmest summer since the 1930s with an average temperature of 75.33. See all the records on Page 2A

Read the attorney general’s opinion

MUSTREAD

■ Lincoln and Omaha city attorneys reject his opinion that cities lack authority to create new protected classes.

DRIEST, WETTEST STATES June–August, 2012 Record driest

Much below normal

SOURCE: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Below normal

Near normal

Above normal

Much above normal

Record wettest

IN MIDLANDS: Work on Fort Calhoun will put OPPD $134 million over budget.

BONE-DRY JULY JUNE

It was a dry summer in Omaha. July was brutal — Omaha had only 0.01 of an inch of rain. The previous low mark for July in Omaha was 0.45 of an inch, 1925 and 1916.

AUGUST

3.57 total inches

0.45 0.78

1.07 0.91

0.46

0.12

COMING SUNDAY River City Rodeo Learn all about the world’s second-largest rodeo and ﬁnd schedules for four days of riproarin’ fun in a special section.

Omaha weather Today’s forecast High: 74 Low: 40 Full weather report: Page 6B

Index Advice ......................... 5E Comics........................ 4E Marketplace ................ 3D Movies ........................ 3E Obituaries ................... 3B Opinion ...................4&5B TV............................... 6E 44 PAGES

0.81 0.33

0.12

0.11 0.45

JULY Zero to 0.10 inches of rain

Congress puts bulkofitswork on hold until after election

2.39

0.22

0.01 (“all” July 8)

Dates with 0.10 inches or more of rain at Omaha’s Eppley Airﬁeld

THE NEW YORK TIMES

A bug with your lunch? Probably BY KEVIN COFFEY \ WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER Bugs give us the willies. We cringe when we watch “Fear Factor.” We close our eyes during “Arachnophobia” and quiver in our seats during that scene in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.” (You know, the one where Harrison Ford and Kate Capshaw are covered in thousands of crawling, slithering insects? Ick.) When we see a spider crawling down the wall or spy a mealworm in our pantry, we freak. Papillion-La Vista schools recalled food from nine district elementary schools

WASHINGTON — Members of Congress might feel proud of themselves this week because they appear to be preventing a government shutdown — an outcome they view as an accomplishment in this bitterly divided body. But by the end of this week, lawmakers plan to leave town and not return until after the election, leaving behind a staggering pile of bills, many of pressing importance to voters. In fact, the 112th Congress is poised to enter the record books as the least productive body in a generation, passing a mere 173 public laws as of last month. That’s far fewer than the 906 enacted in 1947-48 by the body that President Harry S. Truman famously referred to as the “Do Nothing Congress.” Partisanship has impeded measures that traditionally have been simple matters, such as the farm bill, or a measure to protect women from domestic violence. But it also has thwarted weighty national security bills, such as one to combat cybercrimes and another to ﬁSee Congress: Page 2

and St. Columbkille Catholic School on Wednesday after sawtoothed grain beetles were found in soup. School ofﬁcials sent boxes of noodles back to their distributor. But other parts of the world — lots of other parts, where eating bugs is common — people would tell See Bugs: Page 2

“All human beings eat quite a few insects. That’s especially true of Americans eating a diet of processed foods. There’s literally — and I mean that in the true sense of the word — no way to keep them out.” Leon Higley, a professor of entomology at UNL

ON PAGE 5A: A bill to grant more visas to foreign high-tech graduates is defeated.

75 CENTS

BY JUAN PEREZ JR. WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Nebraska’s attorney general and representatives of the state’s two largest cities are at odds over whether municipalities have the right to protect gay and transgender residents from discrimination. In an opinion released Friday, Attorney General Jon Bruning said cities have no authority to create or enforce laws for protected classes not included in state law. Yet city attorneys in Omaha and Lincoln say they believe state law and their own home rule charters give them such authority. Amid the legal debate, national and local gay rights activists accused Bruning — a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate — of using the legal opinion as a political tool days before the May 15 GOP primary. Bruning’s legal opinion comes as the Lincoln City Council prepares for a public hearing Monday on a measure to include gay and transgender residents as protected classes in the state’s capital city. In March, the Omaha City Council narrowly approved a similar measure, exposing rifts in the city’s business and religious communities. “We strongly disagree” with the attorney general’s opinion, Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler said Friday. “I can think of no reason to stop moving forward with this ordinance, and I can think of many reasons we need to get this ordinance on the books.” The attorney general’s opinion does not invalidate the recently See Bruning: Page 2

A prom to remember An Iowa high school senior decides to go for it anyway when pro football player Tim Tebow passes on her Twitter request for a date to prom. Midlands

End of an era LaRose Beasley is closing her north Omaha beauty school. Special section, Page 10S

Omaha weather

R E B E C C A S . G R AT Z / T H E W O R L D - H E R A L D

The diplomas are stacked high for Saturday’s UNL graduation ceremony at the Devaney Center in Lincoln. More than 2,800 will graduate, a record attributed in part to better recruiting that led to record freshman classes in 2007 and 2008 as well as improved advising and retention. BY LESLIE REED | WORLD-HERALD BUREAU LINCOLN — Saul Valdez, 23, was a member of the largest freshman class ever at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln when he started at UNL ﬁve years ago. Today, he is a member of UNL’s largestever graduating class, more than 2,800 students. You bet he will be among the 1,625 students participating in commencement exercises at 9:30 this morning. His parents, Francisco and Teresa Valdez, are closing their restaurant in Madison, Neb., for the day Valdez so they can come to Lincoln to celebrate his ﬁve-year journey to a double degree in international business and Spanish. He expects aunts, uncles and cousins to make the trip to his reception in Lincoln. “For me, it’s a very big deal,” he said. “I’ll only be walking 15 to 20 seconds from my See Graduation: Page 2

Today’s forecast High: 89 Low: 67

UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN GRADUATES All graduates in a given calendar year, including those who graduated in May, August and December

650

1,009 1,310 1,223

1922

1924

1932

1942

4,198

4,903* 3,836 4,027 3,835

1,802 1,932

1952

1962

1972

1982

1992

2002

2011

*2012 not available 3,000

UNL MAY GRADUATES

2,820 1,925

2,500

1,721 2,000 1,500 ’90

’92

’94

’96

’98

’00

SOURCE: University of Nebraska-Lincoln

’02

’04

’06

’08

’10

’12

D AV E C R O Y / T H E W O R L D - H E R A L D

Full weather report: Page 8B

Index Advice ..................3E Comics.................4E Marketplace .........6D Movies .................3E Obituaries ............7B Opinion ................6B TV........................6E 60 PAGES

75 CENTS

New guidelines offer diabetics some leeway BY BOB GLISSMANN WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

You have to pay attention to a lot of numbers when you have Type 2 diabetes. One of the most important is your average blood-sugar level over a two- to three-month period. That number — called the A1C — has been key for diabet-

& GN E SI RIV D

2012 JEEP PATRIOT

ics in measuring how well their treatment plan is working. And for years, the number has been a “one-size-ﬁts-all” approach in some circles. But new guidelines from the American Diabetes Association give diabetics and their healthcare providers more leeway in setting a target number. The recommendations allow

YOU PICK

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them to take into account the patient’s overall health, life expectancy, duration of the disease, propensity for developing low blood sugar and motivation for sticking to a strict program. “We’ve known for a long time that the guidelines may be dangerous for an older person,” said Dr. Steven Zuber, an internal medicine physician with Meth-

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odist Physicians Clinic. “Or (that they’re) not as aggressive as needed for a 20- or 30-year-old who has 60 or 70 years left to their life.” The changes, Zuber said, acknowledge that “you can’t treat everybody the same, because they’re not.” With Type 2 diabetes, your See Diabetes: Page 2

A new recipe for bread baker Rotella’s bakery readies one of the country’s largest gluten-free manufacturing facilities. Money, Page 10A

THE FISCAL CLIFF

ON THE BRINK

TOM OSBORNE: MIDLANDER OF THE YEAR After nearly a half-century of service to Nebraska, the last ﬁve as NU athletic director, Tom Osborne earns our salute. Special Section

It started with gridlock

The ﬁscal cliff is rooted in political paralysis. In 2011, Republicans and Democrats clashed over whether to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, amid a broader debate over how to address the nation’s debt. They agreed on little, except to push the day of reckoning down the road. The plan was that a small group of Republicans and Democrats would come up with a budget agreement. The deal came with a hammer: If the group failed (which it did), automatic spending cuts and tax increases would go into effect in 2013. Continuing efforts to avert the automatic provisions have so far failed as well. Now, the reckoning is near.

DECEMBER 30, 2012 • SUNRISE EDITION

Legacy of a Senate ringmaster Centrist Nelson sought consensus, at times drew criticism

It ends with paying more Most every working American should expect to pay more in taxes next year if Congress doesn’t strike a new deal. A range of tax cuts and tax breaks are due to expire, most notably the Bush tax cuts from 2001 and 2003. How much more? It varies greatly on income, but it would be a big hit to most. An average family of four with an income between $50,000 to $75,000 should expect to pay about $2,400 more in taxes, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

Paychecks will be lighter The only certainty appears to be the expiration of a temporary Social Security payroll tax cut. Its demise would cost the average worker about $1,000 more in taxes in 2013. The cut was pushed through Congress to help stimulate the economy in 2008. No one is pushing an extension.

Deep spending cuts, some exceptions

T H E A S S O C I AT E D P R E S S

Sen. Ben Nelson in February 2009 after Senate passage of President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package. The moderate Nebraska Democrat, who helped hammer out compromises on the stimulus, health care and other issues, is exiting the political stage after 20 years of public service.

More than taxes are on the table. Big spending cuts are set to take effect next year if Congress doesn’t act. One of the biggest would hit the Pentagon; the nation’s military budget would be slashed by up to 9 percent. However, not every federal program would be cut. Social Security and veterans beneﬁts are not part of the current drama.

B Y J O S E P H M O R T O N | O N LY I N T H E W O R L D - H E R A L D

ASHINGTON — A framed yellow cocktail napkin once hung on Sen. Ben Nelson’s office wall. Three numbers were written on it — 1.6, 1.425 and 1.25 — with the center figure circled. It was a souvenir from negotiations with then-Vice President Dick Cheney, a Republican, over the size of tax cuts Congress would approve. The final figure came awfully close, $1.3 trillion. The office walls now are bare as

Is the deadline drama real?

ON LIVEWELLNEBRASKA.COM More information about diabetes under the Health Tools tab. DIABETES BY THE NUMBERS >> An estimated 25.8 million Americans have diabetes — but 7 million of those haven’t yet been diagnosed. >> About 5 percent of people with diabetes have Type 1 diabetes; the majority has Type 2. Source: http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/pdf/ndfs_2011.pdf

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The debt woes are real, but Congress’ self-imposed Dec. 31 deadline is not cast in stone. The truth is that if Congress can pass a law setting a deadline, it can pass a law extending the deadline. It also could make any law retroactive. So neither the nation nor its workers are likely to drop off the cliff on Jan. 1. However, Republicans and Democrats say, the time has come to address the nation’s ballooning debt.

The fly in the ointment One of the biggest sticking points between congressional Republicans and President Barack Obama is whether tax rates should increase for the nation’s highest earners. Obama wants people to pay more in taxes on income above $250,000, while extending the tax cuts for income below that level, but Republicans oppose all tax hikes. Republicans also want deeper spending cuts. Compiled by World-Herald staff writer Robynn Tysver.

ON PAGE 9A Obama keeps the pressure on as the Senate seeks a compromise.

conservatives alike by trying to pull each closer to the middle. “He’s one of the last ones of a dying breed of moderate or middle-of-the-road senators, or members of Congress who could help weigh in on difﬁcult pieces of legislation and forge a consensus,” said Randall Adkins, a political science professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Born in McCook, Neb., Nelson graduated from the University of Nebraska, See Nelson: Page 2

ONLY IN THE WORLD-HERALD

Iraqi who interpreted for U.S. creating new life in Lincoln ■ With war and the threat of violence behind

them, he and his young family can start fresh. BY JOE DUGGAN WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

LINCOLN — This is how a young Iraqi walked into one of the few job interviews that legitimately required applicants to undress. As he approached a checkpoint outside a U.S. Army base in northern Iraq, a voice on the loudspeaker asked what he wanted. To become an interpreter, he answered. “Remove your shirt,” the speaker barked. Shoes and socks, next, followed by trousers. He wasn’t wearing explosives,

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38 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

Nelson, 71, prepares to exit the political stage after 20 years of public service in the space between two political parties. The centrist Nebraska Democrat’s farewell address was brief, clocking in at a little more than six minutes — ﬁtting for a man who delighted more in hammering out compromises behind closed doors. One such deal paved the way for passage of the controversial health care law that came to deﬁne Nelson’s career. But he enraged die-hard liberals and

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only undershorts, so he was waved onto Forward Operating Base Sykes near the city of Tal Afar. After he passed a written exam, demonstrating his command of English, Arabic and Kurdish, he was given a uniform. The name “Nickolas” stretched over the breast pocket, an alias to help protect him from enemies of the Americans. For six years, he worked with U.S. forces. He translated conversations between tribal leaders and Army colonels. He hit the ground when bullets ﬂew and prayed that unknown villagers weren’t hiding See Interpreter: Page 4

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Does “The Hobbit” carry a religious message? Some see a link between J.R.R. Tolkien’s characters and those in the Bible. Others just enjoy his fantastical stories. Living

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Florida Gators W. Virginia Mountaineers St Mary’s Gaels Texas Longhorns South Florida Bulls Miss. Valley St. Delta Devils Michigan St. Spartans

KEN ON OUTSPO TY OF A VARIE AND SOCIAL AL POLITIC EN RR WA ISSUES, T ISN’T BUFFET TO AFRAID HIS CLIMB ON X. SOAPBO

Temple Owls

OMAHA WORLD-HERALD

NCAA TOURNAMENT PREVIEW

UNC-Asheville Bulldogs Ohio State Buckeyes Georgetown Hoyas Southern Miss. Golden Eagles

Lamar Cardinals St. Bonaventure Bonnies Duke Blue Devils Louisville Cardinals

Long Beach State 49ers Kansas Jayhawks Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Murray State Racers Wisconsin Badgers Notre Dame Fighting Irish N. Carolina St. Wolfpack

Iowa State Cyclones Kansas St. Wildcats UNLV Runnin’ Rebels Alabama Crimson Tide Xavier Musketeers Cincinnati Bearcats

San Diego State Aztecs Vanderbilt Commodores LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds Indiana Hoosiers Florida State Seminoles Colorado State Rams

Michigan Wolverines Brigham Young Cougars Montana Grizzlies Belmont Bruins Wichita State Shockers Davidson Wildcats

Detroit Titans Ohio Bobcats Memphis Tigers Norfolk State Spartans VCU Rams Connecticut Huskies

Baylor Bears Kentucky Wildcats Creighton Bluejays Loyola Greyhounds Vermont Catamounts Marquette Golden Eagles S. Dakota St. Jackrabbits

Iona Gaels Saint Louis Billikens Gonzaga Bulldogs California Golden Bears Missouri Tigers New Mexico Lobos Colorado Buffaloes Virginia Cavaliers

North Carolina Tar Heels Purdue Boilermakers Syracuse Orange New Mexico St. Aggies Lehigh Mountain Hawks Harvard Crimson

C SE

M AY, RD SATU

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ALL 68 TEAMS ARE CAPABLE OF BEATING YOU ...

MATCH MADNESS

THE R ORATO HA OF OMA

Forget the daily crossword. Put down that Sudoku grid. But keep your pencil and try your hand at a real puzzler. By now, you may have all the RPIs and scoring leaders committed to memory. But can you tell the difference between the Rams of Virginia Commonwealth and the Rams of Colorado State? Here’s your chance to prove it. Match the logo with a team in the field. No cheating — the answers are at the bottom of the page.

MALE THE FE NCE INFLUE

key roles Women with Hathaway for Berkshireured in are feat k. a new boo Page 7S

29. Xavier 30. South Florida 31. North Carolina State 32. Memphis 33. Southern Mississippi 34. LIU Brooklyn 35. Indiana

36. Georgetown 37. Detroit 38. Alabama 39. Western Kentucky 40. Cincinnati 41. Lamar 42. Vanderbilt

43. Louisville 44. Lehigh 45. Florida State 46. St. Bonaventure 47. California 48. Connecticut 49. Belmont 50. North Carolina

51. Wichita State 52. Iowa State 53. Gonzaga 54. Ohio 55. Purdue 56. Mississippi Valley St. 57. Florida 58. Kentucky 59. Vermont

60. Michigan 61. Norfolk State 62. Notre Dame 63. Loyola 64. Ohio State 65. South Dakota State 66. Colorado 67. Texas 68. UNC-Asheville

Stakes are high for Echenique

A WILD WAY TO END IT FOR BIG RED

How the Creighton center plays this season will determine where he’ll play after he graduates. SPORTS

4W T H U R S DAY, M A R C H 1 5 , 2 0 1 2

SOUTH HOT SHOTS Anthony Davis • Kentucky Austin Rivers • Duke

After falling behind 28-16 in the fourth quarter, the Huskers ﬁnd a way to claw back against the Wildcats, winning by a point. POSTGAME

21. West Virginia 22. Iona 23. Saint Louis 24. Syracuse 25. Missouri 26. Harvard 27. New Mexico 28. St Mary’s

12. BYU 13. UNLV 14. VCU 15. Davidson 16. Kansas 17. Marquette 18. Colorado State 19. Wisconsin 20. Temple

Experience - Value - Results

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66 1. Michigan State 2. Montana 3. San Diego State 4. Duke 5. Long Beach State 6. Murray State 7. Virginia 8. Baylor 9. New Mexico State 10. Creighton 11. Kansas State

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NO SHOTS

Text: Rich Kaipust, Marjie Ducey, Rob White, Sam McKewon and other World-Herald staff writers Photos: AP

The No. 1 vs. No. 16 seed matchups

NO. 1 KENTUCKY VS. NO. 16 WESTERN KENTUCKY

NO. 1 SYRACUSE VS. NO. 16 UNC ASHEVILLE

NO. 1 MICHIGAN STATE VS. NO. 16 LIU-BROOKLYN

NO. 1 UNC VS. NO. 16 VERMONT

The Hilltoppers might be riding the high of their comeback from 16 points down with ﬁve minutes to go against Mississippi Valley State, but this should bring them back to earth: They are still the only team in the ﬁeld with a losing record, and topranked Kentucky has won 19 of its past 20 NCAA openers.

The Bulldogs caught a break this week when Syracuse announced that 7-footer Fab Melo was ineligible for the NCAA tournament, and the Orange already have lived through a drama-ﬁlled season. That said, Syracuse is 31-2 and rumbled through the rugged Big East with a 17-1 record.

The Spartans have reached the Final Four two of the past three seasons and the Sweet 16 in nine of the past 13 NCAA tournaments. LIU-Brooklyn can score like crazy — No. 3 nationally at 81.9 points a game — but wait until Michigan State is putting Big Ten bodies on the Blackbirds.

The Tar Heels have started their past three NCAA appearances by scoring 102 points (2011 vs. Long Island), 101 (’09 vs. Radford) and 113 (’08 vs. Mount St. Mary’s). They have lost just one NCAA opener (1999 vs. Weber State) in 30 years.

Jordan Taylor • Wisconsin Jo

Royce White • Iowa State

John Jenkins • Vanderbilt Jo

Nate Wolters • South Dakota State tate

Kris Joseph • Syracuse

Cody Zeller • Indiana

Kevin Jones • West Virginia Kevi

ON FIRE

Virginia Commonwealth: Shaka ka Smart ey have has the Rams rolling again. They dropped just one game since Jan. 8, and that was a one-point loss.

Vanderbilt: Bea Beating Kentucky in the SEC tournament was monumental. With Jenkins, JJeffery Taylor and Festus Ezeli, the Commodores are Final Four contenders.

FEELIN’ THE BLUES

FEELIN’ THE BLUES FE

UNLV: A popular sleeper in this his bracket, but the Rebels were just 5-5 down the stretch in the Mountain West.. They were lucky to get a No. 6 seed.

Syracuse: Seven-footer Fab Melo is ineligible for the tournament, making a weak rebounding team even softer.

CINDERELLA WATCH CH

CINDERELLA WATCH

New Mexico State: One of the top untry, the Aggies rebounding teams in the country, have superior athletes to Indiana. The rable on the road. Hoosiers have been vulnerable

Harvard: The Crimson haven’t been to an NCAA tournament since 1946. But their grind-it-out style is not easy to solve. Keith Wright and Kyle Casey form an excellent forward tandem.

REMEMBER ME?

Everywhere Duke looks, there’s a familiar face. Notre Dame coach Mike Brey was a Coach K assistant. Baylor battled the Blue Devils in the 2010 South Regional ﬁnal. UNLV met Duke in the 1990 and ’91 Final Fours. And Kentucky faced Duke in two epic regional ﬁnals, 1992 and ‘98. That’s where UK and Duke could meet again.

OCTOBER 21, 2012 • SUNRISE EDITION

24/7 ON OMAHA.COM

ONLY IN THE WORLD-HERALD

New arenas open, others must adapt ■ Experts caution that Omaha’s

entertainment dollar is being stretched with each new facility. BY MATTHEW HANSEN WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

There’s a simple way to see the two sides of the Omaha arena boom, an easy way to view both the promise and the peril of having four — likely soon to be five — major arenas dotting the area’s landscape. Just drive across town. On Friday morning, the brand-new Ralston Arena at 72nd and Q Streets hummed with activity. Men in hard hats spray-painted crosswalks and polished the entrance sign. A Pepsi truck delivered soft drinks. Two giant tour buses idled behind the arena. At some point during the day, country star Rodney Atkins would climb off one of those buses and prepare for his sold-out show. Just across the river on Interstate 80, Council Bluffs’ Mid-America Center sat quiet and empty. Not a car, an employee or a country music star in sight. Weeds have sprouted through the cracks in the parking lot. Faded signs in nearby empty lots advertise “prime land for sale.” The Ralston Arena officially opened this weekend with a signature tenant, the Omaha Lancers, and plenty of local confidence that the city and state’s $36 million investment will pay off in a big way for the Omaha suburb. The Council Bluffs arena once had the Lancers and that confidence, too. Now the decade-old Mid-America Center has no permanent tenants but plenty of problems. Chief among them: It’s losing about $700,000 a year in taxpayer money. “I thought it was smart when we built it. I thought I was a pretty smart guy,” says Council Bluffs Mayor Tom Hanafan. “The place was packed and people are coming up and patting you on the back. And then, all of a sudden, it changes.” See Arenas: Page 4

MIDWEST M

WEST HOT SHOTS Marcus Denmon • Missouri

BROKEN NIGHT

ON FIRE

HOT SHOTS Thomas Robinson • Kansas Thom

Jae Crowder • Marquette

Doug McDermott • Creighton

Isaiah Canaan • Murray State

Tyler Zeller • North Carolina Tyle

Draymond Green • Michigan State

Matthew Dellavedova • St. Mary’s

Mike Scott • Virginia

Robbie Hummel • Purdue

ON FIRE

Louisville: Rick Pitino’s defense ast locked down four foes in the Big East tournament, giving up 55 points perr game. ers Look out for Memphis, too. The Tigers have won seven straight by double digits.

Detroit: No. 15 seeds aren’t De supposed to be this good. The Titans have won 10 of 11, including a 20-point blowout at Valparaiso in the Horizon League ﬁnal.

FEELIN’ THE BLUES

Georgetown: The Hoyas have lost three of their past s six. They better snap out of it -they were upse upset victims the past two years.

Florida: After top rebounder Will Yeguete eguete went down with a foot injury, the Gators entucky is have lost four of ﬁve. Of course, Kentucky ts. responsible for two of those defeats.

BY KALANI SIMPSON AND THAD LIVINGSTON / ONLY IN THE WORLD-HERALD

N WEDNESDAY NIGHT, Oct. 26, 1966, there was a high school football game in Omaha. For some who played for Omaha Tech, the game is still with them. The players still feel it when they talk about it. It’s been 46 years. ¶ Some players won’t talk about it. They pretend it never happened. ¶ It was an upset, Omaha Westside won by 40 4 points. Tech was favored as Class A’s No. 1 team and possessed outrageous talent. ¶ Remember? It was 1966. The game was a flashpoint in a summer and fall filled with them. There were fights, during that game and after it. ¶ “It was a heartbreaker for us,” said Johnny Rodgers, then a sophomore, later the 1972 Heisman Trophy winner. “Gosh, man, we hurt.” ¶ This is a story about those guys — they thought the world was against them, going to Tech. It was a tough time in history, a hard time in cities across America. Omaha was part of it. It was a crazy time to be those guys. / See Tech: Page 2

CINDERELLA WATCH

Belmont: One of the best shooting Belm teams in the country, the Bruins haven’t lost in two months. They almost beat Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium in the season opener.

Murray State: A 30-win team shouldn’t qualify for Cinderella status. But the selection committee didn’t give any love to the Racers, who feature one of the nation’s best point guards in Isaiah Canaan.

REMEMBER ME? In 2003, Marquette and Missouri combined for 193 points — Dwyane Wade had 24 — in a Sweet 16 overtime thriller. Missouri returned the favor in 2009, holding off a Golden Eagles rally when freshman Kim English hit two foul shots with 5.5 seconds left.

SET YOUR DVR Michigan State-Missouri: This would be a fascinating contrast of styles. Could the Tigers hang tough on the glass? Could Michigan State slow down Mizzou’s perimeter shooters? Sparty has been to ﬁve Final Fours in 13 years. Missouri has never been there.

BIG SHOTS The biggest players in the tourney » In the Midwest, there’s 7-footers Jeff Withey of Kansas and Tyler Zeller of North Carolina, and there’s a good chance they’ll match up in the regional ﬁnal. » Seven-footers in the East are Robert Sacre of Gonzaga and Derek Selvig of Montana. The biggest name, though, is Syracuse’s Fab Melo, but he’ll miss the tournament with eligibility problems. » More 7-footers roam in the South, with seniors Kenny Frease of Xavier and Garrett Stutz of Wichita State. » There are no notable 7-footers in the West now that Virginia’s Assane Sene is out after breaking team rules. But 6-foot-11 Ryan Kelly of Duke and 6-10 Kyle O’Quinn of Norfolk State are worth watching.

SMALL SHOTS The smallest players in the tourney » In the Midwest, Lewis Jackson of Purdue stands 5-foot-9 but sets the tone on defense, leading his team in steals. » In the East, Angel Rodriguez of Kansas State, Neil Watson of Southern Mississippi and Jabrie Hinds of West Virginia are 5-11. » In the South, Pierre Jackson of Baylor is 5-10, but he could be a future NBA player. He shoots the 3 (43 percent) and can get to the cup for a ﬂashy dunk.

REMEMBER ME?

GAME-CHANGING

SHOTS

it rewind for a second. Well, 2.1 seconds, to be exact. That’s what remained on the Spectrum scoreboard in Philadelphia on March 28, 1992, the night of the East Regional final. • Sean Woods had just hit a wild floater in the lane to give Kentucky a 103-102 lead over a Duke team that was ranked No. 1 in the country all season. • Kentucky’s bench came unglued, including then-assistant Billy Donovan, who brings Florida to Omaha for the NCAA tourney. The Blue Devils? They headed to their bench dejected. Their back-to-back title hopes all but dashed. • Before they could take their seats, coach Mike Krzyzewski shouted at his men. • “We are going to win this game!” • Krzyzewski asked Grant Hill if he could make an accurate length-of-the-floor heave to Christian Laettner. Coach K asked Laettner, the guy who was 9 for 9 from the field to that point, if he could make the shot. Both said yes. • You’ve seen the outcome. Hill threw a pass that would have Aaron Rodgers raving. And Laettner hit a fadeaway jumper from the foul line. • Duke 104, Kentucky 103. Arguably the sport’s greatest game. • Fast forward 20 years. • Indiana’s Christian Watford buries a 3 to knock off No. 1 Kentucky. • Michael Snaer’s 3 as Florida State snaps Duke’s 45-game home winning streak. • Austin Rivers’ bomb caps Duke’s late rally against North Carolina. • Is there more storybook stuff coming in this tournament? We can only hope.

Christian Laettner’s winning jumper with 2.1 seconds left in the 1992 East Regional ﬁnal helped Duke to a ﬁfth straight Final Four and back-to-back national championships.

WINNING SHOTS DUKE VS. NORTH CAROLINA Duke’s Austin Rivers not only nailed a 3-point buzzer-beater, but he did it over 7-foot center Tyler Zeller in the final seconds to overcome a two-point deficit and lead Duke past its bitter rival 85-84. After Zeller missed a free throw in the Feb. 8 game, Mason Plumlee pulled in the rebound and handed the ball to Rivers, who had nine seconds left to operate. Rivers ran the clock down to the final 1.4 seconds before firing his game-winner. The unanimous ACC rookie of the year finished with a career-high 29 points, the highest point total by a Blue Devil this season and the highest by an ACC freshman. Sixteen of his points came in the second half. FLORIDA STATE VS. DUKE Florida State’s Michael Snaer had two of the biggest shots of the year. The 3-pointer he launched with three-tenths of a second left stunned the fourth-ranked Blue Devils 76-73 on Jan. 21 and snapped Duke’s 45-game home winning streak. But it wasn’t the only clutch shot of his 14-point performance. His 3-pointer to beat the buzzer on the last play of the first half allowed the Seminoles to pull within 32-26 after trailing by nine in the first half. He knocked down a jumper for a 71-70 lead with 55.8 seconds left and had five points in the final 52 seconds. Snaer’s shot with 2.6 seconds left against Virginia Tech on Feb. 16 gave the Seminoles a 48-47 win and kept them in the race for the ACC regular-season championship.

SECOND SHOTS? You’ve already seen and perhaps read about “The Shot,” the most famous 2.1 seconds in college basketball history. Now it’s 20 years after Duke’s Christian Laettner shocked Kentucky with his nearmiraculous fadeaway jumper in Philly. Could we see “The Shot Part II” next week? It’s not impossible.

Kentucky is seeded No. 1 in the South Region. Duke is No. 2. Should the matchup happen, fans will likely wonder who the next late-game Laettner will be. Then again diehard fans probably won’t care exactly who the hero is. Here’s to hoping that the opportunity for high drama in this tournament simply knocks.

Harrison Barnes and Doug McDermott were high school teammates in Ames, Iowa, but North Carolina seeks a different reunion. Kansas beat the Heels in the 2008 Final Four. And in case anyone forgot, Roy Williams left Lawrence for Chapel Hill after the ’03 season. Quite compelling.

SET YOUR DVR North Carolina-Creighton: Last year, the Heels went up and down with Washington in the round of 32, winning 86-83. This clash could produce even more offensive ﬁreworks. Both are in the top 7 nationally in scoring. John Henson, one of the nation’s longest and best defenders, would guard McDermott.

LONG SHOTS The best 3-point shooters and 3-point shooting teams in the tournament TEAM 3-POINTERS

INDIVIDUAL 3-POINTERS

Looking for a team that can collectively dial it up from deep during the NCAA tournament? We’ve seen one of those all season around these parts in Creighton, which ranks third in the country in 3-point ﬁeld-goal percentage at .425. The Bluejays are second among NCAA tournament teams – only Indiana, at .433, has been better. Other dangerous teams: Murray State, ﬁfth nationally at .406, Colorado State, sixth at .405, Temple, eighth at .402, and Missouri, 13th at .395. Florida leads the country with 9.9 made 3s per game. Iowa State is eighth with 8.9, Belmont ranks 10th at 8.8 and Vanderbilt is 12th at 8.6.

Do not leave these guys alone: Belmont’s Drew Hanlen, Murray State’s Isaiah Canaan and Vanderbilt’s John Jenkins are three of the country’s top eight 3-point shooters by percentage. The 5-foot-11 Hanlen ranks second nationally (among those who have made 2.5 3s per game), with a percentage of .481. Canaan has connected on 47.3 percent and the quick-triggered Jenkins – the national leader with 3.9 made 3s per game – is at 44.8 percent. Don’t forget, either, about Purdue’s Ryne Smith (.438), Florida’s Kenny Boynton (.427) or North Carolina State’s Scott Wood (.411).

CLOSE SHOTS The best free-throw shooters and free-throw shooting teams in the tournament

INDIANA VS. KENTUCKY

TEAM FREE THROWS

INDIVIDUAL FREE THROWS

Indiana students began lining up outside Assembly Hall 10 hours before tipoff. Before the game started, the public address announcer had to scold the students for chanting profanely at Kentucky. Christian Watford gave them their money’s worth in what he said was probably the biggest moment of his life. His buzzer-beater gave Indiana a 7372 upset of No. 1 Kentucky on Dec. 10. Students stormed the court and ofﬁcials had to scramble to reach the scorer’s table for a replay review, which eventually gave coach Tom Crean his biggest win in four seasons in Bloomington.

Look, Duke, you’d better not fall behind Lehigh and hope to extend the game by sending the Mountain Hawks to the free-throw line. Lehigh shoots 77.6 percent from the line, third-best in the country and the highest percentage among all NCAA tournament teams. OK, so maybe the 15th-seeded Mountain Hawks closing out Duke isn’t likely. But check to see if free throws make a difference for 11thseeded Colorado State, sixth nationally at 76.9 percent, against Murray State. Other NCAA teams that are close to automatic from the line: Missouri, eighth at 76.6 percent; Davidson, ninth at 76.4; Indiana, 14th at 76.2; and St. Bonaventure, 16th at 76.0.

The best free-throw shooter in the NCAA tournament is in Omaha. Missouri’s Marcus Denmon has hit 114 of 127 for 89.8 percent, ﬁfth-best in the country among those who have made at least 2.5 per game. Denmon’s teammate, Michael Dixon, also has been tough under pressure. Dixon is tied for 15th nationally and fourth among NCAA qualiﬁers at 88.4 percent. Other tournament players who have been clutch from the line include Iowa State’s Scott Christopherson, sixth nationally at 89.5 percent; Davidson’s Nik Cochran, 13th at 88.7; and Fremont Bergan graduate Wes Eikmeier of Colorado State, 18th at 87.7.

CALLING THE SHOTS Without question, fans in attendance at the CenturyLink Center this weekend for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament will be treated to excitement. Florida-Virginia and Purdue-St. Mary’s appear to have the makings of close contests. Kansas and Missouri fans surely will be hyped for their teams, both national title contenders. Can’t get a ticket? Don’t sweat it. Fans watching games in Omaha on the tube should be having fun, too. Helps when you have arguably the best broadcast team in all of basketball in town. Legendary play-by-play man Marv Albert will call the action with former NBA star and executive Steve Kerr providing analysis. And speaking of color, Craig Sager and his array of, well, unique attire will be roaming the sidelines. The Albert-Kerr duo is TNT’s No. 1 announce team for its NBA coverage. That’s only ﬁtting since Albert has called numerous NBA Finals, won his share of broadcast awards and is perhaps the sport’s most famous play-by-play voice. Kerr won ﬁve NBA titles as a player and recently was a top executive for the Phoenix Suns. Sager also is an award winner for his broadcast work.

THE DIVIDE

’12 WAR AND PEACE

D E

ION IS

SET YOUR DVR Ohio Sta State-Florida State: Perhaps the best t docket, it pits the Sweet 16 game on the upstart Seminoles, who dismissed Duke and North Carolina last week week, against the rugged Buckeyes. Ohio State is ﬁnally playing like a title contender. But FFlorida State’s athletic front line wou would give Jared Sullinger all he could handle.

Kentucky-Wichita State: Few teams played better during the past two months than the Shockers. They boast offense and defense. They’re experienced and much more. Is it enough to beat UK? Probably not. But Kentucky better not look past WSU.

» There are lots of good small guys in the West, where 5-10 stars Casper Ware of Long Beach State, C.J. Garner and Jason Brickman of Long Island and Kwamain Mitchell of St. Louis lurk.

It’s not a 66-year hiatus like Harvard’s, but Larry Eustachy’s last NCAA appearance was 2001, when his team lost to Hampton as a No. 2 seed. Eustachy, in his eighth season in Hattiesburg, has resurrected his career.

SET YOUR DVR

Against a backdrop of riots and black-white tensions in 1966, a matchup between Omaha Tech and Omaha Westside exploded on the field

EAST HOT SHOTS Jared Sullinger • Ohio State Jare

An ideological chasm — deep and hardened — cuts through the 2012 campaign. People marvel at how polarized the country has become, how gridlocked the decision-making, how rote the political debate. Some fear that public policy — how a nation of diverse interests muddles forward — has been reduced to a partisan playground. In The Divide, an occasional series until Election Day, The World-Herald explores the split in American politics, stepping back from the shouting to highlight real differences voters can weigh. As the presidential candidates prep to debate foreign policy Monday night, we’ll examine war and peace. Main News, Page 13A MORE POLITICS » The World-Herald makes its endorsement in the Senate race. Midlands, Page 6B » Deb Fischer and Bob Kerrey have very different approaches to solving Medicare. Midlands, Page 1B » The GOP sees bumps in the road in its effort to take over the Senate. Page 16A MORE ONLINE » Get more news on the upcoming election, and read bios of the candidates in key federal, state and local races, at Omaha.com/electionguide.

Omaha Tech players, from left, Ernie Britt, Johnny Rodgers, Sherwin Williams and Virgil Mitchell. Above: Broken glass at the Thrifty Liquor Store on North 24th Street during the race riots. HEADLINES FROM 1966 EDITIONS OF THE WORLD-HERALD

Digital or nothing for theaters

China out of reach for Nebraska beef

Courthouse centennial

Many movie theater owners must decide whether to spend thousands on a digital upgrade or call it quits.

If the country opened up to beef imports, it could become one of the top ﬁve overseas markets for the U.S.

The Douglas County Courthouse celebrates its 100th birthday with cake, music, kids’ activities and tours.

Living

Money, Page 9A

Midlands

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Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org / 39

Feature Page Design Winner Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Christine Zueck-Watkins Judges’ Comments: Fabulously creative. Inventive. All three pieces made me smile in concept but won me over with technical excellence. This designer is the real deal.

ROUND 1

Madonna

Justin Bieber

Queen Elizabeth’s 60-year reign

Lee Terry’s reign

Buffett Rule

Buffett’s secretary

Zebra mussels

ROUND 2

Justin Bieber

Bieber proves more annoying due to his 1.2 bazillion tweets per day. I know, I’m a follower.

Lee Terry’s reign

Nebraska royalty trumps British royalty.

Buffett’s secretary

Buffett’s secretary is too busy preparing her taxes to comment.

UNL bedbugs

THE SORRY SIXTEEN

Justin Bieber

One guy, Bieber, elicits screams from teeny-boppers at concerts. The other, Terry, draws howls from seniors at town-hall meetings.

UNL bedbugs

Bedbugs never got to sit next to the ﬁrst lady during a State of the Union address.

THE EXASPERATING EIGHT

UNL bedbugs

Five expensive, bedbug-snifﬁng dogs that may be giving “false positives” prove too much for young Bieber.

THE FAMOUS (FOR NO GOOD REASON) FOUR

UNL bedbugs

LIVING

TITLE MATCH

OMAHA WORLD-HERALD

WINNER

THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2012

TITLE MATCH

OMAHA.COM

THE FAMOUS (FOR NO GOOD REASON) FOUR

“The Real Housewives”

In an ironic nod to this contest, every time I watch any of the “Housewives” shows I almost hope Camping is right.

THE EXASPERATING EIGHT

Harold Camping

If Camping is right and the world will soon end, OPPD ofﬁcials think they’d better quadruple rates.

THE SORRY SIXTEEN

OPPD

I had something interesting to write, but my power went out and now I forget.

Harold Camping

Chin up, Barney, it’s not the end of the world. Not until June 24, anyway!

ROUND 2

OPPD

OPPD executives hope to raise rates twice more if a leap second is added to world clock.

Owling

Nothing beautiful about college students spending the best years of their lives perched on railings.

Harold Camping

Barney Cotton

One guy constantly preaches about the end of the world. Then, there’s Camping.

Heineman vs. UNL

Barney the Purple Dinosaur’s offensive line didn’t give up six sacks to South Carolina.

OPPD

MUD

Snowy owls

ROUND 1

Owling

Harold Camping

Bill Belichick

Barney Cotton

Barney the Purple Dinosaur

Pacquiao vs. Mayweather

Heineman vs. UNL

Twitter

Facebook

— Carl Spackler, “Caddyshack”

— Bruce Springsteen, “Thunder Road”

“Morality, compassion, generosity are innate elements of the human constitution.” — Thomas Jefferson

“In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” — The Beatles, “The End”

— Francis Bacon

— Mark Twain

Bedbugs are more difﬁcult to get rid of than Dan Beebe.

Bedbugs get the nod because Grace doesn’t yet bite.

“In the immortal words of Jean Paul Sartre, ‘Au revoir, gopher.’”

“All rising to great place is by a winding stair.”

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

— St. Francis of Assisi

— Mohandas Gandhi

“Show a little faith, there’s magic in the night.”

— Michael Jackson, “Man in the Mirror”

“A man with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.”

Robocalls

“Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory.”

— Bob Dylan, “Tangled Up in Blue”

“If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, and then make a change.”

— Abraham Lincoln

— Dr. Seuss

“It is in giving that we receive.”

“Some are mathematicians. Some are doctor’s wives. Don’t know how it all got started. Don’t know what they’re doin’ with their lives.”

— Madonna

“Don’t kneel to me, that is not right. You must kneel to God only, and thank him for the liberty you will hereafter enjoy.”

“Think and wonder. Wonder and think.”

— Shakespeare

“I have the same goal I’ve had since I was a little girl. I want to rule the world.”

UNL bedbugs

Robocalls

“Antony: If I lose mine honor, I lose myself.”

Most popular names dissected

Jake Vohland George Ray

Chicken theft, one year Nebraska State Penitentiary

During the Great Depression, Vohland attempted to steal chickens from Mr. and Mrs. Dale E. Stubblefield of Gibbon. The Stubblefields, however, had devised a homemade burglar alarm. They placed a mousetrap near the door of the chicken barn that rang bells in their house. Vohland set off the alarm one night in March 1931. Fleeing, he dropped part of his booty but escaped with 10 chickens worth more than $5. He did not stop for his car and made his getaway on foot. The sheriff determined the car belonged to Vohland, who was arrested despite his claims that the car had been stolen. He was found guilty of theft.

Manslaughter, four years Nebraska State Penitentiary

P H O T O S C O U R T E S Y T H E N E B R A S K A S TAT E H I S T O R I C A L S O C I E T Y

Lopez wears a large locket in her mug shot. Her companion, Cicerio Estrada, clubbed, strangled and robbed Stephen Pann in the Null Rooming House in Sidney on Jan. 9, 1922. Estrada and Lopez fled and were later captured. Through an interpreter, the Mexican-born Lopez pleaded not guilty but admitted to knowing of the slaying. She served two years, two months and 22 days.

Albert Johnson Grand larceny, one year, six months Nebraska State Penitentiary

Johnson arrived at the Nebraska State Prison sporting an impressive handlebar mustache in March 1885. Johnson was sentenced to one year and six months for grand larceny. Because of a prison policy to reduce lice, authorities shaved Johnson’s head and facial hair.

Manslaughter, 10 years Nebraska State Penitentiary

James Collins Burglary, ﬁve years Omaha Police Court

Collins was arrested in Omaha in May 1897 for burglary. In his mug shot, Collins’ head has been bandaged. Police records say Collins escaped and was rearrested. The 23-year-old Omaha tailor was sent to the Nebraska State Prison in March 1898 to serve a five-year sentence.

People rarely smiled in 19th-century photographs. Long exposure times are blamed for the lack of happy faces. By the end of the century, advances in photographic technology reduced exposures to seconds, but having a photograph taken by a professional remained a serious and sometimes somber occasion. Ray grinning in a prison mug shot is truly unusual. Ray served 10 years for manslaughter in the late 1890s.

Jim Ling Operating an opium joint Omaha Police Court

Omaha police arrested Ling for operating an opium joint in June 1898. The back of his mug shot lists his occupation as thief. Ling was described as 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighing 104 pounds with black hair and hazel eyes.

Alberto Interciago

Bertha Liebbeke

Assault to wound, one to 20 years Nebraska State Penitentiary

Grand Larceny, three years Nebraska State Penitentiary

Interciago was sentenced to one to 20 years at the Nebraska State Prison for “assault to wound” in February 1914. Interciago sports a thick mustache popularized by rebel leaders Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa during the Mexican Revolution. Typically each male had three mug shots taken, one before his head was shaved and a full-face and profile after his hair was cut.

Liebbeke was a notorious pickpocket. She would search out a well-dressed man and stumble, pretending to faint into his arms. While he attempted to help her, Liebbeke would relieve the gentleman of his valuables or wallet. This trick earned her the nickname “Fainting Bertha.” Authorities from Illinois, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska knew of Liebbeke and her tricks.

LIVING

arm candy E

OMAHA WORLD-HERALD

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

OMAHA.COM

Watches — big and bold — are making a comeback as must-have fashion pieces. Using them for the purpose of telling time is optional. By CARA PESEK WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Herbert Cockran

Burglary, Omaha Police Court

An unidentified Omaha police officer holds Herbert in a headlock during his mug shot. Cockran was arrested in November 1899 for burglary. A tailor from Fairmont, Neb., Cockran had a slightly stooped build with a fair complexion, and his eyebrows met at the root of his nose, according to the police description.

Goldie Williams

Photo exhibit reveals the not-so-good life of early citizens BY DAVID HENDEE WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

William Lee Bootlegging, two years Nebraska State Penitentiary

Nebraska’s prohibition law went into effect May 1, 1917, outlawing the manufacturing and sale of liquor. Nebraska jails soon began filling with liquor-law violators. Lee was sentenced to six months to two years in the Nebraska State Prison for bootlegging in Hitchcock County in December 1919. Prison authorities granted Lee a furlough to visit his terminally ill wife. He returned to prison and was released July 4, 1921.

LINCOLN — Grandpa Jake was a chicken thief. Grandma Bertha was a pickpocket. Uncle William was a bootlegger. Aunt Goldie was a prostitute. And cousin Herbert, the burglar, apparently had a deﬁant streak. Nebraska lore often conveys images of honest, God-fearing, hard-working folk who built an agricultural empire of farms, ranches and cities from a desert wilderness with spit and grit. But there also were scoundrels — and others behaving badly — in the state’s family tree. A new exhibit at the Nebraska History Museum in Lincoln features poster-sized mug shots from the State Penitentiary and Omaha Police Court of men and women who ran afoul of the law during the state’s early decades. “Sometimes people have an image of the past as a golden time,’’ said Tina Koeppe, exhibits coordinator. “They forget that there was an underworld, that there were people who chose to go down a less-than-moral path — and that there were desperate people who got into difﬁcult places in their lives.’’ The exhibit includes a few murderers but generally focuses on people arrested for or convicted of lesser crimes.

Folks like Herbert Cockran, who is immobilized in a firm headlock by a member of the Omaha police for a mug shot. Cockran was arrested in 1899 for burglary. He was a tailor from Fairmont, Neb. Cockran’s mug shot baffled and amused Karen Keehr, the Nebraska State Historical Society photography curator who selected the pictures used in the exhibit. “What did he do?’’ she said. Whether the people depicted in the law enforcement mug shots were guilty or innocent, there is an individual’s story behind every photograph, Keehr said. The history detective found herself fascinated by the physical descriptions listed on the back of many mug shots. The rundown included not only height and weight but scars, missing fingers, wigs and tattoos. Typically, each male prisoner had three mug shots made — before his head was shaved, and full-faced and profile images after his haircut. Women had only a full-face and profile image. Their hair was not cut. Authorities shaved men’s head and facial hair in an attempt to reduce lice. Keehr and Koeppe said they tried to learn more about the later lives of the people in the mug shots. “The problem is that it was easy to fade into history,” Keehr said. “It was easy to change your name and move to a different county after you got out of prison. It was easy to disappear.’’

Vagrancy, Omaha Police Court

Williams defiantly crossed her arms for her Omaha Police Court mug shot after her January 1898 arrest. Williams, also known as Meg Murphy, stood 5 feet tall and weighed 110 pounds. She listed her home as Chicago and her occupation as a prostitute. Arrest records indicate her left index finger was broken and she had a cut below her right wrist. Williams wears an elaborate hat with satin ribbons and feathers. She also wears large hoop earrings.

EXHIBIT INFORMATION

Bert Martin Horse thief, two years Nebraska State Penitentiary

Martin was sentenced for stealing a horse in sparsely settled Keya Paha County. At the prison, Bert worked in the broom factory. Bert’s cell mate of 11 months revealed that Bert was really a woman named Lena Martin. Lena’s masculine appearance allowed her to find work as a cowboy. Martin was transferred to the women’s division in September 1901.

When

9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Closed Labor Day and other state holidays. Exhibit ends Feb. 13, 2013.

Where

Nebraska History Museum, 15th and P Streets, Lincoln. Free admission.

On Omaha.com

See more mug shots from the exhibit.

Privacy issues were a concern when Nebraska State Historical Society ofﬁcials created a new exhibit featuring police mug shots from the past. Mug shots are part of the public domain and are not covered by privacy laws. “But we still wanted to be sensitive to family members, especially the families of victims,” said Karen Keehr, photographs curator. Exhibit organizers settled the question by not using any image more recent than 70 years, the golden number in the archival world. Personal details from U.S. Census data, for example, are made public after 70 years. — David Hendee

My kitchen has taken on a new shape recently. Literally. A big, wide open shape has become a long, skinny galley. By my in-laws’ good graces, we’re living rent-free while building our new home. This doesn’t come without stress and struggle while I attempt to create healthy meals for my family without a stove and oven. I know my in-laws would rather I prepare meals in their upstairs kitchen and avoid the trouble, but by my stubborn ways Jill Koegel Livewellnebraska.com I’ve conceded blogger to staying out of their environment as much as a basement-dweller possibly can. Reshaping your kitchen, not literally of course, is an important step in the process of reshaping your life for the long term. On an episode of “Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition,” part of the show featured a “before and after” of the contestant’s refrigerator. As with most reality TV, she was provided some help — WalMart provided fresh produce and a $50,000 gift card to spend on healthy additions to her home. And while I can’t provide that (darn), I can suggest a few steps to renovating the contents and ﬂow of your kitchen to help you achieve a better eating environment.

See Chefs: Page age 2

DOING HARD TIME: HISTORIC NEBRASKA MUG SHOTS

Lola Lopez

INSIDE, PAGE 2E Restaurant employee and Hy-Vee dietitian Meghan McLarney offers tips for staying trim for those who enjoy eating out.

Reshape kitchen to reshape life

Minnie Bradley Larceny from a person Omaha Police Court

Bradley refuses to look at the camera in her Omaha Police Court mug shot. Minnie, 27, and 5 feet, 2 inches tall, was arrested in December 1902 for larceny from a person. She listed her residence on North 11th Street and her occupation as a prostitute. The description noted that she wore a wig.

Around Mother’s Day, the Social Security Administration releases its annual list of the most common names for American babies born the previous year. This year, the release didn’t come until the day after Mother’s Day, frustrating name aficionados like me who are used to seeing it a few days sooner. Jacob and Sophia were 2011’s winners, with 21,695 Sophias and 20,153 Jacobs. For the third year in a row, the No. 1 name for girls accounted for more babies than the boy’s, an unprecedented result. Social Security counts every spelling as a separate name. I compile another Cleveland list that doesn’t Evans do that. Adding together spellings I think are pronounced identically, the top name for boys was Aiden, as it was in both 2010 and 2009. When I added together 41 spellings of Aiden given to five or more boys in 2011, the grand total was 29,048. The big surprise was that Sophia maintained its lead. After combining spellings, I came up with 29,260 Sophias. This is the first time more girls than boys had the top name on the “combined spellings” lists. The spelling Sofia, with 7,285 born, ranks No. 19 on the Social Security list. On my combined list, the rest of the boys’ top 10 are Jayden, Jacob, Jackson, Mason, Kayden, Michael, William, Ethan and Noah. Mason is new for 2011, bumping Alexander back to 11th place. The spelling Kayden was used for 3,701 boys, and that name isn’t even in the top 100 on the original list. When 54 other spellings from Caden to Khaidyn are added in, there were 18,215. With combined spellings, See Evans: Page 2

mong the many things watches do this season: » Wrap around the wrist several times, possibly with a studded leather band, a simple plastic strap or a blend of chain, fabric and leather. » Add a burst of color — coral perhaps, or red, or neon green — to an outfit. » Take up the majority of your wrist, maybe even spilling over the sides. For men’s styles in particular, huge watches are, well, huge. And among the features some find optional: » Actually telling time. “We don’t really need them,” said Kelsey Reiwer, who owns Paperdoll, a boutique at 6107 Maple St. that carries a mix of new and vintage clothing and accessories, including watches. Reiwer, like many people, has spent years relying on her cellphone — rather than a proper wristwatch — for the correct time. But for the past few seasons, watches have held new allure for Reiwer and many, many others. Her watch of choice this season is coral, with a plastic band molded to look like the metal links on a classic men’s watch and rhinestones circling the face. Evidence of the watch trend is out there. Department stores have crammed their jewelry display cases full of watches. Style websites and

blogs have devoted slideshows and posts to wrap watches, bright watches, luxury watches, watches under $100. Drug stores and even coffee shops have added racks of watches near their cash registers. At Paperdoll, wrap watches and vintage pieces have sold so quickly that Reiwer doesn’t always have them in stock. On a recent visit, though, Reiwer did have a few bright plastic watches like hers in bright blue, pale pink and other of-the-moment colors. She’s seen fashionable girls wearing watches with stacks of bracelets. She’s seen people wearing them two at a time. “Sometimes I’ll wear them even if they don’t work,” she said. Watches these days are just as See Watches: Page 2

Rainbow watch at top by May28th. Others provided by Kohl’s

Honesty is best policy on sex Recently I’ve written about the complaints my female patients have repeatedly voiced in sex therapy. So it’s only fair to reveal bedroom frustrations from men. To summarize the biggest annoyance: Women using sex as a weapon. This can include declining sex as a power play, manipulation or passive aggressive avoidance. This doesn’t mean that a woman must always agree to sex, nor does it negate reasons Lindsay Novak for declining sex like low Livewellnebraska.com blogger desire, pain with intercourse, trauma or relationship issues. Rather, men’s frustration is related to hearing “no” to sex for no foreseeable reason other than to prove a point or avoid confrontation. Here are two tips for preventing sexual power games: » Be honest with yourself. Take inventory on what you’re specifically feeling about sex. Is this a long-term problem or a recent development? Are you reacting to something your partner is doing, or is it based on a thought or feeling in your head? » Be honest with your partner. It’s not fair to either of you to avoid the problem. In fact, See Livewell: Page 2

ON LIVEWELLNEBRASKA.COM: Submit your sex and relationship questions for Lindsay Novak to answer.

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org / 41

Editorial Cartoon Winner Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Jeff Koterba Judges’ Comments: This wasn’t as easy as I had imagined it would be. Each of the entrants had at least one cartoon that made me laugh out loud (that’s a good thing.) But in my opinion Jeff Koterba’s entries were more consistent in strong concepts and drawing quality. I thought the GOP elephant/mastodon analogy was particularly clever, and the ski lift caused me to snort my coffee (again, a good thing.)

42 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

Editorial Cartoon Finalists Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette By: John Deering

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Publication: Tulsa World By: Bruce Plante

w long?

at UCA

ve. Who hasn’t misjudged sted him, and then been ppointed? Mr. Gillean’s ldn’t reflect on the univerinistration in general. And its hard-working and too d and dissed faculty. The ing Prosecutor Hiland has is latest unpleasantness at ve been this: ne percent of the people acting honorably and dohing. The thing that’s goon the institution is how d to [a problem]. From ve, they responded with and cooperation.” something to keep in torms keep breaking over least the mess is being nd justice allowed to take s course. It’s not what we now but what we don’t hat makes for scandal. It’s ot nice, keeping things rom the folks who are aying the bills. Namely, he taxpayers. Exposing he rot is the first step toward cutting it out. ts affairs to Jack Gillean en a poor personnel dee university’s part, but it o the root of how UCA s. Unfortunately, how it hes does. It was revealed at four of those coaches es are subsidized by the ing program won’t spend tutoring this semester. All me creative bookkeeping. ggling with hours. of fun with numbers is le any university that rthatKorea. e, especially one funded g-Hyuk’s education? It conc. It reflects an allbeaten too ing the camp rules dency in this country to erally. The United States? mics favor He of ted and the ethics UnitedinStates. d slick accounting. And ard of the United States. Chicurrentmainland administration theconsider China way, president) not a d never heard of and China. must in takeCamp responsibility oners 14 were mess. And straighten it up e purpose: to be worked At last.to waste time filling need ropaganda. They wouldn’t PSHOT of this succession b it. All the agitprop about ndals is that here we go ms and the workers’ paradissecting the administraed was reserved for North ncial aspects of education side the barbed wire. The essence, education itself. Camp 14 meant nothing. uch a scandal breaks, it’s an from the outside world action from the real busied to Camp 14. He told ersity, which is education, Hyuk tales of food. So they ation. Or it ought to be. n, and bolted. Shin Dongso busy talking about the d died on the electrified p on campus, they may d the camp. Shin Dongch attention to whether t out. actually being educated. e, how he made his way to writing news stories and South Korea, and then to ut the state of the liberal States—especially what he ow the arts and sciences h on the inside of Camp the state, not how much the shivers. And not just een misdirected at UCA, g about the freezing cold and drugs went missing s had to endure. ty offices. m Camp 14 can be read in lot of fine, dedicated and mer afternoon. If you’ve the g members of the faculty, itten by a former of Washinger letting doway—instead tends to be lost in the er, Blaine it. Harden. It’s solent Even though hesehave recurrent scandals. and to-the-terrible-point. es to wretches spending, government nky don’t focus you’ll see proves why supplying Our record it. t to matter most. sadists whoman. run A North reasonable fair like the current debate ul regime,man. whatever this the n-minded are, which isn’t Once so much ind oursigned, food shipments, passed, sealed and care but health insurance. the As with d onslavemasters. the lawbooks and in a difference. The focus of nce madeCode, the Soviet gulag Revenue be comes whetherI would the state theyto need to have sit down andtheir talk pilling additional hundreds of or ended, too. ework ofinto parameters and patients Medicaid— nd and conandnegotiations more physicians are hat mightsuch verypatients. well enviaccept It g cutsobserver maybe. Trust me. if zled wonder o. get nothing in writofYou all these purported rens matter. Now getjust to mprove health careI or es. And line. the first rule is: I gbottom banks from and doing risky I want now, we can he of how to eir discussion own account. your strange ideas—like dards of care, upwever, a medical bank ts—later. You spokesman justprofesforget lity of our medical ay have crossed thehigh. line bout taxes being too nerally improve the health e problem is that, without

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ading the A/C

COLUMNISTS

Why a vice president? staff mirrored that of the president’s staff. BY JULIA SHAW THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION Soon, vice presidents started acting as if they t’s clear that Vice President Joe Biden and were, in fact, in charge. Proximity, staffing and personalities have Rep. Paul Ryan want the No. 2 job. But why? After all, the vice presidency hasn’t made the office steadily more powerful. From always been a coveted office. At the dawn of Walter Mondale to Joe Biden, vice presidents the republic, it was a constitutional consolation not only kept offices near the boss and met prize: The vice president was the person who routinely with him, they helped shape the policy agenda. They exercised their policy power finished second in the Electoral College. Few of the 47 vice presidents in American his- through their membership on various policy tory are noteworthy. Don’t worry if you haven’t commissions, councils and task forces. Some, heard of Hannibal Hamlin or Richard Mentor including Al Gore and Dick Cheney, had the president’s ear and his trust. Johnson. In fact, most VPs prior to The days of selecting a vice the 20th Century are memorable bepresident simply because he is likely cause either they became president to deliver a crucial state’s electoral or shot Alexander Hamilton. votes are over. Barack Obama, after Constitutionally, the vice presall, would have won Delaware in ident’s role amounts to presiding 2008 no matter what, while George over the Senate and casting the tieW. Bush had Wyoming’s three breaking vote, opening the electoral electoral votes sewn up far before votes, and becoming president if his predecessor dies, resigns, or is “incapable of Cheney joined the ticket in 2000. Paul Ryan follows this trend. He may help discharging his duties.” Early VPs had little to do in the executive Mitt Romney carry Wisconsin, but what he branch. They kept an office on Capitol Hill and really brings is legislative experience and polpresided over the Senate. They neither attended icy ideas. He’s an intellectual force in the U.S. House of Representatives. His budget, “The cabinet meetings nor crafted policy. But this changed in the 20th Century. First, as Path to Prosperity,” which the House passed earlier this year, is a blueprint for spending and Harold C. Relyea reveals in The Vice Presidency: COLUMNISTS Evolution of the Modern Office, 1933-2001, there entitlement reform. Biden, for his part, touted foreign-policy exwere meetings to attend and even chair. As the first president to go overseas, Woodrow Wilson perience Obama lacked in 2008. While in office, relied on his vice president, Thomas R. Marshall, he’s been asked to oversee the implementation of stimulus spending. to chair the cabinet meetings in his absence. The vice presidenteconomy. is now a policy driver. Beyond attending meetings, FDR’s No. 2 men already a Republican BY PAUL KRUGMAN because America is atout a actively participated inYCabinet meetings, acted as That’s NEW ORK TIMES As aangood aside,thing, I think it’s worth pointing crossroads. The winner of thisperformance election can eiliaisons to Capitol Hill, and traveled abroad in the has hat should be done about the econ- that although the economy’s guide the country even further president’s omy? stead. Republicans Harry Truman’s vicetopresident beenhelp disappointing, to say the least, nonealong of the claim have the ther road to progressivism, or help it begin a (Alben Barkley) wasslash the first to sit on thecut Nationdisasters Republicans predicted have come to answer: spending and taxes. the turn back the principles of the alWhat Security Richard Nixon took an even pass.slow Remember all toward those assertions that budget theyCouncil. hope voters won’t notice is that that’s long, American founding. greater role in Cabinet meetings and councils. precisely the policy we’ve been following the deficits would lead to soaring interest rates? ThisU.S. is borrowing the country’s The Allcouple this changed President Lyn- Well, costschoice. have just hitensuing a record past of years.when NeverVice mind the Democrat over that choice optionsabout will don Johnson in the Execu- debates low. And remember thoseand direour warnings in the Whiteestablished House; foran alloffice practical purposes, the and American people to determine their tive Building next to thepolicy Whiteof House. inflation the “debasement” of the dollar? thisOffice is already the economic Republi- allow own future. The cast of characters is set. Let Then, in the 1970s Congress gave the vice Well, inflation remains low, and the dollar the has can dreams. continue. president budget to hire his own staff. Previbeen stronger than it was in the Bush years. So thea Republican electoral strategy is, in debates ously, VPs borrowed employees from other Put it this way: Republicans have been warneffect, a gigantic con game: It depends on con—–––––❖–––––— departments Gerald isFord had ing that we were about to turn into Greece vincing votersand thatagencies. the bad economy the result his national policies security that adviser and hisBarack own because Julia Shaw is a was researcher Obama doing and too program much to manboost of own big-spending President counsel. Mondale(in added own staff for ager for the the B. Kenneth Center for Prineconomy;Simon Keynesian economists Obama Walter hasn’t followed largehis part domestic policy. Gradually, the vice president’s ciples and Politics at The Heritage like myself warned Foundation. that we were, because the GOP wouldn’t let him), on the contrary, at risk of turning and that our woes can be cured by into Japan because he was doing too pursuing more of the same policies little. And Japanification it is, except that have already failed. with a level of misery the Japanese For some reason, however, neihad to endure. ther the pressBY nor Obama’s political much about never Big Bird. GAIL COLLINS why don’t voters know any of team has done NaEWvery YORKgood TIMESjob of You have to So calm down, Democrats. Romney exposing the con. this? hasn’t turned into some new supercandidate. t’s a tough time to be a Democrat. theunderestimating answer is that far tooduring muchSepecoWhat do IDemocrats mean by saying thateach this isother already wereofjust him When run into in YouPart a Republican economy? Look first and at total nomic He’s reporting is still theThis he-said, the same oldof Mitt. weekshe-said in Des elevators, they exchange glances sigh.govOr tember. variety, Iowa, with he dueling quotes from hired ernment spending—federal, told an editorial board thatguns he make little whimpering sounds. state and local. Moines, on either side. it’sfor also true that the Obama Adjusted for walk population and have anyBut plans pushing anti-abortion Democrats aroundgrowth repeating theinflation, come- doesn’t suchlines spending recently falling at ahad rate bills team failed to Repubif has he’sconsistently elected. (“There’s nohighlight legislation with back theyhas would havebeen given if COLUMNISTS they not seen sinceMitt theRomney demobilization that followed lican obstruction, outfamiliar of a fearwith of seemto abortionperhaps that I’m that been debating in Colorado. (“May- regards ing weak. Instead, president’s keep theyou Korean become partthe of my agenda.”)advisers Meanwhile, be need War. a new accountant? Yeah, and a new would turning happy talk, seizing on a few months’ How isand thatapossible? at to headquarters, his spokeswoman was calculator, new . . .”)Isn’t Obama a big spend- back good economic as proof that“would, their polier?They Actually, no; there was a the briefneighborhood, burst of spend- assuring Nationalnews Review that he of wander around cies are working—and then ending up looking ing in late 2009 and early 2010 as the stimulus buttonholing perfect strangers, demanding they course, support legislation aimed at providing ear Valued Correspondent, kickedone—one!—tax in, but that wholly boost isalong behind Since greater foolishprotections when the numbers name loophole that Mitt Romfor life.” turn down again. ReIt was pleasure tous. receive then it has beeninformative all downhill. Cash-strapped they’ve made ney has actually said he’d close. Things haven’t really this gonemistake off thethree deeptimes end your email noting state that markably, and local have guidelines laid off the teachers, in athe row: in 2010, 2011 andThey’ve now once again. Obama campaign. gone back to Democrats are going bipolar. Half time “media aregovernments bound by Federal to re- for firefighters and police officers; un- normal. At this point, however, and his politithey are grabbing at random bitsmeanwhile, hopefulthat inYou knew that theObama Obama-is-going-toport news accurately,” along with aofwarning employment have been trailing off even cal team don’t seem to have muchgoing choice. formation. (Anbenefits Esquire/Yahoo poll shows most euphoria wasn’t to They last. we better comply. Your message affords me the win-by-10-points

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This Republican economy

At the deep end

Letters from the editor

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org / 43 Paul Greenberg

Editorial Portfolio Winner Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Michael Holmes Judges’ Comments: Well-written and sharply observed, with an eye and ear for the telling detail. The reporting is top-notch, and shows. I’m not sure that many newspapers would’ve found a full-length editorial in the pink uniforms controversy. More’s the pity. The pieces on open government are welcome additions to an important editorial tradition.

“No harm, no foul” Girls from Columbus and Burke High Schools played a basketball game Monday night. Columbus outscored Omaha Burke, 62-47. The Burke girls still won. They learned a lesson for life: There are more important things than the final score. Their effort in raising more than $2,600 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation — which helps make wishes come true for children with life-threatening medical conditions — was a more significant accomplishment than adding a W to their season record. Burke’s girls, wearing special pink uniforms, played well and led by one point at halftime. The fundraiser was organized by Bulldogs assistant coach Tom Law, who runs a youth basketball organization that annually chooses a charity to support. He bought the uniforms, which were to be auctioned off after the game. Before the third quarter began, Columbus coach Dave Licari discussed the uniforms with game officials, who called a technical foul on Burke for vio-

lating a rule requiring the home team’s uniforms to be predominantly white. A Columbus player sank both free throws, and the Discoverers then went on to win the game. OK, rules are rules. And with Burke planning to wear pink jerseys, Columbus should have been told in advance. But so what? Isn’t the rule designed to make certain there’s a contrast between uniforms? The teams played an entire half without any confusion between the host Bulldogs’ light pink and the visitors’ maroon. If jersey color were really a problem, the issue should have been raised before the game began. That way, Columbus even could have done what’s reportedly happened in similar situations elsewhere — intentionally missed the free throws and then played the game. Players on both teams played hard. Burke’s athletic director and head coach accepted responsibility for not notifying Columbus. Law, the Bulldogs assistant, called it “a learning experience for us all.”

But this incident raises questions about more than what happened on the court. What about sportsmanship? The old ideal still means something: It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game. What about common sense? This wasn’t rule-breaking to gain a competitive advantage. No harm, no foul. And what about the biggest issue of all? The pink jerseys were a way to help others. For that, the Burke team should be applauded. The World-Herald is applauding the girls with a $1,000 donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. If you would like to contribute, too, send it to: Make-A-Wish Foundation of Nebraska 11926 Arbor Street, Suite 102 Omaha, NE 68144 On the check’s memo line, write “PINK” or “Burke Girls Pink Uniforms.” That way, no matter what the scoreboard said, the Burke girls will always know they are winners.

44 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

Editorial Portfolio Finalists Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Geitner Simmons

Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette By: David Barham, Paul Greenberg

Excerpt from “The gridlock needs to end

Excerpt from “A drunkard’s dream”

Gridlock isn’t just a problem in Washington. Closer to home, it so far has stymied the eminently sensible idea of merging the crime labs operated by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Omaha Police Department. As World-Herald staff writer John Ferak explained in a recent news article, intermittent discussions between the city and county have dragged on for two years. But things remain up in the air. The complications, as described by Ferak, include “long-standing law enforcement turf issues and the issue of management and control.” County officials say talks with the city may resume in January, but what’s needed is a serious commitment by both sides to reach an agreement that would reduce costs and maximize the efficiency for local prosecutors. So far, there has been little sign of real determination to get things moving. There are thorny issues for the two sides to navigate. That’s no reason for deadlock. Omaha and Douglas County have successfully ironed out the details for consolidating other law enforcement functions before, including the 911 center and the jail. City and county officials need to give the crime lab merger a good push. Voters elect these officials to provide leadership, not offer excuses or defend turf. Contrast the hemming and hawing by Omaha and Douglas County with the impressive merger-related discussions and actions elsewhere. In Lancaster County, the Lincoln City Council and County Board of Commissioners recently held a joint meeting — yes, you read that right — where merger options were a front-burner issue. The two sides agreed to form a task force to study opportunities to combine and streamline departments. The task force will look at all departments but in particular at the City and County Clerk’s offices as well as the City Public Works and County Engineer departments. Such efforts have a commendable history in Lancaster County. In 1996, a task force did a cost analysis of every Lancaster County and Lincoln city department to search for efficiencies. One result was the merger of county register of deeds and assessor’s offices. Iowa leaders, too, deserve credit for directing attention to the benefits of consolidating services. Here’s what the Associated Press recently reported taking place in the Des Moines area: “Leaders from 15 cities and three counties are part of a pilot program to share the cost of workers, equipment and facilities whenever possible.”

Apparently we’re the only ones in Arkansas who don’t have a first-hand story about Levon Helm. What a small, wonderfully close-knit state. Everybody knows everybody. That is, if they aren’t cousins. When we heard that Levon Helm had died after his long battle with cancer, word spread around the newsroom. And the stories spread almost as fast. —He almost ran me over at the TriCounty Fairgrounds in Marvell, said a buddy. But he apologized profusely. That is, after Levon got out of the car and called our friend by name. No, really. —He took the ashes of a friend’s husband to Woodstock, N.Y., for what she thought would be a scattering. Instead he just wanted the urn on stage with him when he played there. —When he was in my jeep in ’94, on our way to a cotton field for a photo shoot, he pulled out a pistol, wrapped it in a towel, and placed it between us. When I asked what that was for, he replied, “Snakes.” Levon Helm. Dead. It just doesn’t sound right. He wasn’t just a celebrity in these parts. He was one of us. An Arkie. Not an Arkansan, let us emphasize—an Arkie. A friend. But famous enough that folks brag about once having had their picture taken with him. Which he was pleased as punch to do, of course. Where do you want to stand? Say cheese. To be outdone, yet again, here’s our not-so-first-person experience with Levon Helm. It was one of the first albums that was all ours. Not an aunt’s. Not a dad’s. The album was 100 percent ours, having been a gift, thank you. Of course we’re talking about an album from the band so creatively named The Band. And it was one of those greatest-hits compilations that the suits stitch together to squeeze another buck out of The Product. (Don’t you know musicians love to be called The Product? About as much as newspapermen like to be told by some corporate type that our job is to put out The Product—from A Plaform yet. If the root of all evil isn’t the love of money, it’s the love of neo-language.) Who names their band The Band? The kind of musicians who were part of a back-up band for various famous frontmen (Bob Dylan, anybody?) and just adopted the name everybody was calling them anyway. How describe the sound of The Band? The harmonies weren’t all that good. What they were was perfect for the sound the band—The Band—was trying to create. Annnnnd—annnnd— annnnnd—you put the load a-right on me!

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Personal Column Winner Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Mike Kelly Judges’ Comments: Mike Kelly’s columns are breezy and fun to read. From a piece on pink slime to a profile of Jack Diamond, a 90-year-old-Holocaust-survivor-turned-furniture salesman, Kelly’s writing grabs the reader’s attention and holds it until the last well-chosen word. Kelly’s deeply personal column about his daughter was most powerful. The attempted murder of Bridget Kelly 10 years ago and the improbable romance that grew out of that vicious attack is handled skillfully — with pride and affection — by this gifted storyteller. Lovely.

“Beef flap illustrates the power of words” If you wanted to disparage a food product in the worst way, you barely could have come up with a more disgusting, nauseating, revolting term. Let alone that it’s unfair. The loaded phrase, nevertheless, is memorable, powerful, easily repeatable and suddenly part of the national lexicon — and it has had a negative effect on the beef industry. You know which phrase I mean. Who would want to eat “slime” of any kind or color, in this case “pink,” the critics’ pejorative term that created hysteria bordering on panic? They are actually referring to a safe, nutritious beef additive, which the industry calls “lean finely textured beef.” That term, unfortunately, doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily as the disgusting nickname that swept social and news media the past week. Has there been an outbreak of illness the past 20 years from lean finely textured beef? No. The “slime” controversy is in part a prime example of the power of language to be used positively or negatively. Whatever the motives of those who use the shocking phrase — sincere or not — its effect is akin to that of mudslinging, negative political ads. Eileen Wirth, chairwoman of Creighton University’s department of journalism, media and computing, sees the controversy as a matter of “framing” the issue. “Many political battles have been fought — and won or lost — over which side does the better job of framing or labeling,” Wirth said. “The side that does the superior job of such framing may or may not have the better arguments.” The professor, who grew up on a Nebraska City farm, worked as a World-Herald reporter and then in

public relations for Union Pacific Railroad before entering academia. The beef controversy is far more than academic — it already has caused hundreds of job layoffs. And the national focus last week turned to Nebraska, where the governors of Iowa, Kansas and Texas converged to strike back. In South Sioux City, Neb., they met at the Beef Products Inc. plant to show the public how the beef additive is safely produced and to decry what they called misleading and inaccurate reports. Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy of Nebraska used a curt phrase of his own in assuring the public that the product isn’t slime: “Dude, it’s beef.” Omaha once was the world’s largest livestock center, and some of today’s upstanding citizens and leaders are descendants of those who worked on kill floors. For luggers, boners, hidestrippers and others, helping to feed the nation was a bloody, exhausting business. It had to be efficient too. The old saying about pigs was that the process took “everything but the squeal.” Hot dogs and sausages, which we annually consume by the billions, typically don’t use prime cuts. The lean product at issue today is made from trimmings of meat that remain after the processing of steaks, ribs and roasts. Heating and mechanical separation remove most of the fat, creating a mix that can be 95 percent lean. It is pressed into blocks for use in ground beef. The process holds down the cost of food and reduces fat. A small amount of ammonium hydroxide, which isn’t dangerous, kills bacteria, preventing E. coli and salmonella. Sounds like a deal. And yet, that

nasty two-word phrase has captured eyes and ears of the public, even though many people may have little idea what it actually refers to and may not have taken the time to read up on it. “Part of the problem,” professor Wirth said, “is that most of us are so busy, we can easily be swayed by slogans.” I asked a couple of Omaha public relations executives, whose currency is communicating and using language well, their opinions of the controversy and the impact of the “pink slime” term. “The name is just a killer,” said Doug Smith, founder and executive chairman of Erven & Smith Advertising and Public Relations. “I don’t know how the industry gets past it. It would be a miracle.” Doug Parrott, executive vice president of Bailey Lauerman, called himself “a Nebraska kid whose dad raised cattle” and who enjoys beef. He said a good first step in responding to the demeaning phrase was the governors’ gathering at the Nebraska plant, explaining the process and then eating hamburgers that included the additive. “But it’s going to be incredibly challenging,” he said, “to get past that phrase.” Beef is Nebraska’s largest industry, with an annual economic impact of $12 billion. It is, of course, crucial for the American public to know that all meat products are safe. Slimy mischaracterizations, meanwhile, can be devastating. In extremely negative language, a safe product known as lean finely textured beef got framed — and mislabeled — in a very bad way.

46 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

Personal Column Finalists Publication: Tulsa World By: Michael Overall

Publication: The Argus Leader By: Patrick Lalley

Excerpt from “Children see wonder of storms”

Excerpt from “Rain brings optimism”

In the summer of 1979, for my seventh birthday, I asked for a storm. Nothing severe, I stipulated. Nobody needed to get hurt. I just wanted a simple, old-fashioned thunderstorm, preferably after dark when the lightning would seem more impressive. At that age, I loved to see gigantic thunderheads looming on the horizon, the air growing heavy while the radio updated the latest storm watches. I loved the first rumble of distant thunder, the first sprinkle of rain hitting the window, a sudden gust of wind shaking the tree limbs. If I was lucky, really lucky, a tornado warning would send us scampering into Grandma’s cellar, where an old radio sat on the shelf next to several rows of peach preserves. She canned them herself. After we had been there for a long time — say, five or six minutes — I could tell Grandma that I was hungry. Terribly hungry. And she might pop open one of the lids and let me drink the sticky, sweet juice straight from the jar. That night, we ran to the cellar alone, just the two of us, while the rest of the family stayed in the house. She left the heavy metal door open so we could look up and see the lightning and watch the cedar trees sway back and forth. The storm was actually rather mild, with an inch of rain and wind gusts barely above 20 mph, according to records from the National Weather Service. But what an adventure. Now I hate storms. The first rumble of thunder just reminds me to put the car in the garage, safe from hail. When I hear rain tapping against the window, I instinctively look up at the ceiling to check for leaks. I never actually see one, but I still look, every time. Meanwhile, the swaying trees are simply threatening to rip down the power lines, cutting off the air-conditioning and leaving the milk to spoil in the refrigerator. I walked through the rubble of Moore in 1999. I watched firefighters dig out bodies in Joplin last year. Storms just aren’t fun anymore. But one night, as I was watching a weather update on TV, my 3-year-old went to find the flashlight, which we always put next to the bed when storms are coming. “Are we going to lose power?” he asked, holding the flashlight triumphantly over his head. “I hope not,” I said. He put the flashlight down and bowed his head in defeat, his lip quivering as his eyes filled with tears.

First the dark clouds. But no rain. Followed by long lightning in the southern sky. Still no rain. Calm, warm, and a distant thunder roll. Then… a few pitters, a wet patter. Ms. Hyphenation and I took a break from the Olympic swimming Wednesday night to listen and watch, just for a moment. It didn’t last long, but it was real rain. Merciful rain. I stood on the deck and watched it fall. I smelled it. Stood in it. Yet even in these few minutes of optimism, a glimmer of moisture against the broad dry canvas of South Dakota, my mind floated back to a closet in one of a cluster of homes in the countryside near Wagner where a 2-year-old girl lay dead for two days while her meth-craven caretakers were off doing who knows what. That’s the way it’s been since the news first trickled out about the death of RieLee Lovell a month ago. The vision of a little girl drowned or choked or whatever, her body stashed in a closet, gawked at by other neighbor children without the ability to comprehend the perfect finality of a dead playmate, is something that doesn’t easily slip from consciousness. It shouldn’t. Yet that’s my fear and maybe why the vision won’t leave. Because it happened out there in Indian Country, where the artificial lines of legal jurisdiction determine more about crime and punishment than we’ll ever really understand, where crimes are not reported, where authority is an ephemeral and undefined concept, where methamphetamine apparently flows with little restriction, where children live in squalor and hopelessness and 2-year-old girls just die. Because it’s out there, RieLee will slip away. That’sahorrible indictment upon us as South Dakotans. That’s not the kind of thing that happens here, in the land of the Corn Palace and Great Faces. At least the folks in Wagner held a vigil for the girl on what would have been her 3rd birthday. They walked through town in attempt to call attention the drug use and the neglect. But that, too, will be forgotten. There are legal charges against the two people thought most responsible for the RieLee’s death and inhumane treatment of her little body. Of course, we ask, Where were the parents? Where was the family? Who would leave a child with such people?

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Headline Portfolio Winner Publication: The Oklahoman  By: Pat Gilliland



Judges’ Comments: Skillful use of puns that doesn’t come across as cheesy but just part of the flow. Heds work with the photos really well, too.

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Article - HAIRSTYLIST MAKES THE CUT FOR 6 GENERATIONS OF...

http://archive.newsok.com/Repository/getFiles.asp?Style=OliveXLib:Lo...

Publication: The Oklahoman; Date: Nov 20, 2012; Section: Metro & State; Page: 9A

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48 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

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LOCAL N

S.D. to debate product

but Sioux Falls used to taking chances

Sunday, September 9, 2012

ARGUSLEADER.COM

Bill would bar sales of baby items containing chemical BPA

Headline Portfolio Finalists

empowers, Falls used gng Dong, chances is the Hostess Twinkie dead?

By Sarah Reinecke

GF&P considers increase in fees The reinvention of By Cody Winchester

cwincheste@argusleader.com

sreinecke@argusleader.com

A state House panel is considering a bipartisan measure that would ban the sale of baby products that contain bisphenol A, an organic chemical that has been http://archive.newsok.com/Repository/getFiles.asp?Style=OliveXLib:Lo... linked to reproductive problems in laboratory animals. Marc Feinstein, D-Sioux Falls, is the primary sponsor of HB1246. It would prohibit the sale of bottles and other baby

A potential ban on distracted

driving doesn’t fall specifically Publication: The Oklahoman under the city’s home rule charBy: Felicia Murray ter, but it’s the type of discussion

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chemical. Similar legislation introduced last session failed. This version will target baby products specifically, which Feinstein hopes will ward off some of the opposition that torpedoed the bill last year. “A lot of them told me to bring it back,” he said. “(This bill) is narrow — it’s what they were asking me to do.” A hearing for the bill will be held Thursday in the Health and

Publication: The Argus Leader products that contain bisphenol A, or BPA, starting in July Duncan 2013. By: Pat It also would require stores to laSteve Hickey

Marc Feinstein

Human Services Committee, said committee chairman Jamie Boomgarden, R-Chancellor. Eleven of the 13 members on the committee have endorsed the legislation. BPA, which is used to make hard plastics called polycarbonates and epoxy resins that line food containers, is an endocrine disruptor that has been linked to developmental problems in

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rgusleader.com See BPA BAN, Page 3A bel products that contain the that happens because of Sioux ublication: The Oklahoman; Date: Nov 17, 2012; Section: Front page; Page: 1A mentality. Falls’ progressive ban on distracted Some say it’s up to Sioux Falls fall specifically   to be a leader, take risks and set s home rule charBy Peter Harriman on any fee increase pro- remaining 14.7 percent is the stage for South Dakota, and ype of discussion » Stations adapt » Sanford to Olson said. pharrima@argusleader.com posals, miscellaneous revenue the city’s home rule charter and for greater build Pentagon Strong license sales and carryover funds from because of Sioux  strong mayor form of governMelissa Bennett will hotel: be performing “Taps” today during annual Memorial Day s Since the since fee increase previous years. Page 8 Department Page the 8B last vitality: SPORTS, 1C the ive mentality. ment provides the flexibility to of Game and Parks have enabled the departAny request to raise liplayed forFish more than 45 years. Increasingly fewer buglers are available to play the s IN BUSINESS up to Sioux Falls last raised hunting @ARGUSLEADER.COM and ment to offset rising costs cense fees certainly will be different. JOURNAL ake risks and set fishing license fees in to this point, according to spark a debate among Sioux Falls is one of 10 South 2005, the costs associated Leif. But revenue has de- commissioners whether outh Dakota, and Dakota cities that with running the agency clined slightly each of the the department needs ad‘Som rule charter and have home rule have increased 18 percent. past two ditional money to build its A GANNETT COMPANY hav form of governMelissa Bennett will be performing “Taps” today during the annual Memorial Day service in Valley Springs where her father, Gene, This is the primary years, and a reserve funds, Olson precharter, which the flexibility to driver of ashort department inthird dipSOUTH is dicted. played for more than 45 years. Increasingly fewer buglers are available toWEDNESDAY, play the solemn ARGUS LEADER AUGUST 15, 2012 song. ELISHA PAGE SIOUX/ FALLS, DAKOTA grants powers not quiry into whether new fee predicted “At one point, we had specifically forSom increases are warranted, this year. In leadership that thought we Ethan Classm s one of 10 South friends o yea according to Tony Leif, the 2009, GF&P needed a rainy day fund in for last bidden by state shooter i hat Madison GF&P Division of Wildlife took in $27.4 case pheasants crashed. law. While that gether th rule director. million in The other philosophy is ticipation what they seems like a great ByinSteve Youngif syoung@argusleader.com theLegislature Charles R. Dorman Americ real serie “Like any business, hunting and the sees a big fishing. hich Police deal of power, “Analy we have not done it in a Tony Leif fishing li- fund sitting andin Valley morial Daythere service S icsson, 7 not on differ the kno n while, it’s a reason to look town cense sales. wants to this raid time it,” Olson most cities haven’t Yvonne 2A ARGUSLEADER.COM But will be front forare tears Melissa shows ifdoow at it,” f saidthere GF&P CommisThat fell in off to $26.6 mil- said done much to push Taylor son High notissue stand in the Panel split onJeff allowing lower-grade EastBennett River mize reve sion Chairman Olson lion last year. Thefuel latest mate No “It’s not awill settled tate envelope or drive do on Tuesd play the echo to her father’s le be raising ofByRapid City. The mittee comBennett’s eyes today, tracking projection this year is Article - Commute to academies doesn’tthe curb students’ http://archive.newsok.com/Repository/getFiles.asp?Style=OliveXLib:Lo... yet.” WORDS TO ‘TAPS’ Cody Winchester deadlocked 3-3 onfor rules allowed 85-octane statewide. But hat shotfoun him Body anything that difthe Department of Pub- they were amended toAs reflect pubmission oversees thebrought de- by$26.3 million. GF&P leaders go stantially, face, per Gene Bennett had done for mo bridge in Y lic Safety that would have allowed lic comments received after the reat grudge th By Steve Young syoung@argusleader.com the Charles R. Dorman American Legion Mecalculations “While partment andlegislative would have “In my in $80 through herretailers cheeks and past the sayanwere there are no fers drastically PIERRE — down A state west of theHistorians 102ndmind, meridrules proposed, Department may be Ne Ericss years. wer, panel Tuesday could not agree onlicense ian — a boundary that falls about 15a $1 of Public Safety staff lawyer Jenna whether to ask for fee inwould fall to approve any new million budget, million Madison morial Day service in Valley Springs. “Taps,” This but time it will be YANKTON — from the state, whether to allow 85-octane gaso- miles east of Wall onofficial Interstate words 90 Howellto said. b students’ drive http://archive.newsok.com/Repository/getFiles.asp?Style=OliveXLib:Lo... her brother’s Leif said they kota would go ru fees. decrease over two years is justcreases, trumpet atThis her a according family, en’t Yvonne authorit line in thedifferent. Black Hills, adding un- — time, tolips, sell the lower-grade blend as “There was very, very little But this time will be year-old tocomvarious Insaid Yvonne TayMichelle Brady fills her car with gas Tuesda certainty about happen long the nothing pumps warning body recover support for the use ofLisa 85 octane across the cemetery in Valley want toListon compare the value “We ha Leif saidwillGF&P offif there are tears in Melissa am completely Owner Kristiwhat Jacobsma holds Emmie theasbulldog Fridaycarry afterIaMacArthur Estates property manager collects a DNA sample. track coa ush Taylor Center at 24th Street and Minnesota Aven when emergency rules allowing label: “Sub-regular octane — refer East River,” she said. day in the Mi Bennett will not Front stand in distance and Residents inthe thepreparing complex who don’t clean up after their ternet dogs will besources, fined. FecesOlson will be tested using DNA.Dakota licenses to of operati communi these are the lor, executive di-3, 2012; Publication: The Oklahoman; Date: Oct Section: page; Page: 1A of South cials are ato2013 alarmed about,” and nation will understand. committee deferred about allow themunity blend expire in October. owner’s manual before fueling.” the tombstones anda decision American er could be tha church r do gasoline in the braska Black Hills. See FUEL, states. Page 4A 85-octane The Interim Rules Review Com-she Originally, the rules wouldpopular have play the echo to her father’s lead, as andsaid. But grave the funjective. budget now. If they decide The wildlife divi- other Bennett’s eyesrector today, tracking man with fewO most words sung of the South Sale to Filipino recently dug of her fath Apartment complex uses DNA missing a wee HOW IT WORKS difdamental principle undermuch to e to ask the commission to sion’s with portion ofmelody: the GF&P Gene Bennett had donechurch for most of the past 20 the Dakota Municipal The body freezes For few songs America thescoop be lucky,” Bennett, Sioux Falls property management lying“I’ll managing the agenipation32, as increase license fees,in they budget today is $48.5 cheeks and totouch getmillion, the on dirty deeds ally Saturday afte ; Date: Oct 3, 2012; Section:down Fronther page; Page: 1A past the years. company Midwestoasis Services League. Badlands soul as “Taps.”with And Bennett knows cy without having the tears come isageto take in enough “Day is done, enueeast toofo will do deeply so atProperty its as meeting mile license sales accountis using DNA testing to catch tenBy Peter Harriman responsible pet ownership ate, This time it will be her notes drifting Bridge in Ya money to pay for the proBill tem.” “It’s not earthOct. 4-5 in Deadwood. The ing for 52.1 percent of revtrumpet at her lips, a family, comby installing a program with ants who mournful don’t clean up after their 24 notes intimately; all dogs Still, she will stand in that gone the she sun, has By Barbara Soderlin thorities say. Taysome teeth to it. DNAwant from Emwhen they take a bathroom across the cemeteryplayed in Valley Springs, sportsmen but Anothe public would then haveover at enue. FederalJust money adds grams Rapid City Journal Clothing fo shattering things, Peterson DO going about her daily mie because and from all it thewas dogs important them at countless military funerals play from the hills, break on company properties. fits the d dinot toowned discourage their par- body officials least a month to comment 33.2 percent. business, EmmieThe the bulldog by Midwest Property munity and nation will the tombstones and and American flags andservices. theanother Here’s how it works. but understand. things that SCENIC — Swallows of the missin snorts like a steam locomotive. Services tenants will be stored Memorial Day from the lake, » Tenants are required to bring TO uth and dive into their year-old Jeffr As Lisa Liston worked a cot- in a database maintained by a recently her father. Article - PROJECTS SEEK TO ADD SOME ZIP INTO OKLAHOMA C... http://archive.newsok.com/Repository/getFiles.asp?Style=OliveXLib:Lo... their pooches intoplay the office to make government work better,”dug grave ofswoop Se She at 11 a.m. atsubstan- Tennessee company, Poo Crofton, Neb. fromtonthe skies. swab into the dog’s nests in thewill eaves of the Ta-them again today ipal get a swab sample from the For few songs in America today touch the have “I’llnot be lucky,” Bennett, 32, said, “to get by tial jowl Friday, the dubious Prints. HI tanka Trading Post, where to Yankton po Taylor said. “Cities T canine’s mouth. This provides a All is well, Emmie wiggled in her owner Beginning about April 1, any Kim Sealine sells souveAn autopsy soul as deeply as “Taps.”used AnditBennett knows DNAcome sample to be kept on file. without having the tears out.” Kristi Jacobsma’s lap. dog waste found around the terriblyPage: broadly to do big nirs from the sanctuary of uled for today JO safely rest, The cost to tenants is $30. In the next few weeks, Lis- Midwest Property Services 650 Publication:all The Oklahoman; Date: Decnotes 3, 2012; intimately; Section: Front page; 1A rth- Bill – The Asso an old church whose bell 24 mournful she has Still, a she will standnoin that graveyard and ton and other officials at Mid- apartments and town homes in » Any dog feces found on the things, but I think they operate longer rings. God west is nigh.” A surge Focus Property Services are go- Sioux Falls can be tested and   company’s properties is colngs, Peterson played them at countless funeralsto make play because it was important to the Pesticide The birds chatter as aman she Friday o ing to have the opportunity to matched to the DNA of dogs on lot military more efficiently delected and sent to a Tennessee Dow so motorcycle rumbles away older website take similar DNA swabs from file. Owners busted for being hat company called Poo Prints for and Memorial Day services. into the distance, and a cisions on operational and adabout 200 canines owned by too cavalier about their dogs’ testing. If the test matches a “In this able PIERRE —t breeze bends tallTAPS, weeds in Page 5A their tenants. Can they all be as bathroom habits face a $100 ent work better,” See She will play them again today at 11 a.m. at that just DNA sample on file, the tenant ministrative things tolerant as Emmie? fine. Dakota matters Agric the ditch along Main faces up to $100 in charges. ableBy is e Cities have not Liston is risking chomped partment has Street.   rence C make sense ... in a real common See DOG POO, Page 3A fingers in an effort to encourwebsitemanage that It’s easy to see why Scebroadly to do big A comp ers notify pe nic is listed in the “Ghost sense way.” “This re  to teach so plicators that Towns of the Black Hills” nk they operate a beyond at-risk hig Voters approved the city’s crops or live book for sale in Sealine’s Kim Sealine, owner of Tatanka Trading Post in Scenic, takes a break outside her store. The ARGUS APPS Get the latest news, sports and will opent ently to make detown is active since its sale to a Filipino church. RYAN SODERLIN / RAPID CITY JOURNAL are sensitive store. Even Sealine, who Badlands The sto entertainment from Argus Leader Falls schoo home rule charter and switched Argus Leader iPhone and tablet applications are available. For drift. doesn’t like to think of SceMedia through these sources: migrants a By Cody Winchester which then is sold to search scrapat a atshooting range since rational and adiPhone, “ArgusLeader” the App the app. For The Ombud Sout nic as a ghost town, ad- told her the near a Store. row Install of ramshackle church intends from a five-person commission Get Text Alerts for world. 156.8 Tablet, point your browser to http://tablet.argusleader.com. From cwincheste@argusleader.com pers. BBs fetch 1995, said Kim Sensitive Site mits, “We might be verg- to reopenBreaking buildings with Smith, rotten the gasReclaimed station, One recent morning, Services, News hings that just Jones in 38 there, add the icon to your home porches, access. This works  allows ing on it now.” Deb White of although about black 65 plastic two one spokesman from screen for direct Tenn.,prod will to eight-person city council in cents acouples, pound, for the South on iPad, most Android devices and Kindle Fire. Send text message of “ALMNEWS” dents thatinara Besides the U.S. Post bags are taped over France and one from Eng- Lancaster, Pa., stopped her n a real common get breaking news. The Crooks Gun Clubto 44636 isstilltoSteenholdt said (the reDakota Department of En- crops 12,86 1994. school att 22 to pesticides Office, the Tatanka Trad- the pumps. van and got out to capture land, climbed up the old ARGUS ONLINE Ordon’t on your mobile device theMult Dow cleaning uponlyseveral decclaimer getschurch percentvironment and Natural entercity’s contac ing Post is the enterscene.gov“I even know what steps into the1990s, trad- thetop By Marilynn Marchione War ina the early Go to m.argusleader.com Residents, the state and the tural C May 19, LEGISLATURE: Watch a starting at 5way p.m.to forWounded a women’s identi prisePARTLY left open to pub-ammuOn her their plans are, and it ing post and asked whethades’ worth ofthelead age). Resources. The agency re- tion and SUNNY roved the city’s downtown livestream from today’s legislative and men’s doubleheader against get a cupsaid. of on an online m lic 7ina.m. Scenic after Knee, White said Scenic nervous,” Sea- ercoffee Friend Argus Leader theyincould ernment legal system step in if Sioux 10Associated a.m. 1 p.m. 4former p.m.Press 7 p.m. makes me Sioux Falls featuring area Southern Utah. school dM nition its shooting lead is officials worth sponded to Join aMick coffee. cide will applicato residentat Twila Merrill sold range was USD: “cool.” Itcomplaint compelled line said.Media“That on Facebook 243,0 lawmakers. The coffee is 10 to Garry for a live ter and switched pay 29 of 31Sioux 36 31 A call money,” Many factors are driving north Falls. said. “That’s about lead contamination “No,” Sealine said, “the the map toJo id 46 acres, almost the37 entire toastake a Middle look. to the church’s Falls takes advantage of its au11:30 a.m. in the Starlite Room at her chat the Coyotes are School host to at U.S. com h$ Alex Kunz andFollow Luke Arens sprayhe insecticides Tuesday to control mosquitoes near Edison budsman @argusleader the Holiday Inn City Missouri-Kansas City in a women’s far mor rson commission town sold, and I Centre. don’t do reduced areasper sensitiv town, last year the Fili“It’smosquito a bygone era,” she States head office 30th Street and West Avenue in central Sioux Falls. Dry conditions have activity, but stu Most of tothe 400 club Get up-to-the-minute weather for United we’re doing it.” atincrease the Izaak shootonwhy Twitter America’s newest veterans the dramatic in SDSU: Follow Jackrabbits and men’sWalton doubleheader starting thority. That was the case when a fastest coffee. You’ll bethe able to get said. cides. pino church Iglesia NiWest inNile Burlingame, Calif., wasin the disease remains a threat state. which isj the region, including the latest TWO via live chat with Terry Vandrovec at 5 p.m. members who shoot skeet Recycling the toxic ing range in itPierre and n city council in and Apa forecasts, radar and not returned. than wha some coffee in Interior.” The Agric Cristo for interactive $700,000. That Whether has a future, order are and filing for disability beneclaims — the weak economy, $1 Retail judge ruled the remedy for red West Nile in exclusive hour-by-hour data 52-acre district ge The to travelers said included a cases gas station, what thatshot future looks trap atlast the Sealinemetal is worried also is a way be a looked found and that lead “is not partment INDEX www.I @ARGUSLEADER.COM Dakotaand each year. Dry summer quiets ordinary mosquitoes, fits range at South amuseum historic ratewhich —See45 peraround her store but left surviving more troops gated 308 rep store, bar. like, is anyone’s guess. about what the steward church’s 2A for pricing details light camera violations at 10th 8.3: N use lead shot, good of the land, being released into the enCrosswords 9D 30 pages The M year, with zero By Marilynn Marchione War in the early 1990s, top govdents ofafter pest Nine months after the The church hasn’t even he state and the a Full Weather Report, Page 5A plans might be, or may not empty-handed. HomeFinder Inside Annie’s Mail 6D emy is for cent of the 1.6 million veterans wounds, and more awareness falls into a wet area downhe said. The range hasn’t vironment in amounts that $50 per p Streeternment and Minnesota Avenue On Main Street,of a vanvirus 2007 to 2 sale,deaths. the streets are quiet, but set up aflourish post office box,9D fromvanced be. Scenic may be down toas Business cases up carriers percent 6B Horoscope age Associated Press officials said. vistep in if Sioux al consecu from Affordable AdvenThe registr businesses are boarded said postmaster Kathy just one resident, but Searange where it’s difficult been cleared of lead for 40 are significantly impactJumble 9D Cars.com F ence with from the wars in Iraq and Af-of opporof problems such asJobgen, concusolated state law.factors It also was tures tour company pulled Ebodies at the we shut, and the church hasn’t whothedrives into6D able the 41 linethe sees By Jonplenty Walker ing the disease. Engli to fight virus within Movies Classified Many are the driving to collect. Last winter, or 50 years, and Steenholdt ing the environment.” antage of its auINSIDE over and Pat and Edye McAgriculture pulled a single building town in her red ranch flattunity and doesn’t want it West Nile cases “What we’re them high ©2012 Gannett Co., sions Inc. so a blood test after illObituaries 4B Comicsand 10-11D10 days, ghanistan arein more now seeking post-traumatic case the in a dramatic 2008 dispute over in club moved estimates that theyisofevenEnvironmental groups Carthy Fairfax, Va., ment’s Officein permit or offeredsoany sign tothan bedstrikes truck, aantibod“Ken go to waste. reporting the diploma ness butwith before America’s newest veterans increase South Dakota as the case when a compensation for injuries they stress disorder, PTSD. West Nile disease is spreadtipstepped of the iceberg. by a ies developunsuccessfulwouldGovernor” not show a out. Theiror tour turalschool Services of its intentions for the Knuppe for Scenic, along statecollect placement of — new 5,000 cubic yards of the tually will 250,000 have fought far this year, with are filing for disability beneing Highway across South Dakota as a Weguide, know there’s a Womeldorf, problem. claims thevideo weaklottery economy, AnnAsso Sm – The e remedy for red Flo property. Sealine said the sticker. 44 in eastern onesoil death.up to where it is pounds. lyjail forhave years toit’sban lead say wet are service-related. one-third been that difficult to mealotshowed more activity School Dis Donette Kelley, 58, to businesses, in which the state them the old church has hired a manmenace She said sadwent that Pennington County, is onAlmost fits at a historic rate — 45 per- more troops surviving sure and dangerous to ignore. out there,” Kightgrams coo an acute care clinic July 1, to a iolations at 10th could be dried and sieved Lead shot is banned in shot, which represents 95 S.D. Repu Longhorn Saloon, who stays at more the gas stanothing has happened the well-traveled path be- and thedisability is than double granted so far. 12/14/2012 That 10:37 AM Supreme Court ruled the city A state report Tuesday linger said. refugee s doctor twoPayweeks later and 1,800   its with display sun- again tion, but who club was outpresident ofshowed since town sold, and tween Rapid City the with hold state for lead, cent of the 1.6 million veterans wounds, and more awareness public hunting areas in oftothe the nation’s Lonofpercent 10 new cases thisand week, People school her acute care. Sheamwas nesota Avenue viWest Nile bleached antlers and told townTotal recently. She he saidshe whatever thea church Badlands, and it’s a pit Army Kevin the estimate ofinsaid 21said. percent who Kightlinger “d bringing the official total tostop 41 West Nile genermight have sinus in- Pfc.coming Terry Steenholdt South Dakota because of munition market, accordcases reported from the wars in Iraq and Af- of problems such as concusThe skulls. trimmed trees, nailedfor and brings, “I hope it can benephotoincluding opportunity for ally w. It also was the andSouth lawyeD the year, one farecover withfection, then whooping cough. arm from a bom See VETERANS, Page 5A filedhas such claims the Gulf South over Dakota See CHARTER, Page 4A “We tried to doafter this four the risk it poses to watering to the National Shootpublican Part Farther down the block, plywood doors, and fit the community.” tourists from around the help their tality. The surge makes 2012 out knowing anything was A blood test was no help. EMPOW ghanistan are now seeking sions and post-traumatic since the virus first 08 dispute over if they don the worst yearfowl for West Nile other wrong. wildlife. ing Sports “I hadFoundation. every symptom there years ago, but everything and its for a di since 2007 and comes under the “Eighty-percent of the peo- was for West Nile — chills, appeared in 1999. compensation for injuries they stress disorder, or PTSD. ew video lottery was just too wet,” he said. But risk ple of exposure at are not The trade group filed cover of drought thatthe is making who are infected muscles hurt, bones hurt, hor-a See an elusive problem worse. sick at all,” Kightlinger said. riblelast headache and low-grade “It’s something that clubs Street projects begin in core area a well-managed shooting motion week to dissay are service-related. Almost one-third have been 27 which the state The actual number of cases But many who become ill fever — but to this day they Total number of our size typically will low,never according to because miss acan’t lawsuit by is muchdo higherrange — easilyis a few will know why tell mebrought what I had,” That is more than double granted disability so far. PayAdeaths look at ongoing pro-hundred, sewer, state curbepidemilogist and gutter, ofONLINE t ruled the city caused by difficulties in timing a blood Kelley said. AT A G about 10 years.” federal guidelines for detect leadthethe Center for Biological jectsWest inevery the virus Sioux street Kightlinger said lighting, — legs be- test that would virus.and an TODAY’S FORECAST Nile in FallsLonsidewalks, Army Pfc. Kevin 19, lost both above the knee the estimate of 21 percent who a list of ongoing projects area: paving and medi- A See PURPOS The clubTrimble, hired cause a concrete man shot disposal atFalls and other enviSee WEST NILE, Page 6A of difficulties in detecthealthy body gun producesDiversity antiSouth Dakota © Ac2 tural TODAY an improvements. Traffic in Sioux a bomb in Afghanistan. See VETERANS, Page 5A arm from ASSOCIATED PRESS filed such claims after the Gulf CHARTER, Page 4A from Nebraska who uses a ranges. ronmental groups to force since 1999. @ARGUSLEADER.COM migrant Big Sioux River: Con-ONLINE: will beSee detoured 27st@argusleader.com and read more about West Nile virus: Page 8A a gallery ofon photos

USD’s Miles costs Hike would offset rising agency

LOCAL RADIO on lastskin Dog poo sleuths reflects get under

M s be ne

Olympic vault

Living legacy in Bugler keeps dad’s solemn ‘Taps’ traditio 85-octane impasse Living legacy adds in 24 notes QUICK READ to uncertainty

IOnly Going, going ... ghost town: time now stops in Scenic

Bugler keeps dad’s solemn ‘Taps’ tradition going cwincheste@argusleader.com

JAY PICKTHORN / ARGUS LEADER

JAY PIC

Ne sc to ref

S.D. FEELS WEST NILE BITE pharrima@argusleader.com

Crooks Gun Club aims to get theoflead Nearly half newout veteran

jverge

Decades of shot to be cleared from range Combat leaves many wounded or disabled, more than double rate of Gulf War in ’90s

Nearly half of new veterans seek disability

Combat leaves many wounded or disabled, more than double rate of Gulf War in ’90s

EMILY SPARTZ / ARGUS LEADER

SF-0000283986

Printed on recycled paper with soybean-based ink. For S.D. recycling center nearest you call 800-438-3367.

jxwalker@argusleader.com

RECAST

INDEX

UDY

24 pages Annie’s Mail Baseball Business

1 of 2

INDEX

71 47

PARTLY CLOUDY

10B 4B 9B

Classifieds Comics Crossword Horoscopes

8-9B 11B 11B 10B

24 pages Annie’s Mail Baseball Business

Movies Nation/World Obituaries Television

Movies 10B Classifieds 8-9B series screens andMinnesota TheAvenue state hasn’t investithe Environmental Protecstruction ofof the Sioux Riv- Street, er Southto Sanitary and 85th Street. pro-contamination 12B Comics 11B Nation/World 10B Intersieves collect the metal, gatedThe lead tion Agency to issue a ban.

It’s All About

ceptor Sewer Replace- ject is scheduled to be 10A 11B Obituaries 4B Crossword ment will require the open to through traffic by crossing of the Big Sioux Oct. 26. Television 10B Horoscopes 10B 9B Park River from Tomar to 26th Street: Concrete See pricing details on 3A Spencer Park in southern repairs will begin at 26th Sioux Falls, betweenGannett Min- and Minnesota Avenue in © 2012 Co., Inc. ONLINE: nesota Avenue and Cliff central Sioux Falls. Lanes Watch an 10B Avenue south of Interwill bepaper closed for repairs, Printed on recycled interview 9 By Dennis Peter Harriman night’s however, that considered ending the state at229. Gov. but traffic will show, be mainwith soybean-based ink. a.m. Thursday pharrima@argusleader.com Fairwork Manager Scott Wick show. 12B Daugaard has enacted a tained. The is exwith Scott wishes he could have He was especially anFor recycling center nearest “No Boating Zone” effecpected take the three to Wick and Jo The threat of violentto pulled plug on. noyed the warmup band 10A tive at 8 a.m. “No fourSioux days. One of the groups open- decided to make it real for youThe callprompted 1-800-438-3367. Beal and the weather Pam Boating Zone” is in effect 11thtoStreet: Editorial Board Empire Fair officials ing for Concrete Drowning Pool, ei-Rippentrop an audience that included 10B Loan Ofﬁcer for the portion of the @ARGUS repairs begin Ted Nugent dropped cancel theBig opening nightwill ther Filterator11th Deuce, Commercial used families with children. LEADER.COM “about four F-bombs” at grandstand concert Aug. 3. language Sioux River from the Minroughinenough in and Minnesota Avenue See CUSSING, Page 5A last year’s fair. FILE PHOTO It wasconthe downtown following its Sioux performance nesota Avenue bridge Falls.that Wick tinuing downstream to the Lanes will be closed for reCliff Avenue bridge with- pairs, but traffic will be 1/11/2013 8:29 AM in the FORECAST city of Sioux Falls. maintained. Work is exTODAY’S The order is in effect until pected to take three to © 2012 Gannett Co., Inc. 7C Classifieds 4A, 4-5B, 6C Movies 24 pagesfour days. rescinded by the goverPrinted on recycled paper with soybean-based ink. 7-8A Comics 8C Nation/World Annie’s Mail 22nd Street: 7C Concrete nor. For recycling center nearest 3, 6B 8C Obituaries Baseball repairs will begin 4C Crossword at 22nd 18th Street: A stretch www.frontierbk.com you call 1-800-438-3367. 7C 7C Television Business 8B Horoscopes CHANCE OF STORMS LATE Aveof West 18th Street will be Street and Minnesota 3501 West 57th Street closed to through-traffic nue in central Sioux Falls. (605) 331-2889

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Read the full stories and view 93 winning photos at greatplainsawards.org / 49

dents Pr w limitedw s core sub littleFo cha before y t OPERAT which is School D but is ru compan week at Center. CLASSR will wor diploma each day compute with hel and thre

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Great Plains Writer of the Year Winner Publication: Tulsa World By: Cary Aspinwall Judges’ Comments: Interesting stories, well told. Aspinwall takes us to dark and scary places with comfort, and a good writer’s eye for detail.

Being Katie

Editor’s note: Katie Hill is a transgender teen from Bixby whose story was chronicled in an award-winning Tulsa World series in May 2011, “Becoming Katie.” The graduating seniors at Bixby High School walk to their seats in the Mabee Center under a sword salute by the Marine Corps Junior ROTC students of Lt. Col. Randy Hill’s class. Fashion among Bixby’s senior class girls dictates that many wear neon-hued platform stilettos with their Spartan blue graduation gowns and caps. About one-third of the way through the alphabet, Hill’s daughter, Katie, glides down the stage, and school administrators offer her a steadying hand down the stairs, as they do for every

senior girl — even though Katie is wearing sparkly flat sandals. No platform heels needed, at 5-foot10 she’s tall enough to be a model or Miss Universe, if she wanted. (The pageant recently allowed its first transgender competitor.) Katie takes her seat and waits patiently through “achieve your dreams!” speeches by the principal and three valedictorians, through her peers whose names start with A through G. When the time comes, she saunters back to the stage and waits for her name to be called so she can grab her diploma cover and shift the tassel on her mortar board. Katie. Rain. Hill.

Applause and cheers from her family and friends in the audience. Just like any other graduate. A daddy-daughter dance So much can change in a year. That walk across the stage made Katie the first openly transgender student to graduate from an Oklahoma high school — but this year, she wasn’t alone by any means, says Oklahomans for Equality Executive Director Toby Jenkins. A few days after Bixby’s ceremony, another transgender girl graduated from a local private Catholic school, and several metro-area schools have openly transgender students, he said.

50 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

Katie has been a girl in the legal and emotional sense since around her 15th birthday, when she told her mother she was a girl trapped in a boy’s body. Katie was born Luke, but being a boy just never fit. She sank into a deep depression for several years before she realized that she was transgender and asked her mother for help becoming Katie. At her graduation ceremony in May, she most certainly was not alone. Her mom, Jazzlyn Hill, was in her cheering section along with her grandmother, brothers, her new boyfriend and his mom — and her father, Randy Hill. Since Katie’s story appeared in the Tulsa World in May 2011, some of the biggest changes involve the men in her life. Lt. Col. Randy Hill was at Bixby’s graduation to oversee his JROTC students handling color guard and sword salute duties, but he was also there for Katie. He joined his ex-wife, family and friends for dinner at a Mexican restaurant before the ceremony. He sat in a mustard-color arena seat saved by Jazzlyn next to their son, Jake. He’s still a man of few words, but he and his daughter are talking now. “It’s still hard, but we’re trying,” Katie says. “He’s finally starting to see where I am coming from.” A few weeks before graduation, they even danced together. Randy and Jazzlyn cried as they watched their daughter give a speech when receiving the Carolyn Wagner Youth Leadership Award at Oklahomans for Equality’s annual gala in April. “It was beautiful,” her mother recalls. For two years, Randy Hill had been mourning the loss of his firstborn son, Luke, Jazzlyn Hill explains, but he finally realized that “it’s still this amazing, incredible kid we had.” “I see it now,” he told her at the gala. “I know this is who she’s meant to be.” ‘Some incredible angel’ May was monumental beyond the pomp and circumstance: A few days after graduation and her 18th birthday, Katie traveled to California to say goodbye to the last living piece of Luke:

his genitals. After learning about Katie’s long struggle with her gender identity and being bullied in her first attempt to attend school as a girl, an anonymous donor offered to pay for Katie’s genderreassignment surgery anywhere she wanted, including travel expenses. It’s a nearly $40,000 gift that would have taken Katie and her family years — perhaps decades — to afford, and they are floored by the donor’s generosity. This means no waiting until her 20s and no traveling to Thailand for less-expensive surgery. Katie chose Dr. Marci Bowers, who is considered a pioneer in the field of male-to-female transgender surgery, completing about four per week at her clinic in San Mateo, Calif. To surgically transform male genitalia into female, doctors perform what is known as vaginoplasty, removing the testicles and inverting and reconstructing the penile tissue into a fully formed, sensitive vagina. It’s a painful, involved four-hour surgery, and the results can vary widely depending on the condition of the patient and procedure used. But for transgender people, it’s usually the final liberating step to a sense of self that has long been in discord. This is why Jazzlyn never hesitated in scheduling Katie’s surgery so soon after her 18th birthday. “Knowing what Katie went through for eight-plus years — there’s nothing worse than watching your child suffer,” she explains. “It’s still my baby — male

or female, she’s still my child. And I don’t have to kneel at her grave.” Seeing the difference between sullen, depressed Luke and effervescent, confident Katie is all the evidence her family needs. Not that she wasn’t nervous about the prospect of surgery. “Even if you’re so ready, it’s irreversible,” she says. “It will change everything.” One day, Katie, you have to find a way to repay “some incredible angel” who made this all possible, Jazzlyn tells her. You need to help another child, like this person has helped you. A new crush At the table in the Mexican restaurant before Katie’s graduation are 10 other people, but the guest of honor spends her night transfixed by only one of them: Arin Andrews. Katie and Arin met a few weeks before the gala and quickly became “FBO” (Facebook official). Katie and her previous boyfriend, Brandon, had broken up a few months earlier, and she was ready to move on. “Brandon is old news,” she says. Now, Katie and 16-year-old Arin are inseparable. They’re constantly in each other’s arms, cell phone pictures and status updates. Katie and Arin have a special and unusual bond: He is also transgender. Arin was born Emerald, a pageant princess who grew up attending private Christian schools until she told her

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org / 51

mother on the way to a dance recital one day: “Mom, do you know what it means to be transgender? I think that’s what I am.” Arin’s mother, Denise, chats with Katie’s mom at the graduation dinner about how their transgender teens’ dating is rather unusual — although transgender people may be gay, straight or bisexual. Sexuality is a separate issue from their gender identity. Does it create confusion, a girl who was born a boy dating a boy who was born a girl? “It’s never hardly about that. It’s about the person,” Katie says. Commencement Katie doesn’t know what she wants to do after college, but at least she knows where she’s going — and it won’t be far from home. Through the Tulsa Chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and various academic scholarships, Katie will attend the University of Tulsa this fall. “I’m still on my knees praying about it,” Jazzlyn says. “There’s no way I could possibly afford TU for her without this.” Her time at Bixby High School ended quietly, without the drama that began her junior year, when she dropped out and opted for Internet home schooling

after being badly bullied on her first day attending school as a girl. “It’s a different world,” she says. “Now people just treat me like anyone else.” Some kids even apologized. Katie’s not sure how, but she thinks she can help other kids by helping people understand gender-identity disorder. She once planned on “going stealth” — living her post-surgical life as a woman and erasing all history of her life as a boy — but now she wants to share her story, even the Luke part, to help others. “I realized, because of this, it’s a part of who I am,” she says. “I don’t need to go stealth.” Light and life Thirteen days after her surgery, Katie is at the lake with Arin, wearing short shorts. She can’t swim yet, so she dances around on the boat. The first week after surgery was the worst. “The pain was almost unbearable,” she says. For a couple of days, she wondered about the timing of it all. It’s summer, and it could be weeks before she can run or swim. But the pain is fading, and her physical appearance now matches

what she always felt inside. “I look down sometimes and I’m like, ‘Oh, my God! It’s flat,’ “ she says. When Katie first came to Jazzlyn in tears about being transgender, worried that she might live an unhappy life as an outcast, her mother promised her: There will be a light at the end of this tunnel. “Katie, one of these days you’ll see — this is not a curse; this is a blessing,” Jazzlyn told her. “You’re meant to do something great with this.” Something that was once a dark period in her child’s life has turned out to be an incredible blessing, Jazzlyn says. “I never thought the light would be as bright as it is,” she says. Katie is typical of her generation in that she wears her heart on her sleeve and her life on her Facebook wall. She updates her status to keep friends posted on her recovery from surgery, complain about the new “American Idol” winner, gush over Arin and tell friends about her sweet ride, a new Toyota Corolla her dad bought her. Luke never had a Facebook page. He was always hiding from the world. Three days after she returned from California, started feeling better and spent time with family — and even more with Arin — Katie updated her status once again:

52 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

Great Plains Writer of the Year Finalists Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Matthew Hansen

Publication: Tulsa World By: Michael Overall

Excerpt from “Miss Spors’ War”

Excerpt from “Words like water”

On the day the Iraq War ends, Rachelle Spors stands up from her desk in her Omaha Bryan High School classroom. She dims the lights. She surveys the 30 students in her freshman-level Spanish class. She tries to breathe deeply. She tries to loosen that triple knot inside her chest, the one she’s been tugging on for the better part of seven years. No luck. So she simply proceeds with her PowerPoint presentation, because Miss Spors has learned that when it gets this dark, all you can do is feel your way forward. Click. First slide. Fort Riley, Kan., November 2004. A group shot of Spors and the rest of her platoon. Young faces, flushed cheeks, wide smiles. One woman holds her index finger aloft. We’re No. 1. In a week, the Nebraska National Guard’s 313th Medical Company ships out to Iraq. These are the people I went to war with, she tells her students. These are my friends. Click. Al Asad, Iraq, summer 2005. An exterior shot of her barracks, which look like a rundown trailer home. We packed six people into a bedroom here, she says. The showers squirted foul-smelling water. The toilets seldom flushed. The photo says what Miss Spors doesn’t have to: War isn’t “Call of Duty 3.” Click. A bare-bones operating room. Someone has hammered two-by-fours into a makeshift operating table. Someone has covered the table with a sheet of red plastic. Here is where they brought the tough cases before they were airlifted to Germany. Here is where she learned to be a medic. Here is where they saved people, and where they sometimes didn’t. Click. Here she is, flashing a toothy grin outside her hospital. Notice the sandbags around the window? Notice how relaxed she looks? Click. Here is an Iraqi child, his face and sweater smeared with dirt. He beams, flashing the peace sign to the camera. Click. Here is a medevac helicopter. She would sprint out to choppers like this, grab the stretcher with three other medics and carry a wounded service member inside. Miss Spors did this 300 times. She did it enough to guess when the young American or Iraqi on the stretcher would make it, and when he would not. She keeps this last part to herself. Click. Finally, here is a twisted and charred and barely recognizable hunk of metal.

A thousand miles from the Cherokees’ ancient homeland, the Trail of Tears ended in a shady field where two winding streams merged together. Elders from each of the seven clans sat down in the grass to decide where to build the tribe’s new capital. It would need plenty of water, not only to drink but to carry on the age-old tradition of “going to water” for ritual blessings. The debate dragged on, until a frustrated elder pointed at the two streams, burbling just a few steps away. “Tah-le-quah,” he declared. “Two are enough.” Today, hardly anybody in Tahlequah could understand what he said. More people in town speak Japanese, given the number of international students at Northeastern State University. For the nation’s second-largest Indian tribe, the native tongue has become largely a curiosity, printed on street signs and billboards but indecipherable to all but a fraction of the population. “Uy-vtlv’i kal-vgv id-id-la sga-du-gi di-det-loquasdi’i,” professor Leslie Hannah reads the inscription over the main entrance to campus. “The place where they learn.” Most students can’t read it. “But mine can,” Hannah says. On a sunny afternoon near the end of the spring semester, his students meet in front of a statue of Sequoyah, who created the Cherokee syllabary in the 1810s to make it a written language. “O-si-yo,” Hannah tells them. “Hello.” A short walk downhill, they wade into the chilly water, keeping their shoes on to protect against the sharp rocks. “A Cherokee goes to water the way a Christian goes to the altar,” the professor explains to his students. “The water is sacred to us.” Facing east, they splash themselves as they listen to an ancient song, said to have been given to the Cherokees by the sun itself. “I am the sun,” it translates. “All that is below won’t overcome me. It will lift me up.” Their ancestors would have gone to water every day, usually at dawn. Now these students are going, too, if only once a semester. No matter how much has been lost, they’re determined to bring back the old ways, starting with the language. “NSU is ground zero,” Hannah declares. “If it survives, it will survive because of what we’re doing here.”

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org / 53

Great Plains Newspaper of the Year Less than 75,000 circulation Publication: Wichita Eagle Judges’ Comments: The Wichita Eagle remains a solid newspaper, important to its community. I was especially impressed by the deep reporting on the Koch brothers.

54 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

Great Plains Newspaper of the Year Finalists Less than 75,000 circulation Publication: The Argus Leader

Sioux Falls flaunts pink

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Republicanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s re-election bid for House pushes for defeat of Obama policies

By Jon Walker jwalker@argusleader.com

Rules are unclear about when South Dakota must decide whether to expand its Medicaid coverage and who will be making that decision, but legislators hope to have a say in the matter. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Legislature is the biggest town hall meeting in the state. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exactly what weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re there for, so Bernie the public can Hunhoff weigh in,â&#x20AC;? said Bernie Hunhoff, a Yankton Democrat and minority leader in the House of Representatives. Republican Sen. Mark Johnston of Sioux Falls Mark said an issue this Johnston size should include both Gov. Dennis Daugaard and the Legislature in next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s session. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a very responsible approach considering the large Tony number of people Venhuizen affected by it and the impact it continues to have on our limited resources,â&#x20AC;? said Johnston, a vice president at Sanford Health. It might not be that simple. Federal officials have not yet indicated a deadline or lines of authority on the matter, said Tony Venhuizen, a spokesman for Daugaard. Whether to expand Medicaid

TatĂŠ Walker, a crisis intake specialist, works with low-risk delinquents at the Minnehaha County evening report center. The center opened in January as an option for juveniles who need after-school supervision. JAY PICKTHORN / ARGUS LEADER

Juvenile alternatives to lockup By John Hult

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Minnehaha County is locking up one-third as many youths as it did two years ago, and Pennington County is locking up about half as many. Instead, teens caught skipping school, drinking or stealing are supervised at evening reporting centers, spending time on house arrest or wearing electronic monitoring bracelets. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a major change in a state that once locked up more delinquent kids than any other, with juveniles be-

Minnehaha reduces incarceration without bump in teen crime

Read more about crime and courts in reporter John Hultâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s blog @ARGUSLEADER.COM

hind bars at a rate more than twice the national average. Now the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Council on Juvenile Services wants to take the philosophies and concepts that brought the changes to the rest of the state. Hughes County Sheriff Mike Liedholt, a member of the council, said most teens grow out of problem behavior, and alternatives make more sense.

Liedholt hopes his county is one of the two to apply for $80,000 in research money the council voted to offer next year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nobody wants to be soft on juvenile crime, but thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not what this is about,â&#x20AC;? Liedholt said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The key to me is dealing with them appropriately. We want to make sure we arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t locking up kids that donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to be locked up.â&#x20AC;? Charles Mix County Stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Attorney Pam Hein was intrigued by the numbers as well. The small county sends an out-sized number See JUVENILES, Page 9A

â&#x20AC;&#x153;South Dakota was addicted to detention. Maybe South Dakota is still addicted to detention. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a pretty tough pill to swallow when someone comes in and tells you youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not doing it right. We were in denial.â&#x20AC;? DOUG HOFFMAN, circuit judge and member of the alternatives initiative committee

By David Montgomery dmontgomery@argusleader.com

LIFE OF A CHILD KILLER Stories by Steve Young

See MEDICAID, Page 4A

Associated Press

DES MOINES â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Five weeks to

Election Day, President Obama is within reach of the 270 electoral votes needed to win a second term. Republican Mitt Romneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s road to victory is narrowing. To overtake Obama, Romney would need to quickly gain the upper hand in almost all nine

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states where he and Obama are competing the hardest. Polls show the president with a steady lead in many of them as Romney looks to shift the dynamics of the race, starting with their first debate Wednesday in Denver. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d rather be us than them,â&#x20AC;? said Jennifer Psaki, an Obama spokeswoman. But Romneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s running mate, Paul Ryan, said thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time for

the GOP ticket to prevail. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In these kinds of races, people focus near the end, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s happening now,â&#x20AC;? he told â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fox News Sunday.â&#x20AC;? If the election were held today, an Associated Press analysis shows Obama would win at least 271 electoral votes, with likely victories in crucial Ohio and Iowa along with 19 other

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VIDEO CHATS: On Monday, reporter Steve Young and Managing Editor Patrick Lalley will take questions at 3 p.m. in the first of three chats. WEBSITE: Explore the South Dakota to South Sudan website, including maps, photos and video from Sudan and Sioux Falls. Watch photographer Emily Spartzâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s multimedia introduction of three Sudanese women. GATHERING: Argus Leader Media is hosting a community discussion on the series at Kresge Auditorium on the Augustana College campus. Join us in person or watch live online to participate at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16.

County, along the Big Sioux River separating Iowa and South Dakota, he was staring at what

appeared to be the tortured body of a child left in an obscene and grotesque death pose. It canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be real, thought Albers, whose years as county sheriff had taught him well about the ugly side of humanity. This was somebodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sick sense of humor. This was so implausible that before he called in any crime scene investigators, he felt David Jal (right) shares a funny story with childhood friends Reath Banak (left) and Thor Gany in Dunyal village, South Sudan. PHOTO SUBMITTED BY JOEL HIRSCHMAN

Lost Boyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s network ingrained in culture

JOURNEY TRAVELING WITH DAVID JAL

CHICAGO â&#x20AC;&#x201D; At Chicagoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hare Airport, on his way to Africa to dig a well in his native South Sudanese village of Dunyal, David Jal stops abruptly as he moves through a concourse. A voice is calling his name. The Sioux Falls probation officer turns, sees a face he immediately recognizes, and they smile and reach out their hands and suddenly are deep into conversation. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a scene that repeats

See JOURNEY, Page 7A

compelled to do something seasoned law enforcement like himself never do.

See NOEM, Page 12A

He walked into the crime scene and reached out to it with his hand. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I had to â&#x20AC;Ś convince myself it was real, that I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t making a fool of myself by calling investigators out for a doll, for something someone had put together as a joke,â&#x20AC;? Albers recalled recently. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t look real to me, so I had to touch her.â&#x20AC;? What he learned then, what the rest of South Dakota knows now, is that this was not make-believe. This was 9-year-old Becky Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connell, a child stolen from the streets of northern Sioux Falls a day earlier â&#x20AC;&#x201D; May 8, 1990 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; driven to the woods, then raped and sliced to death with a knife that ultimately cut deep into her throat. Twenty-two years later â&#x20AC;&#x201D; about 10 p.m. Tuesday â&#x20AC;&#x201D; her killer, Donald Eugene Moeller, will be executed by lethal injection at the state penitentiary, closing the book on an act considered among the most vile in state history.

Mike Larsen

INSIDE A detectiveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hunch was pivotal to solving the murder. See Page 8A

ONLINE Read updates on the execution and watch the news conference live Tuesday night @argusleader.com

See MOELLER, Page 8A

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The many faces of Donald Moeller. He has been twice convicted in Becky Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1990 murder.

Kristi Noem

See CAMPAIGN, Page 9A

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By Steve Young

en Albers couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe his eyes. In the woods near Lake Alvin in Lincoln

ONLINE

DUNYAL, South Sudan

avid Jal squats low beneath a broiling African sun, forehead buried in his right hand, thoughts drifting away in the shimmering heat. Things are not going as planned. On the cracked, dry earth of South Sudan, even hope melts. Jal fled this village as a boy almost three decades ago, one of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lost Boysâ&#x20AC;? of Sudan, as the mud huts burned and gunfire mowed down cattle and humans alike. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s CHAPTER ONE returned with the optimism and success of an GIVING BACK educated, successful American man, convinced that flowing water will change this dusty patch of Third World poverty into something cleaner, something better. The journey alone was daunting, from South Dakota to Amsterdam to Ethiopia by air, only to reach the fetid chaos of Addis Ababa, followed by rickety truck rides and a risky ferry across the Gilo River before finally arriving in South Sudan, a land still percolating with instability.

Republican needs tossup states to tilt his way in final weeks By Thomas Beaumont

syoung@argusleader.com

Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s edge grows, but Romney still has path to top GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney at church Sunday in Belmont, Mass. He has a thin margin five weeks before the election in trying to claim swing states. AP

Kristi Noem ran for Congress two years ago with this simple â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and often used â&#x20AC;&#x201D; message: Washington is on the wrong track, and I can make it better. The strategy worked, as challenger Noem knocked off incumbent Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin as voters sent her to Washington, D.C., as part of a Republican wave that took control of the House of Representatives. These days, Noemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s message is ONLINE more complicated. She still assails Wash- 100 EYES: Watch ington, but is careful â&#x20AC;&#x153;100 Eyes on S.D. to differentiate be- Politicsâ&#x20AC;? at 3 p.m. tween the GOP-con- Tuesday trolled House and the BLOG: Get more Democrat-run Senate politics from and presidency. She reporter David defends her own rec- Montgomery ord and makes sure to MATT VARILEK: explain why some of See last weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s her priorities havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t profile of the yet been accom- Democratic U.S. plished. She argues House candidate that her opponent, @ARGUS Democrat Matt Vari- LEADER.COM lek, doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the same convictions as do most South Dakotans. But at the core of her quest for a second term is a familiar refrain. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Washington, D.C., is a wreck,â&#x20AC;? Noem said in August, at her first debate with Varilek. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The last two years weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been successful in cutting spending and getting the government bureaucracy under control, but my jobâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not done yet.â&#x20AC;? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not clear whether South Dakota voters agree. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I get the sense that Republicans are

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Great Plains Newspaper of the Year Greater than 75,000 circulation Publication: Tulsa World Judges’ Comments: Solid reporting, vibrant design, well-packaged information. Impressed by the narrative storytelling as well. Business: See how much some Oklahomans earn. E1

Scene: Philbrook plays host to yoga, more. D1

Sports: Looking forward to 2013 in local sports. B1

Scene: Resolve to live more fully in 2013. D1 final home edition

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Anti-meth tracking begins • The registry is to stop people from crossing state lines to bypass limits on pseudoephedrine. registry, which should allow the state to stop people from avoiding states’ limits on pseudoephedrine The final element of a hotly de- purchases by crossing state lines. bated law aimed at reducing the Oklahoma has had sales limits number of illegal meth labs in the and an electronic registry of pseustate goes into effect Jan. 1. doephedrine sales for years, but All state pharmacies are on sched- the new system will make it more ule to be part of a multistate drug difficult to avoid those limits, said

BY WAYNE GREENE World Senior Writer

LOCALLY OWNED SINCE 1905

GOOD FRIDAY SHOOTINGS: ‘WE KNEW WE HAD A SERIOUS SITUATION’

Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control spokesman Mark Woodward. “It ties all the neighboring states together and that’s going to be really important for places like Lawton, Sequoyah County and up in Miami (Okla.), where someone might get their daily limit here in Oklahoma and then drive to Joplin or Fort Smith or Wichita Falls and get another daily limit,” Woodward said. About 70 percent of Oklahoma

pharmacies are already online with the multistate system and all of them should be operating on it by Jan. 1, he said. The same law has been limiting the amount of pseudoephedrine available for purchase since July 1. Without a prescription, the 72hour limit is 3.6 grams of the popular anti-allergy medication that is a key ingredient in most Oklahoma SEE METH A5

Tense two days in Tulsa • Police quickly mobilized as fear took hold in city.

Murder

World Staff Writer

MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Shooting scene: Tucker, Hall survive

Shooting scene: Bobby Clark

1:03 a.m. April 6: Dannaer Fields, 49, is found in a yard in the 1000 block of East 51st Place North. She later dies at a hospital.

1:06 a.m. April 6: Deon Tucker, 44, and David Hall, 46, are shot in the 1300 block of East 51st Place North. Both are recovering.

1:50 a.m. April 6: A memorial for Bobby Clark, 54, is at the site where he was fatally shot in the 300 block of West 63rd Street North.

• A B&B owned by a state senator is on a taxexempt eagle sanctuary. BY RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer

RED OAK — Between Wilburton and Red Oak, off U.S. 270 and tucked into the hills of eastern Latimer County, sprawls what appears to be a 12,000-square-foot stone mansion. Called Rockland at Eagles Rest, it is operated as a high-end bed and breakfast and may or may not also be the residence of owners Larry and Karla Boggs. Among locals, the place has been a topic of considDEFENSE erable discussion Larry Boggs: since construc“We protect, tion began in defend, publicly 2001. A lot of that educate and pro- discussion has mote the welfare had to do with the of the American fact that Rockland Bald Eagle and its is exempt from nesting habitat.” property taxes. “They brought in a stack of papers about a foot high,” said current Latimer County Assessor Cyndi McKenna. “The assessor before me (Linda Jordan) sent them up to the Tax Commission. They looked them over and said everything was in order.” Rockland is on 10 acres the Boggses set up as a 501(c)3 nonprofit eagle sanctuary. Larry Boggs said SEE TAXES A11

Jesil Wilson stands in shackles at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in August. He has spent his entire adult life in prison and was recently moved to a lower security level at a prison in Holdenville. Photos by MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

BY JERRY WOFFORD

Shooting scene: Dannaer Fields

Mansion exempt from taxes

The buzz of Maj. Walter Evans’ cell phone woke him up just after 1 a.m. Tulsa police detectives were calling. A body had just been found in north Tulsa. A few minutes later, it buzzed again. Two people were shot — but still alive — two blocks from the first body. It’s normal for homicide detectives to alert him when a body is found or someone is shot. As the Detective Division commander, he’s their boss. But this was different. “Something seemed kind of odd about that because they were all close together,” Evans said. Another buzz. This one about 1:50. Evans was downtown at

was the case

Though 13 and not the shooter, Jesil Wilson got life in prison. Was justice served?

Today High 46, Low 34

Inside today’s Tulsa World Ask Amy ......... D9 Books ............G4,5 Bus. People ...... E2

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

TULSAWORLD.COM

Find out more Watch a surveillance video from the crime scene, read court documents — including the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision — and learn more about Jesil Wilson’s life.

tulsaworld.com/ jesilwilson

SEE WILSON A10

Increasing clouds. More weather on A18

Celebrations... D5 Crosswords .... G5 Horoscope .....C14

• More than $318,000 is given in annual effort. BY SHANNON MUCHMORE World Staff Writer

BY CARY ASPINWALL ₪ WORLD STAFF WRITER

n the earliest hours of Jan. 3, 1997, 13-year-old Jesil Wilson knocked on the door of Letoria Knighten’s townhome. He asked for Mitchell, her 18-year-old brother. He told her it was important. Mitchell Knighten stumbled sleepily down the stairs. The sister heard two voices — “just a normal conversation,” according to court records. “Dude that was out there asked him, ‘Do you have his stuff?’ And he said, ‘I ain’t got your stuff,’ ” Letoria Knighten testified. As she pressed her ear against the door and spied out the peephole, she saw Jesil’s 18-year-old cousin, Zachary Ferguson. She couldn’t see Jesil, but a security camera captured footage of three teens. They were there to get a gun, one Mitchell had taken from Jesil on New Year’s Eve.

Sirmodia Wilson married a man she fell for as a young girl. Her husband, Jesil Wilson, was convicted of firstdegree murder as an adult for a shooting that happened when he was 13, although he was not the triggerman. He is serving a life sentence.

Fund drive for needy exceeds goal

Tulsa World readers donated $318,853 to the Neediest Families Fund Drive this year, surpassing the goal of $300,000. In a series of stories from Thanksgiving to Christmas, the World highlighted families in need in the Tulsa area. The families were selected by The Salvation Army, which will distribute vouchers to the families from the money donated to the fund. None of the money goes toward administrative costs, and the families do not receive the money directly. Last year’s goal was also $300,000, which was exceeded by $34,888. More than $5.3 million has been raised since 1993. The Neediest Families Fund began as the Tulsa Tribune’s Santa Pal project in 1928. The Salvation Army was brought into the project SEE FUND A11

Follow the World online Movies............. D6 Obituaries.....A20 Opinion ............ G1

Outdoors........ B12 Sports TV ........ B2 Tech ................... E6

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SEE SPREE A8

MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

JOHN CLANTON/Tulsa World

Shooting scene: William Allen

Suspects arrested

Police respond

8:30 a.m. April 6: The body of William Allen, 31, is found in front of Jack’s Memory Chapel at 801 E. 36th St. North.

1:47 a.m. April 8: Jake England (left) and Alvin Watts are arrested. Both have been charged with first-degree murder and hate crimes.

3 p.m. April 8: Maj. Walter Evans, the Detective Division commander for the Tulsa Police Department, discusses the arrests.

• England shaped by responsibility, desperation, tragedy, friends say. BY ZACK STOYCOFF World Staff Writer

Jackson praises community’s response BY KEVIN CANFIELD World Staff Writer

Standing behind the same pulpit once used by Martin Luther King Jr., the Rev. Jesse Jackson on Saturday told a packed church in north Tulsa that the city had been brought together by “three martyrs and two murderers,” and called on residents to choose redemption over revenge. “God will see us through,” Jackson said. “You have the faith, God has the power.” Jackson was the guest speaker at the Rally for Hope and Healing at First Baptist Church North Tulsa, 1414 N. Greenwood Ave.

Several hundred people attended the event, which lasted two hours and featured songs, prayers and calls for justice and healing. Jackson began his remarks by saying that the Good Friday shootings had the possibility of becoming a more explosive situation than the Trayvon Martin case in Sanford, Fla. “But the mayor and police chief stepped up,” Jackson said, prompting a standing ovation. Although Jackson’s message was about hope, he tempered it with reminders that inequality still exists. He noted, for example, that black unemployment, incarceration rates and suspension rates

For more Timeline of events. A8 Three victims remembered. A9 Survivors’ story. A9

View a slideshow and a video of the Rally for Hope and Healing.

tulsaworld.com/multimedia

from school are greater than in other segments of the population. “Blacks are under occupation,”

he said. “This is that other side of town.” Dannaer Fields, 49, Bobby Clark, 54, and William Allen, 31, were shot to death in the early morning hours of April 6. David Hall, 46, and Deon Tucker, 44, were shot but survived their injuries. At the end of the rally, Jackson prayed for Hall and Tucker, who attended the rally. Jacob “Jake” England, 19, and Alvin Lee Watts, 33, were charged Friday with the shootings and with violating Oklahoma’s hate crime statute.

Jake England took it all on himself at 17, managing his father’s tree-cutting business and raising his teenage sister after witnessing his father’s fatal shooting in 2010. Carl England, a blue-collar worker who did whatever it took to feed his children, had a short temper and beat Jake’s mother for years in their small house where Jake and his two sisters could see and hear everything. But Jake England idolized him. “When Carl died, those kids lost every bit of security they ever had,” said a family friend who described herself as a motherly figure to Jake. “Jake never smiled anymore.

SEE HOPE A4

SEE ENGLAND A9

EMSA board meetings sporadic

••Many•believe•it•should• take•a•more•active•role•in• shaping•policy.• BY ZIVA BRANSTETTER World Enterprise Editor

An• 11-member• board• that• supervises•ambulance•service•for•more•than•1• million• people• in• Oklahoma• canceled• nearly• half• of• its• meetings• last• year•

and• is• led• by• a• chairman• whose• term• expired•last•June,•records•show. Several•members•of•the•EMSA•board• and• officials• including• Mayor• Dewey• Bartlett• say• the• board• should• take• a• more•active•role•in•shaping•policy•for• the•agency.•Other•board•members•say• that• while• improvements• in• administration• can• be• made,• the• public• can• be• confident• in• the• care• provided• by• EMSA•paramedics. “We•believe•we•are•the•largest•EMS•

Today High 74, Low 47

Inside today’s Tulsa World

Chance of rain. More weather on B10

Action Line ...... E6 Ask Amy ....... D10 Books ............G4,5

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

Bus. People ...... E2 Celebrations... D5 Crosswords .... G5

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LOCALLY OWNED SINCE 1905

Alcohol-related crashes down ••That’s•in•the•face•of•more• TULSAWORLD.COM Read more overall•state•accidents•in• Find Oklahoma Highway Safety Office data recent•New•Year’s•holidays. analysis. BY CASEY SMITH

tulsaworld.com/crashdata

Over•the•past•three•New•Year’s•holidays• the• number• of• motor• vehicle• crashes•in•Oklahoma•increased,•but•the• number•related•to•alcohol•declined. A• total• of• 419• crashes• occurred• during• the• days• that• made• up• last• year’s• New•Year•holiday,•14•percent•more•than• occurred• during• the• same• period• two•

years•earlier,•records•show. Last• year• 51• crashes• were• alcohol-related,•down•20•percent•compared•to•the• number•of•accidents•connected•to•drunken•driving•during•the•2009-2010•holiday.

Holiday

Hours

Total Crashes

Alcohol-Related Crashes

July Fourth Thanksgiving Labor Day Memorial Day New Year’s Christmas

78 102 78 78 78 78

493 475 475 423 410 389

70 62 62 43 54 49

Deal on fiscal cliff proving elusive ••Tax•hikes•and•acrossthe-board•spending•cuts• are•set•to•take•effect•at• the•turn•of•the•year. BY ANDREW TAYLOR AND ALAN FRAM

Source: Oklahoma Department of Public Safety Highway Safety Office

SEE CRASHES A4

Associated Press

WASHINGTON••—•A•Capitol•Hill• deal• to• avert• the• “fiscal• cliff”• was• proving•elusive•Sunday•as•a•deadline• to•avert•tax•hikes•on•virtually•every• American•worker•and•block•sweeping• spending• cuts• set• to• strike• the• Pentagon•and•other•federal•agencies• grew•perilously•near. Senate• Majority• Leader• Harry• Reid,• D-Nev.,• and• Senate• Republican• leader• Mitch• McConnell• re-

YEAR’S TOP STORY: GOOD FRIDAY SHOOTINGS

SEE CLIFF A5

Bowl game emotional for many TU parents

• Dr. James L. Griffin (chairman), Tulsa, orthopedic surgeon • Dr. James Rodgers, Tulsa, surgeon • Dr. Tyree Seals, Tulsa, internal medicine doctor • Dr. Jeffrey Goodloe, medical director, Medical Control Board, emergency medicine doctor • Phillip Morgans, representing Jenks • Clay Bird, city of Tulsa eco-

nomic development director • Dr. Ed Shadid, city councilor, Oklahoma City • Larry Stevens, Edmond city manager • Joe Hodges, president St. Anthony Hospital, Oklahoma City • Lillian Perryman, director of emergency services for Integris Health, Oklahoma City • Gary Marrs, city councilor, Oklahoma City

BY ERIC BAILEY

World Sports Writer

2012 LOOKING BACK

Krystal Tattershall puts a tribute at the scene of her neighbor Bobby Clark’s shooting at 300 W. 63rd St. North on April 9. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

‘City came together’

Follow the World online • Breaking news at tulsaworld.com • facebook.com/tulsaworld • twitter.com/tulsaworld

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Racial tension turned to unity in wake of killings

City Councilor Jack Henderson (left) and Pastor Warren Blakney, who played a key role in the community’s response to the Good Friday shootings, meet at the North Peoria Church of Christ on Dec. 20.

BY MICHAEL OVERALL World Staff Writer

A few days before Christmas, the national office of the NAACP called to ask how Tulsa was dealing with the aftermath of the Good Friday shootings, eight months ago. “There’s not a lot being said about it anymore,” explained the Rev. Warren Blakney, a minister at North Peoria Church of Christ and president of the local NAACP chapter. “We all came together in such a way that it didn’t become a long, drawn-out crisis, like it could have.” And maybe that — not the shooting spree itself — should rank as Tulsa’s No. 1 story of the year.

FOUR CAR FRENZY

MATT BARNARD/ Tulsa World

SEE STORY A8

SATURDAYS IN APRIL, 10PM

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Steve and Wanda Dupy will watch their 51st University of Tulsa football game on Monday afternoon. The Dupys will have bittersweet feelings as they cheer for the Golden Hurricane in the Liberty Bowl matchup against Iowa State. Their son Trent Dupy is playing his last game at Tulsa. They’ll also bid farewell to their second family, a large legion of parents of Tulsa football players who SEE TU A5

Obama has 4 openings to fill on the 10th Circuit court BY ROBERT BOCZKIEWICZ World Correspondent

DENVER• —• President• Barack• Obama• has• an• opportunity• that• is• stronger• than• ever• to• significantly• shape• the• make-up• of• the• federal• appeals• court• that• serves• Oklahoma. The• president• has• four• spots• —• a• number• larger• than• usual• in• one• year• —• to• fill• in• 2013• on• the• 10th• U.S.•Circuit•Court•of•Appeals,•a•tribunal• one• step• below• the• U.S.• Supreme•Court. SEE COURT A4

1 winner will drive away in a new Mercedes-Benz C-Class or an SLK Convertible. Earn points daily.

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Movies............. D2 Obituaries......A12 Sports TV ........ B2

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Total crashes over holiday periods, 2011

World Staff Writer

SEE EMSA A5

Obituaries......A18 Sports TV ........ B2 Tech ................... E4

Scene: Finding a college takes time, planning. D1

EMSA board

system• in• the• United• States• that• advances•clinical•standards•of•care•more• frequently• than• all• other• large,• urban• EMS• systems,• updating• our• clinical• standards• every• two• months• since• July• 1,• 2009,”• said• board• member• Dr.• Jeffrey•Goodloe,•a•nonvoting•member• who•serves•as•medical•director•of•the• Medical•Control•Board.•Goodloe•oversees•care•provided•by•paramedics•em-

Horoscope .... C22 Letters ............. G2 Movies............. D6

Sports: Cowboys lose, miss playoffs again. B1 www.tulsaworld.com

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Great Plains Newspaper of the Year Finalists Greater than 75,000 circulation Publication: Omaha World-Herald OLYMPIC SWIM TRIALS OSCAR SUNDAY

Oscar’s looking on the bright side

Lochte is armed with the attitude — and ability — to take on Phelps BY SAM MCKEWON | WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Best picture nominees, while still touched by loss, turn from darker themes. Living BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY

BUFFETT UPBEAT IN HIS ANNUAL MESSAGE

Hollywood’s biggest night Check out fun facts about the stars, styles and surprises of the awards show. Parade

DIVE RIGHT IN The Olympic Swim Trials begin Monday. Find event schedules and learn about the swimmers to watch in our special section.

Jeah. If you want to get inside swimmer Ryan Lochte’s head, start there. Jeah. That’s “yeah,” with a J. Pronounced: JEEah, preferably in a lilting falsetto voice. “It has no meaning,” Lochte says. But then he says, and has said before, it means “everything.” At the very least, it means “good.” Happy. Two golds in the 2008 Olympics, ﬁve at the 2011 World Championships, and a plan for even more in London. Jeah. It’s a sample, Lochte’s own personal play off of rapper Young Jeezy, who often grunts “chea” in his songs. It’s a worldview. The skater-

LOCALLY OWNED SINCE 1885

It’s not a party if somebody dies Tragedy leads to first felony charge tied to buying alcohol for minors 2

1 EVENING OF JAN. 27 Christopher Vering hosts a party at a farmhouse (below) near Richland. Vering, 21, faces three charges of procuring alcohol for a minor, including one felony.

FIRST ACCIDENT: 2:33 a.m. Jan. 28 Candace Randall-Stewart is killed when a car driven by Genaro Anaya crashes along U.S. Highway 30. Zachary Tharnish, one of two other passengers injured in the crash, dies four days later. Anaya, 21, is later charged with three felonies: one DUI and two motor-vehicle homicide charges.

Anaya

3 1 81

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Randall-Stewart

Other highlights of the closely watched letter: >> Berkshire beat the

market in 2011, even though its profits declined. >> Each of Berkshire’s

five largest companies had record earnings and is expected to repeat that performance in 2012.

PHOTO BY JOE DUGGAN/THE WORLD-HERALD G R A P H I C B Y M AT T H A N E Y / T H E W O R L D - H E R A L D

Tharnish

will spend $8.2 billion on capital improvements this year, 95 percent of it in the United States.

Full coverage in Money. 30

Schuyler

Richland COLFAX CO.

Columbus us

Still a secret, although the Omaha investor, 81, says he isn’t going anywhere. When the time comes, the transition will be “seamless,” Buffett promises.

>> Berkshire companies

ONE PARTY, TWO ACCIDENTS, Lake TWO DEATHS ... Babcock

County nty Road 3

BY JOE DUGGAN ONLY IN THE WORLD-HERALD

COLUMBUS, Neb. — Smoke and flames poured from the engine of the little silver car. Megan Castro had just seen the Mitsubishi tumble like a discarded beer can before coming to rest along U.S. Highway 30 on the east edge of Columbus. It was about 2:30 a.m. Jan. 28. “I was, like, ‘Is this a dream? Is this really happening?’ ” She turned her car around, called 911 and rushed to help people she didn’t know. She found a young woman in the evergreen bushes next to the burning vehicle and dragged her to safety. She helped the semiconscious driver out from behind the wheel, but she couldn’t free an unconscious young man crammed behind the front passenger seat. The battered passenger door wouldn’t open, and he was so tall, she couldn’t pull him out. The flames intensified. Castro screamed into her phone for help. Police and emergency responders arrived and tended to the victims and the fire. Later, as the 24-year-old Schuyler woman tried to stop herself from shaking, an officer said yet another female passenger had been found in the bushes. “When they told me she was dead, I just started crying,” she said. Twelve minutes later, just a few miles east into Colfax County, another 911 call was made from another accident scene. Another rollover had pinned a 19-yearSee Alcohol: Page 6

And the next CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.?

SECOND ACCIDENT: 2:45 a.m. Jan. 28 A 911 call goes out after a partygoer discovers a wrecked car about a half-mile from the party. The car’s driver, Curtis Rubeck, 19, is hospitalized with fractures to his skull, sinus cavity and collarbone. His optic nerve is damaged and his spleen is removed.

INSIDE Westside girls claim swim crown; Prep, too The ﬁrst team swim title since 1996 for the Omaha Westside girls ends a fouryear reign by Millard West at the state high school swim championships. In boys competition, Omaha Creighton Prep posts its sixth straight win. Sports

No charges planned in Deegan probe Despite recommendations from the State Patrol, Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov decides not to ﬁle charges against the former Bellevue schools superintendent. Midlands

JUNE 24, 2012 • SUNRISE EDITION

ONLY IN THE WORLD-HERALD

Today’s forecast

ONLY IN THE WORLD-HERALD

■ Increasing

toll underscores perils faced by workers there for two Omaha employers. al d Fin ken e We

BY MATTHEW HANSEN WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

When he awoke every morning in Kabul, the American defense contractor rolled out of bed, logged onto his computer and checked out what he called “the Afghan weather.” He wasn’t worried about rain. Scrolling through a list of intelligence reports, the Nebraska native would try to decipher the

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day’s security situation in and around Afghanistan’s capital city. Not so long ago, Kabul was viewed as a relatively safe sanctuary in the tumult of Afghan war, a city where more than 100,000 American and foreign defense contractors could move freely as they worked on the electric grid or built military housing or worked as bodyguards for Afghan politicians. But by 2011, when this contrac-

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tor took a well-paying job in the capital city, even the simplest act of getting to work — the morning commute — had become dangerous. So he obsessively checked the security forecast: What parts of town seem unstable? What roads should his team avoid? What’s the best time to travel today? And what’s Plan B if everything goes wrong and he ﬁnds himself alone on the mean streets

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of a bad neighborhood? “If you end up on foot, where’s the nearest U.S. base? The nearest NATO base? The nearest police station?” says the contractor, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns. “I’m telling you, nobody should roll out until they are very aware of the whole forecast.” That forecast has grown more See Afghanistan: Page 2

High: 51 Low: 19 Full report: Page 8B

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>> The silent ﬁlm wins ﬁve Oscars, and Omahan Alexander Payne shares the adapted screenplay award for “The Descendants.” Living >> Photos and opinions on what the stars wore to the awards. Living, Pages 4&5E

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Omaha is one of 15 with no such antidiscrimination law.

Jackie Dolinsky’s police career hinged on three kicks. Security camera footage from May 29, 2011, showed the Omaha police officer’s right foot kicking Robert Wagner three times as she and other officers struggled to arrest him outside Creighton University Medical Center. Were Dolinsky’s kicks a form of police brutality and an excessive amount of force? Or were they an appropriate police technique used against a combative suspect? Video of Wagner’s arrest inflamed community-police tensions in parts of Omaha. It also became critical evidence this spring as Dolinsky waged a closed-door battle for reinstatement after then-Police Chief Alex Hayes dismissed her and Officer Aaron Pennington for their actions that night. A special arbitrator, Sharon K. Imes, overturned Dolinsky’s termination after weighing the video, depositions from police and expert witnesses, and evidence from the internal police investigation. The arbitration case for PenSee Police: Page 4

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ON PAGE 4A A hospital arrest caused anger to boil over; Ernie Chambers wants Jackie Dolinsky removed from the force.

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Court ruling won’t derail care changes, providers say

HANGING IN THE BALANCE Soon — as early as Monday — two historic U.S. Supreme Court decisions will be delivered, both far-reaching, sure to inflame the election campaign and bound to shape government policy for years: One will decide the fate of the federal health care law, which many know as “Obamacare.” The other is on Arizona’s crackdown on illegal immigration. Read more, Page 5A

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Key changes in American medical care will continue regardless of what the U.S. Supreme Court decides, physicians and hospital administrators in the region say. Efforts to prevent hospital readmissions, encourage better communication among medical providers and patients and compensate physicians for keeping patients healthy are likely to continue, they say, no matter how the Supreme Court rules on the

challenge to President Barack Obama’s 2010 health care law. A ruling could come as soon as Monday. Richard Hachten, president and CEO of Alegent Health, said the court’s decision won’t affect his institution’s desire to effect change. “It’s virtually irrelevant for us as a provider organization,” Hachten said. The United States spends an enormous, growing amount on health care and in many ways reSee Health care: Page 2

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Omaha is in the minority among the largest cities in the country by not having anti-discrimination protections in place for homosexuals. As City Councilman Ben Gray proposes a local ordinance to establish that protection, a look at how the issue has resonated across the country shows that Omaha would be joining the trend. Among the 50 largest cities in the nation, Omaha is one of 15 whose gay residents have no speciﬁc legal protection from discrimination. Although such gay rights measures have been criticized as radical, the growing list of cities putting legal protections in place indicates that the issue has become more mainstream nationally. In the past two years, at least 35 cities and counties in the United States of all sizes have passed anti-discrimination ordinances based on both sexual orientation and gender identity, according to the Human Rights Campaign, a national organization that promotes such measures. In the country’s largest cities, all but a handful have ordinances that take the extra step of covering transgendered people, as Gray is proposing. Research shows that such laws have had a relatively modest impact. See Ordinance: Page 2

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Tyson Jackson’s cancer required oral chemotherapy, but mom Shelly Jackson’s insurance considered the pills to be prescription medication, costing her thousands and draining her bank account. She supports a bill that would require insurance companies to treat oral chemotherapies “no less favorably” than chemo delivered by an IV. BY PAUL HAMMEL | WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

INCOLN — Shelly Jackson’s life turned upside down ﬁve years ago when her son, Tyson, was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. Luckily, the single mother of two had insurance and speciﬁc coverage for chemotherapy. But then Jackson discovered what many cancer patients quickly learn — insurance companies treat cancer medications delivered through a pill differently from those delivered intravenously.

How did Nebraska, Iowa startups fair? We check in with the founders of three Midlands companies that were established during the Great Recession. Money

Because the type of cancer ravaging her 17-yearold son’s blood could be treated only with oral chemotherapy, Jackson’s co-payment was $3,000 a month. The ﬁnancial strain worsened when Tyson developed a resistance to the ﬁrst drug and had to switch to another oral medication also not covered by insurance. Jackson’s co-payment became $7,600 a month. See Cancer: Page 2

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Women may say, “It’s about time.” Guys may have the same reaction. After many overly optimistic predictions, a male version of “The Pill” may truly be in sight. And a team at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, a nationally recognized center of research into male contraceptives, is working to be among the ﬁrst to put a new generation of products on the market. Joseph Tash, a reproductive biologist at KU, has spent a decade tinkering with a chemical compound called H2-gamendazole that keeps sperm from developing in the testes. Men taking a gamendazole “pill”

would essentially be shooting blanks. The expectation is that men on the KU pill would experience no change in their libido and, if they stopped taking it, would regain full fertility within a few weeks. Tash’s work is part of a promising array of new birth control methods for men that are under development in laboratories or already being tested on volunteers. These contraceptives are arriving more than 50 years after the female birth control pill revolutionized relations between the sexes. Attitudes that birth control was women’s work, along with the technical See Pill: Page 2

Publication: The Oklahoman

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org / 57

Photo Illustration Winner Publication: The Oklahoman By: Chris Landsberger

Judges’ Comments: The Mad Men fashion illustration work included a great location and nice use of light and color palette. 58 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

Photo Illustration Finalists Publication: The Oklahoman | By: Chris Landsberger

Publication: Tulsa World By: Christopher Smith

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org / 59

General News Photography Winner Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Alyssa Schukar

Judges’ Comments: Kneeling in Honor was a powerful yet quiet image that the judges had never seen before. It really stood out in the category. Nice sensitivity by the photographer to stand back.

60 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

General News Photography Finalists Publication: Tulsa World By: Michael Wyke

Publication: The Oklahoman By: Sarah Phipps

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org / 61

Spot News Photography Winner Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette By: Benjamin Krain Judges’ Comments: First place was an incredible spot news image of firefighters inside a burning home. The photographer arrived at the peak moment.

62 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

Spot News Photography Finalists Publication: The Oklahoman By: Jim Beckel

Publication: Tulsa World By: Tom Gilbert

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org / 63

News Photography, Multiple, Winner Publication: Tulsa World By: Mike Simons Judges’ Comments: First place showed great in-depth storytelling by the photographer. He covered the fires from beginning to end with powerful emotion.

64 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

News Photography, Multiple, Winner Publication: Tulsa World By: Mike Simons

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.orgâ&#x20AC;&#x192; /â&#x20AC;&#x192; 65

Feature Photography, Single, Winner Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Alyssa Schukar

Judges’ Comments: The Ranch Ritual image rose to the top instantly. The photographer made great use of layering and the quality of light stood out from the other photographs.

66 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

Feature Photography, Single, Finalists Publication: Oklahoma Today By: Staff

Out Foxed

“Come on, you hounds! Pack up!” is more common than “sit” and “heel” at Harvard Fox Hounds hunting club in Okmulgee County. The pastoral setting looks like a scene from the English countryside but is actually Max and Barbara Naegler’s northeastern Oklahoma ranch. The couple founded the private hunt in 1996 and keep forty foxhounds in their kennel. Max knows each by name. Dewdrop, Boomer, Emma, and the others take to the fields from October through March, carrying on a tradition that dates to seventeenth-century England. Despite their name, these foxhounds hunt primarily coyote, and it’s rare for the dogs to catch one. The real appeal of foxhunting, Max says, is training and the thrill of the hunt. harvardfoxhounds.com.

November/December 2012

OklahomaToday.com

Publication: The Oklahoman By: Bryan Terry

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org / 67

Feature Photography, Multiple, Winner Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Alyssa Schukar Judges’ Comments: There was long debate over first and second. We thought first place was well told and photographed but second was an original, smart idea that the judges really appreciated.

Ranch ritual endures

68 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

Feature Photography, Multiple, Finalist Publication: Tulsa World By: Mike Simons

What they took when the wildfires took their homes

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.orgâ&#x20AC;&#x192; /â&#x20AC;&#x192; 69

Sports Action Photography Winner Publication: Tulsa World By: Mike Simons

Judges’ Comments: First place wasn’t only a peak moment but gave a great sense of place as well.

70 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

Sports Action Photography Finalists Publication: The Oklahoman By: Bryan Terry

Publication: Moore Monthly By: Rob Morris

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org / 71

Sports Feature Photography Winner Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Rebecca Gratz Judges’ Comments: First place showed great celebration. The crop and capturing the moment really worked to make this image first place.

72 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

Sports Feature Photography Finalists Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Matt Miller

Publication: The Oklahoman By: Chris Landsberger

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.orgâ&#x20AC;&#x192; /â&#x20AC;&#x192; 73

Portrait Photography Winner Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Matt Miller

“Bird hunter”

Judges’ Comments: First place had a nice quality of light and a nice moment with a sense of humor.

74 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

Portrait Photography Finalists Publication: Omaha World-Herald | By: Alyssa Schukar

“At War, At Home”

Publication: Tulsa World | By: Mike Simons

“What they took when the wildfires took their homes”

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org / 75

Video Winner Publication: Lawrence Journal-World By: Shaun Hittle, Nick Krug

“Intersecting lives: A serial rapist and an innocent man”

Judges’ Comments: Strong visuals matched the compelling story. Details like the choice of graphic to show where the rape occurred, newspaper clips of other crimes and a photo of the true suspect were important to rounding out the story and, ultimately, painting a picture of how it felt to be wrongly accused of a crime. The letter from the woman at the end was a nice touch.

Scan with a QR code reader to watch the winning video. Note: Flash video may not be viewable on some devices.

76 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

Video Finalists Publication: Omaha World-Herald | By: Rebecca Gratz

“Alliance pharmacist relives 7-hour hostage ordeal”

Publication: Tulsa World | By: John Clanton

“The ‘Clean-up Man’”

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org / 77

Audio Slideshow Winner Publication: Tulsa World By: John Clanton

“A Part of the Game”

Judges’ Comments: What a great story. It would have been good to see him in other places dealing with his disability and use the boxing match as a climax for the story arch. Shot variety is really important in these kinds of stories to keep the audience engaged. There were a lot of photos composed for print but not variety in wide, medium, tight and supertight shots. That shot variety is key when telling a multimedia story.

Scan with a QR code reader to watch the winning audio slideshow.

78 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

Audio Slideshow Finalists Publication: Tulsa World | By: Mike Simons

“These people have nothing left”

Publication: Tulsa World | By: Mike Simons

“The Lifter”

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org / 79

Multimedia Project or Series Winner Publication: The Argus Leader By: Patrick Lalley, Joel Brown, Cory Myers, Emily Spartz, Steve Young

“South Dakota to South Sudan”

Judges’ Comments: This project is a good model for multimedia. It’s well organized into distinct parts — galleries, blogs, stories — and offers video chats as interactives as well as the chance to participate in a community forum on the topic. It would have been useful to see a stronger video presence with people from the Sudan region interviewed more prominently but overall this is a truly solid use of how multimedia can transcend print projects.

Scan with a QR code reader to view the winning multimedia project.

80 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

Multimedia Project or Series Finalists Publication: Tulsa World | By: John Clanton, Michael Overall, Matt Clayton, Christopher Smith

“Trying to save a language before its too late”

Publication: The Oklahoman | By: Matt Patterson

“Coming Home’”

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org / 81

Magazine Photography, Portrait, Winner Publication: Sunflower Publishing By: Jason Dailey

“Kansas Rugby The Original Power Sport” Judges’ Comments: The decision to create a monochrome portrait in this case was a good and appropriate choice. The subject’s toughness is obvious in the styling and his expression. His left eye shows a little craziness, which, on the rugby field, is an asset.

82 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

Magazine Photography, Portrait, Finalists Publication: Oklahoma Today | By: Staff

“Mary Beth Babcock”

January/February 2012

Publication: Kansas! | By: Jennifer Haugh, Katy Ibsen, Jason Dailey

“The Colors of Van Go”

CENTER Lynne Green, executive director, is the mastermind behind Van Go. She developed the program 15 years ago.

Van Go includes a woodshop where students begin the creation process. Students are also employees, making art to help inspire workplace responsibility.

“There’s not a lot we can do about the overwhelming life circumstances these young people face,” says Lynne Green, Van Go executive director, former special education teacher, social worker and gallery owner. “But we can build their resiliency—help them survive the challenges life throws. We let our teens know that we’re ‘there’ for them.” The proof is in the dozens of success stories she has witnessed over the last 15 years. “Attending the college graduation ceremony of a Van Go alumni is one of the

community, including the public library and county courthouse. The apprentice artists, ages 14 to 21, are paid as part of Van Go’s job-training program. As employees they’re expected to show up on time, meet deadlines, consult with clients and be responsible to their team. Mental health services, academic support and healthy living lessons are also integral parts of the program. Van Go Gallery is open year-round where teen-created works are for sale, including fused glass bowls, handmade

most rewarding things I do,” says Green. “We say ‘Van Go Works’ ... and it does.” When Green started Van Go in 1997, she was convinced that traditional talk therapy just wasn’t enough to really help adolescents. “I spent many an hour pondering why some kids get saved and others don’t,” says Green, a part-time poet and sketch artist herself. “I knew art had the power to heal, and I knew these kids desperately needed a venue for expressing themselves. I didn’t have a map, but I had a gut feeling

that art might be the way home. One of Van Go’s first projects was a 1972 Checker limousine that the kids painted in workshop. With the limo, Van Go was able to bring art opportunities to underserved youth throughout the county. Although the wildly decorated Van Go-mobile, as it was affectionately known, is long gone, the youthcreated art pieces remain all over Lawrence. There are nearly 250 painted benches, commissioned by local businesses, colorful newspaper dispensers on downtown streets and numerous public murals throughout the

The Van Go studio doubles as a gallery, hosting many events and showings. Pieces made by Van Go participants are also available for purchase at the studio.

cards, jewelry and furniture, custom-built in Van Go’s woodshop. Each apprentice-artist is paid minimum wage to create the original artwork. All proceeds go directly to support Van Go’s year-round programming. Van Go’s influence doesn’t stop in Lawrence. Nobel Prize Winner Toni Morrison and former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove both own a bench commissioned through JAMS (Jobs in the Arts Matter), one of Van Go’s programs. Van Go was the recipient of the 2005 “Coming Up Taller” award from the

President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, presented to outstanding afterschool programs throughout the country. And while the national recognition is certainly gratifying, Green says, “Seeing our young people overcoming life’s obstacles to create successful futures, that’s why we’re here.” Writer Pam Grout, author of 16 books, including Kansas Curiosities, lives in Lawrence and visits Van Go several times a year.

van-go.org

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org / 83

Magazine Illustration Winner Publication: Oklahoma Today By: Staff

“Jurassic Oklahoma” Judges’ Comments: Straightforward but well-executed illustrations that required exacting and accurate detail. While the jury is out on whether dinosaurs were or weren’t brightly colored, it’s fun to think that they may have actually looked like this, and this palette certainly would attract the attention of any reader. The illustrations really stir the imagination.

B y N at h a N G u N t e r art By DeBBy Kaspari

More than 150 million years ago, two dinosaur species faced off in the Oklahoma panhandle. their predator-prey showdown, immortalized at an Oklahoma museum, still has the sooner state shaking.

Jurassic OklahOma

November/December 2012

84 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

OklahomaToday.com

Magazine Illustration Finalists Publication: Oklahoma Today | By: Staff

“Woody Guthrie”

We hear hIm sInG Thanks in part to the enduring impact of the Dust Bowl Troubadour, several talented young Oklahoma singersongwriters are staking their musical claims here in their home state.

“about all a human being is, anyway, is just a hoping machine.” —Woody Guthr I e

s Woody GuthrIe still relevant?

It’s a provocative question and one that often elicits a knee-jerk “yes,” if only because the man—born a hundred years ago this July 14—and his songs still influence twenty-first-century culture at home and abroad. But what about working Oklahoma musicians whose notion of Guthrie is for the most part historic? Do the man and his extensive body of work continue to have a tangible impact on them? Never mind that Guthrie’s legacy within Oklahoma’s borders is an emotionally charged, complex thing, hidden away for years like an embarrassing family secret. The artist’s embrace of what were then considered fringe political beliefs did not endear him to the establishment at home and elsewhere, which effectively iced any statewide acknowledgement of him and his contributions. But Oklahoma’s attitude toward the troubadour has thawed in recent decades and accelerated with the approach of his hundredth birthday. In 2004, a portrait by Miami native Charles Banks Wilson was hung in the State Capitol; the Brady Theater in Tulsa hosted a sold-out, star-studded concert in Guthrie’s honor in March; this year marks the fifteenth anniversary of a popular summer festival in his hometown of Okemah; and by the end of January 2013, his personal archives are to be relocated from New York state to Tulsa, where they will be displayed inside a renovated 15,000-square-foot building in the Brady District (see sidebar, page 79). “People are now realizing that many of the things Woody said and did were true,” says Guy Logsdon of Tulsa, a Guthrie scholar. “That makes a big difference.” Indeed, Logsdon says, several of the causes Guthrie championed—that workers should receive a living wage, be offered the opportunity to form or join a union, and work in safe and healthy conditions, for example— have come to pass over the years.

Even as the state has begun to fully embrace Guthrie, another class of promising young singer-songwriters including John Fullbright, Samantha Crain, J.D. McPherson, and the members of Green Corn Revival has begun to take center stage. Many acknowledge his influence even as they strive to carve out a creative path in the here and now. Artists no longer engage most listeners with national radio broadcasts; now it’s Twitter feeds, Bandcamp pages, and house concerts that stoke word of mouth. The personal touch, entwined with electronic capabilities, has fueled the careers of a handful of rootsminded Oklahomans. Even with these new tools, the song is still king. Broken Arrow-based J.D. McPherson, recently named one of five “artists to know” by National Public Radio, says, “As with any good songwriter, being timeless is about writing really good songs.” Although he’s speaking of Guthrie, McPherson could just as easily be describing his own work and that of his contemporaries. His debut record, Signs & Signifiers, officially released on Rounder Records on April 17 and called “a rockin’, bluesy, forward-thinking album” by Allmusic.com, is rife with modern compositions rooted in song craft first practiced a half-century ago. If it ain’t broke, the saying goes, don’t fix it.

he messaGe, not the music, was Guthrie’s focus, but the rough-hewn, authentic nature of his material fit snugly within the folk aesthetic. It also endeared him to musicians like Bob Dylan, who, for many, was the back door into Guthrie’s life and work. “I think what a lot of people draw from Woody is his honesty and his belief that you could change how people think of society and how people think of each other

there’s no denying the musical legacy of Woody Guthrie. In the twangs and harmonies of 21st-century roots music, his influence endures.

illusTraTiOn, jOhn lOveTT

By Preston Jones

May/June 2012

OklahomaToday.com

Publication: Oklahoma Today | By: Staff

“Graphic content” IndIan Country

issue

GraphicContent By megan rossman CHerokee artISt roy Boney Jr. meldS ComIC BookS and fIne art Into StartlIng and vIvId modern InterpretatIonS.

atman, Superman, Spawn,

Our Father was the 2006 grand-prize winner in the trail of tears art Show and Sale at the Cherokee Heritage Center near tahlequah. “andrew Jackson used his presidency to push the policy of Indian removal, paving the way for the infamous trail of tears,” says Boney. “this is my interpretation of his true form.”

July/August 2012

the Maxx: Rarely are superheroes like these cited as influences in Native American art. But Roy Boney Jr. is no traditionalist. The Cherokee artist, a Locust Grove native who’s called Tahlequah home for the last five years, has been gaining national acclaim with offbeat pieces that marry the color and velocity of graphic novels with the gravity of fine art. Despite always knowing he wanted to be an artist, Boney’s venture into the Native art world was unplanned. “I had no intention of doing what you would call Indian art,” says the thirtythree-year-old Boney. “I didn’t like that genre, because a lot of what I saw was what you’d call romantic tourist art, but I always liked cartoons and comics.” For about as long as he’s been able to grip a pen, he’s been pouring his imagination onto paper. His parents still have his first drawing—of a tick—done when he was just two years old. Aspirations of being a comic book artist led Boney to Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration and graphic design. While there, he began contributing his comics to online

sharing sites. His first, Plugin Boy, chronicled the life of a robotic boy who lived plugged into an electrical outlet in his bedroom. For the next series, Boney collaborated with Canadian author Matt Shepherd to create The License, a series about a man licensed by the United States government to beat up rude people. After that, the pair created the zombie tale Dead Eyes Open. After Boney and Shepherd pitched an eight-page mockup to several publishers, Slave Labor Graphics in San Jose, California, picked it up and published six issues that were collected into a trade paperback in 2008. It wasn’t until a few years ago, when Boney was working on his Master of Fine Arts at the University of Arkansas Little Rock, that he began integrating his tribal background into his art. As a fellow at the Sequoyah National Research Center—an organization at the university that collects and catalogs Native American language in all its written forms—Boney was introduced to Bill Wiggins, the school’s retired dean of the College of Science and Mathematics and an ardent collector of Indian art. When he saw Boney’s work for the first time, Wiggins was intrigued. The dark OklahomaToday.com

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org / 85

Magazine Photography, Multiple, Winner Publication: Oklahoma Today By: Staff

“Quiet Season” Judges’ Comments: This essay hits the nail on the head for proving its point. It’s quiet, but powerful, and required a lot of work and good timing to see photographs that would show readers the unexpected beauty of the Oklahoma winter landscape.

The quiet season As nature blankets the dry grass of the plains in shimmering frost earlier and earlier each morning, Oklahoma’s landscape gradually transforms into a hushed world of contradictory sensations. From the leaves swirling through the Ouachita National Forest to snowflakes descending gently onto Black Mesa’s highest point, in the fall and winter months, color meets grayscale, light gives way to dark, and chill and warmth share the same forest bed.

P h o t o g ra p h y b y Michael hardeMan

Along the Talimena Scenic Drive, a black gum shows its fall colors in the Winding Stair Mountain National Recreation Area.

November/December 2012

OklahomaToday.com

“i prefer the winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape.” — A n d r e w Wye t h

“autumn, the year’s last, loveliest smile.” —William Cullen Bryant

Natural Falls State Park in West Siloam Springs

Beaver Dunes Park in Beaver

November/December 2012

OklahomaToday.com

Lake Carlton at Robbers Cave State Park near Wilburton

November/December 2012

OklahomaToday.com

“t he whole world holds its breath.” —Ted Kooser, “The Great Plains in Winter”

The Illinois River in Cherokee County

“how beautifully leaves grow old . how full of light and color are their last days.” —J ohn Bur roughs

Roman Nose State Park near Watonga

Black Mesa State Park & Nature Preserve near Kenton

November/December 2012

OklahomaToday.com

Bald cypress trees line the banks of the Lower Mountain Fork River at Beavers Bend State Park near Broken Bow.

November/December 2012

86 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

OklahomaToday.com

Magazine Photography, Multiple, Finalists Publication: Oklahoma Today | By: Staff

“Working Group”

Working group

Photography by

shane bevel Captions by

Megan RossMan

n oklahoma, it’s common knowledge that labor conquers all. From cattle dogs on the heel and foxhounds on the hunt to german shepherds on the urban beat, these canines have a work ethic that does their owners proud.

Border patrol

For fourteen years, Kevin Radford and his wife Laura have owned the LK Cattle Company in Alva with her father, Lee Brandt. Assisting in the day-to-day activities that involve a herd of about a thousand cattle are Boo, left, and Luke, Kevin’s border collies. “If it has to do with the cattle, they’re my number-one helpers,” he says. “I couldn’t get anything done without my dogs. Even if we’re out there from sunrise to sunset, they don’t complain.” Quintessential herding dogs, border collies are said to be among the most intelligent of breeds. Energetic and trainable, they excel not only as herders but also in agility competitions and other canine sports.

November/December 2012

OklahomaToday.com

Publication: TulsaPeople | By: Michelle Pollard

“Coffee shop talk”

by BoB Haring

Tulsa’s caffeine culture has experienced a jolt of energy over the past two decades.

Open since 1921, Mecca in Brookside no longer roasts its own beans but still brews and sells coffee. 42

TulsaPeople OCTOBER 2012

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Magazine Photography, Feature, Winner Publication: Oklahoma Today By: Staff

“Fox Hunt” Judges’ Comments: My favorite in this essay, it must have been a nightmare to arrange at least nine animals and five humans into some assemblage of a group photo. Yet, it all comes together, amazingly, with a look of controlled chaos. That shows true chops on the part of the photographer.

Out Foxed

November/December 2012

88 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

OklahomaToday.com

Magazine Photography, Feature, Finalist Publication: Oklahoma Today | By: Staff

“Quiet Season”

P h o t o g ra p h y b y Michael hardeMan

Along the Talimena Scenic Drive, a black gum shows its fall colors in the Winding Stair Mountain National Recreation Area.

November/December 2012

OklahomaToday.com

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Great Plains Magazine Photographer of the Year Publication: Oklahoma Today By: Shane Bevel Judges’ Comments: A consistent, high level of work in this portfolio. He’s always reaching for a dramatic composition, and eliminating anything that doesn’t make the picture stronger. A good eye.

Working group

Photography by

shane bevel Captions by

Megan RossMan

Border patrol

OklahomaToday.com

reen nRemembering 2012 GaCres umber

Travel issue

Myriad

The

GardenS:

Weird

W onderful o k l a h o m a

By Jim Logan Photography by Shane Bevel

TRAILBLAZERS A wide indentation in the earth west of Vici marks the path of the Great Western Cattle Trail, which ushered millions of animals across far western Oklahoma during the second half of the nineteenth century.

March/April 2012

OklahomaToday.com

Go West! The Great Western Cattle

Trail separated mere men from the cowboys.

jenks union Two Tulsa County teams, the Jenks Trojans and march/april

Union Redskins, share geographic boundaries

klahOma is full

of great high school football rivalries, but one in Tulsa County has come to dwarf them all. The epic scale of this spectacle is striking: Team buses crowd the street like circus elephants, posses of TV news trucks poke their antennae into the pregame twilight, and legions of fans flood Chapman Stadium at the University of Tulsa like an unstoppable late-summer deluge. All this? For a regular season high school football game? By any measurement, this isn’t just another game. It’s the game, Jenks versus Union, a contest that for more than a decade has grown to a stature rare in the high school ranks. So big did this clash of high school titans become that it outgrew each school’s respective stadium capacities and

March/April 2012

September/October 2012

had to be moved to the University of Tulsa in 1999. It also earned the moniker “MidFirst Bank Backyard Bowl”—a nod to the school districts’ proximity—thanks to a sponsorship by MidFirst Bank, which donates money to each school for the naming rights to the game. Allan Trimble, who has been the Trojans’ head coach since 1990 and owns five Backyard Bowl titles, remembers when the game moved to TU. “It was a really special night; forty thousand people showed up,” he says. “I had never, as a player or a coach, experienced anything like it. Coming out of the tunnel onto the field, I thought, ‘My goodness, we may never see this again.’” Union head coach Kirk Fridrich says the early-in-the season Backyard Bowl is as close as you can get in intensity to a state championship, which usually features a Jenks-Union rematch.

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shane bevel

2012

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and a burning desire to emerge the victor in Small pools of water dot the otherwise dry Oklahoma’s Canadian River bed high school football game. biggest near Camargo. It was here that the B y S c ot t W i g to n Great Western Cattle Trail crossed the river bed and headed north.

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“It’s the way you ride the trail that counts.” —DALE EVANS 8

Great Plains Magazine Photographer of the Year “Give a boy a rubber duck and he will seize its neck like the butt of a pistol and shout, ‘Bang!’”—george f. will

Main Events

“Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground.”—theodore roosevelt

Main Events

Paint

ing by

Paint

ing by

Cha’

Tullis

POW WOWS POW WOWS

MUSEUMS MUSEUMS& ART GALLERIES

TALL GRASS PRAIRIE

& ART GALLERIES

TALL GRASS PRAIRIE

GREAT GREATLAKES LAKES

WILD HORSES WILD HORSES

EXCITING RODEOS EXCITING RODEOS

The County! TheSpirit Spiritofofthe theWest West lives lives on on in in Osage County! Adventure awaits at colorful powwows, wows,crowd-pleasing crowd-pleasing rodeos, rodeos, and small Adventure awaits youyou at colorful pow small town town festivals. your nationallyrecognized recognizedbluegrass bluegrassbands, bands, and sit tall festivals. TapTap your toestoes to to nationally tall in in the thesaddle saddle riding many equestrian trails.Enjoy Enjoyworld-class world-classmuseums, museums, thrilling thrilling casinos, riding ourour many equestrian trails. casinos, and and eclectic shops, tickle your tastebuds budswith withsome somesavory savoryhome home cookin’ cookin’ or eclectic shops, andand tickle your taste or fine finedining dining cuisine. Seek solace deep blue lakesand andwooded woodedstate stateparks, parks, then then relax relax in cuisine. Seek solace in in deep blue lakes in one oneofofour our cabins a bed breakfastsurrounded surroundedbybywide wideopen open spaces spaces dotted dotted with cozycozy cabins or aorbed andand breakfast with bison bisonand and horses. Osage County rewardsvisitors visitorsofofallallages ageswith withreal real western western experiences wildwild horses. Osage County rewards experiencesall all long, so come roam hillsand andscenic scenicbyways byways~~there’s there’s plenty plenty of of room yearyear long, so come roam ourour hills room for foreveryone! everyone!

ORY

ng find deserves reat yourself at Coffee and Wine e gourmet chocoin the heart of rman.

See you in the Osage!

Americans have a long-standing love affair with guns. Plenty of enthusiasts will be on hand for J.M. Davis’ 125th BirthDay reunion at the J.M. Davis Arms & Historical Museum in Claremore. On this day honoring the hotel entrepreneur and weapons enthusiast, visitors can check out a statue unveiling, a coin commemorating Davis’ birthday, and a new book about his life and the museum’s collection. 330 North J.M. Davis Boulevard, (918) 341-5707 or thegunmuseum.com.

shane bevel

See you in the Osage!

posse people

See Website for events and dates

VisitTheOsage.com

OklahomaToday.com

that’s e, too.

Friday Night Fights

ers & brate he

Many are familiar with a high school football rivalry in a state south of here that inspired a book, movie, and TV show. In Oklahoma, we don’t need Hollywood to tell us football reigns supreme. In many communities, it’s the uncontested fall attraction, driving economic activity, attracting huge crowds, and engendering broad-based loyalty that makes every annual revisitation a point of fierce pride. These five matchups— urban, suburban, and rural—are must-see examples of the Oklahoma high school gridiron experience.

shane bevel

. 28 or t, y9

OklahomaToday.com

Galaxy Quest

There’s no such thing as an overcast sky at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum & Planetarium. The three million-pixel star projection system has captivated more than 150,000 visitors of at the Their Own In Oklahoma, sports are king. That’s true James E. Bertelsmeyer Planetarium for athletes on homeschool teams as well, a unique set of challenges serves to since its installation in 2006.where Tuesday bolster their commitment to compete. through Saturday, the planetarium hosts five presentations and three on Sunday. 3624 North Seventy-Fourth East Avenue, (918) 834-9900 or tulsaairandspacemuseum.org.

.com

League

By kerri Shadid | phOTOgraphy By Shane Bevel

shane bevel

he OklahOma CiTy

Storm is the best basketball program in the country, with a record even the local NBA team is far from rivaling. Although there’s a good possibility few Oklahomans have heard of the Storm, its teams and athletes are well known throughout the country in a niche market—homeschool sports. Since its inception in 1998, the Storm has won forty-seven national championships in basketball in several age divisions, ranking first among all other homeschool basketball programs in the nation. In March 2012, Storm teams won six of thirteen divisions at the National Christian HomeSchool Basketball Championships in Springfield, Missouri. “We’re kind of ‘the ones,’ so that’s nice,” says Kurt Talbott, the Storm’s athletic director and boys’ varsity basketball coach. “But there’s always a target on your back. Everyone wants to beat you.”

The 2012 national championships also saw Storm varsity player Allonzo Trier, now a sophomore, score his thousandth point of the season. Only one other freshman in the nation met that same mark, and he plays for a Catholic prep school team. Trier finished the season with 1,043 points, and his coach believes that makes him the highest-scoring freshman in American high school basketball history— among all players, not just homeschoolers. Storm basketball players aren’t the only Oklahomans making a statement on the national stage. The Norman Lady Mustangs homeschool volleyball team took the national title the past two years. Katrina Horner, a seventeen-year-old who played for the Lady Mustangs for five years, was named an All-American by the National Christian HomeSchool Championships and was the tourna-

Austin Dillingham of Mounds is a NOAH Jaguar. The son of a former college baseball player, Dillingham hopes to compete for Oral Roberts University and eventually play in the big leagues.

September/October 2012

OklahomaToday.com

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Great Plains Magazine Photographer of the Year, Finalist Publication: Oklahoma Today By: John Jernigan

PeoPle’s Gardens

The

the newly renovated—and more user-friendly—Myriad Botanical Gardens and Crystal Bridge tropical Conservatory are a living symbol of one company’s investment at home.

IT’S EASY BEING GREEN “This is everybody’s park, everybody’s gardens,” says landscape architect James Burnett, whose firm oversaw the redesign of the Myriad Botanical Gardens. “The city fathers, the people who’ve been the champions of this transformation, want this park to be open to anyone.”

By NathaN GuNter Photography by JohN JerNiGaN

“On earth there is no heaven, but there are pieces of it.” —JULES RENARD

“A good film is when the price of the dinner, the theater admission, and the babysitter were worth it.” —ALFRED HITCHCOCK

March/April 2012

Routes

Roots

Film issue

Return Engagements By

Megan Rossman John Jernigan

Photography by

T h e se dis T i ngu ish e d T h e aT e r s, a l l h is Tor ic Pl ac e s

and

on the

and

of o f one a noTher, a n d Pur Pose .

n aT ion a l r egis T e r

January/February 2012

r e bi rT h s i n be au T y

In the decades that followed, movie attendance was at an all-time high, and it was rare to find a theater that hadn’t at some point affixed a glowing movie marquee to its façade, giving up stage acts for Hollywood. As television made its way into Americans’ homes and hearts, many theaters boarded up their doors. In the years since, dedicated citizens in a handful of Oklahoma communities have rolled up their sleeves, pulled out their wallets, and pushed for the preservation and revitalization of beloved community landmarks like the Ramona Theatre in Frederick. After all, the show must go on.

OklahomaToday.com

IndIan country

issue

Origin Stories

Chief SeatS

For some, drive-in theaters are an anachronism, and in an era of multiplexes, their numbers have dwindled. But at the Chief Drive-In Theatre and Miniature Golf in Chickasha, open since 1949, first-run films screen year-round and routinely attract hundreds. Tickets for children ages three to eleven are $5, adults are $7, and a round of golf before the movie begins is $5 per person per round. 4398 South Fourth Street in Chickasha. (405) 224-1515 or chiefdriveintheatre.com.

By natHan gunter

MARBLE MAN

genealogical research is not only about building a

For more than thirty years, DAVID MILLER has been a one-man marble factory. Since 1978, the Norman resident has created more than 15,000 hand-painted porcelain marbles. Although he doesn’t sell his works, Miller donates them to charity fundraisers and has given them to celebrities including Muhammad Ali, Kristin Chenoweth, David Boren, and a slew of his favorite banjo players, like Béla Fleck.

family tree or proving tribal membership; it’s about creating a tangible connection to the past.

ccordIng to famIly legend, George Walton was a sheriff in Indian Territory killed by a band of bank robbers. As such stories go, it has tantalizing elements: a Wild West setting, a heroic lawman cut down in his prime, and a violent denouement worthy of a John Wayne movie. Dale Coate of South Dakota first heard the story about Walton, his great-grandmother’s first husband, from his uncle. Dale’s mother and uncle were born in Oklahoma and orphaned at an early age, and their grasp of family history was thin. Since retiring two years ago, Dale and his wife, Marj, travel full time. Their journey across America took them through northeastern Oklahoma in April, and because Dale’s elderly mother had always said she was of Cherokee descent, the couple decided to stop and do some research. In an attempt to fill in some of the gaps, the Coates met with genealogist Gene Norris at the Cherokee Family Research Center inside the Cherokee Heritage Center near Tahlequah.

JOHN JERNIGAN

john jernigan

OklahomaToday.com

o r i g i n a l ly b u i lT w i T h i n T w o y e a r s

a r e e n joy i ng r e s Tor aT ions

s thE housE lights dim, chatter gives way to the crackle of candy wrappers and popcorn bags as the audience shifts its attention to the flickering glow of the screen. In the late 1920s and ’30s, when bread lines and bust were daily realities, Americans found escape in the dim auditoriums of their local theaters. Whether they originally showcased vaudeville acts in Miami or talkies in Woodward, these grand theaters were community castles where every Oklahoman could—at least temporarily—feel like royalty.

John Jernigan

The Journals and Indian Paintings of George Winter, 1837-1839, with the only known pictorial documentation of Indian removal, is one of thousands of research tools available at the citizen Potawatomi nation cultural Heritage center in Shawnee.

“We’d heard that George was a sheriff killed by bank robbers on his front porch,” says Marj. “I happened to mention that to Gene, and within thirty seconds, he went over to the shelf, pulled a book, and said, ‘Oh, here it is!’” What Norris found in the book, Murder, Mayhem, Outlaws & Lawmen: Articles From the Indian Chieftain 18951900, was that Walton was never a sheriff. According to an October 15, 1896, story in the Vinita newspaper, a man who had “exchanged wives” with Walton hired a band of outlaws to kill him. As is often the case, the real story proved to be more interesting than the legend, and the finding fueled a passion to learn more. “Family research is a never-ending thing,” says Marj. “All the questions Gene answered brought up a hundred more.” The Coates’ search had an additional advantage: Dale was able to locate his grandmother and great-grandmother on the Dawes Final Rolls, making him eligible to apply for citizenship in the Cherokee Nation.

July/August 2012

92 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

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Great Plains Magazine Photographer of the Year, Finalist Publication: Sunflower Publishing By: Jason Dailey

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org / 93

Great Plains Newspaper Photographer of the Year Publication: Tulsa World By: Mike Simons Judges’ Comments: This choice took a long time. The final two portfolios were very strong. In the end we chose the portfolio with a great deal of variety in subject matter. It had it all, from features, to enterprise picture stories to powerful news coverage. The photographer even found ways of doing original ideas within news events like the portrait series of fire victims. Both of these photographers had a great year and we applaud them both for doing some fine work.

94 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.orgâ&#x20AC;&#x192; /â&#x20AC;&#x192; 95

Great Plains Newspaper Photographer of the Year, Finalist Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Alyssa Schukar

96â&#x20AC;&#x192; /â&#x20AC;&#x192; Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

News Writing, Magazine, Winner Publication: St. Louis Magazine By: Jeannette Cooperman Judges’ Comments: Everything you could possibly want to know about heroin — and some things you wish you didn’t know. This gorgeously crafted story helps us understand, in a visceral way, both the appeal and the horror of this drug. Along the way we meet the users — some who have kicked, and some who don’t make it--the suppliers, and the family members. The piece asks the question: Why is heroin use surging now, in this region of the country? And it answers it fully. A truly outstanding piece of journalism.

Excerpt from “Chasing the dragon: The heroin epidemic hits St. Louis” Lexie reached for the perfume tray. It was rimmed in gold filigree just like the one she had when she was a little girl, but with a small pile of white powder on its mirrored surface. The cute guy holding the tray shook his head and passed it to the next person. “You’re on psych meds,” he reminded Lexie.* The tray passed in front of her a second time. The third time it came around, the guy, call him Joe, let her inhale a tiny line. He said the drug was called China White. “If you do this drug for three days consecutively, you will be hooked, and if you use a great amount, you will die,” he warned her, shifting into the stilted, emotionless delivery that ends pharmaceutical commercials. She nodded and bent over the tray. Afterward she felt good, weird, foggy. When she got home, she took a shower and almost fell. She braced herself against the cool tile and felt absurdly, unaccountably happy. Six months later, in June 2010, Lexie saw Joe again. She snorted for the second time, and the heroin was far more potent. She woke up surrounded by hard, chilled porcelain, water sloshing at her arms. Joe leaned close to her face. “We almost called an ambulance,” he told her, and he looked really worried. She smiled and slid back into peace. After that evening, Lexie started dating Joe. She’d watch him shoot up, see the bliss instantly soften his face. She begged him to inject her. She was 23 and miserable, her diagnosis bipolar disorder, her mood a wild mix of restless and sad, bored and angry and why bother? Her mother, who worked at a university, kept telling her she had potential—for what? Finally, one night

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H e r o i n ’s b a c k , and the epidemic is hitting Kirkwood, Ballwin, Belleville, Maryland Heights, Chesterfield, Sappington…

122 A P R I L 2 0 1 2 |

when Joe was out of money and desperate, he told her that if she bought the buttons ($10 capsules, a twentieth of a gram each), he’d shoot her up. The rush came over her like a tide, washing away every worry she’d ever had. What followed was a sweet, soaring joy, the kind she’d always guessed was possible but she’d never, ever felt. Hours passed, but she wasn’t bored. No angry thoughts slammed around inside her skull. She tested her thoughts tentatively—no anxiety came. Even the sadness deep in her gut was gone. For the next two weeks, Lexie let Joe’s brother shoot her up whenever Joe couldn’t. Once every couple of days…every other day…every day. Her mother had always told her she was a born entrepreneur—when their new neighbor was waiting for his water to be turned on, she put up a stand in the yard and sold him gallon jugs. Now, she needed a lot of money. She advertised on the Internet as an “escort” (“‘Prostituting’ is a better word,” she’d say dryly), and her clients, mostly doc-

tors and lawyers, posted stellar reviews. After a session, she’d go straight to Joe’s workplace so he could shoot her up in his workstation or the women’s bathroom. When he complained that shooting her up was ruining his high, she learned to use the needle herself. When he lost his job, in February 2011, she slept with two or three men a day to buy heroin for both of them. Sometimes he even drove her to her “appointments.” He didn’t seem to mind, and she hated him for it. “You lose all self-esteem,” she told me, months later. “You lose…clarity.” ••• Heroin used to be a subculture with its own wan, vacant, anorexic heroinchic aesthetic. Now it’s so mainstream, it has no aesthetic at all. Lexie’s dealer “carried himself really well,” she says. “He went to Frontenac, had his clothes tailored, and just the way he talked…” The current epidemic has a longer reach than the heroin upsurges in the 1970s and the early 1990s.

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org / 97

Feature Writing, Magazine, Winner Publication: St. Louis Magazine By: William Powell Judges’ Comments: There’s just an effortlessness to the story-telling here. Facts unfold, as new characters are introduced—and it all adds up a poignant yet nuanced story about a traumatic time in this community’s thenexistence. I like that there’s a timeliness/news peg to the piece, rather than just being a slice-of-life profile. The one thing I’d change: the last line—the kicker would have been stronger as the quote. It’s the one instance that feels heavy-handed.

Excerpt from “Remember the Beach” Emmett Copeland moved to Times Beach as a teenager in the early 1970s. His parents opened a donut shop at the corner of Forest Road and Park Drive, serving Boston creams and coffee to the residents of the tight-knit community, nestled in a valley along the Meramec River, southwest of St. Louis. They even had a couple of pool tables, and one time, Minnesota Fats stopped by for a game. Copeland made friends with a kid who went by the name Boner T. Bunch. “I don’t know his real name, because he never did say it,” Copeland says. Bunch lived at Cape Cod, a little motel on the edge of town. Crammed into a single bungalow, he and his siblings slept on pallets. The whole family chewed tobacco. Every morning, Bunch would come to the donut shop. He’d take out the trash in exchange for a free pastry. Sometimes, Copeland and Bunch would spend a summer day walking the railroad tracks on the west end of town. Or they might go fishing in the river. One day, on a dare, the boys sneaked into a church and pilfered its bell. To broadcast the crime— and thereby maximize the thrill—they stashed their loot atop the town’s police station. “If you looked up, there it was,” Copeland says, still giggling about it 40 years later. “For about a week and a half, that was the biggest topic.” Eventually, one of the town’s police officers, a 300-pound man nicknamed Tiny, whom Copeland remembers eating quite a few long johns from his parents’ shop, identified the culprits. In addition to receiving a firm ass-whooping from his father, Copeland was sentenced to an hour in jail. The single cell was only large enough for one, so the boys had to take turns doing their hard time. They also had to spend several weeks working on the city’s road crew. One of

It’s been 30 years since dioxin contamination was discovered in Times Beach, in one of the largest environmental disasters in our nation’s history.

The town is gone, but the people remain.

Remember the Beach BY WILLIAM POWELL / PHOTOGRAPHY BY SAMUEL ZIDE

116 DECEMBER 2012 |

Copeland’s tasks was to help a waste hauler named Russell Bliss spread used motor oil on the unpaved streets, in an effort to control dust. Copeland didn’t know it then, but he had inadvertently contributed to wiping the entire town off the map. The oil, it turned out, was laced with dioxin. ••• Marilyn Leistner lives in a sturdy brick house on the top of a hill. A boulder sits in the center of her well-manicured front yard, next to an inviting driveway leading to an attached garage. A 74-yearold grandmother, Leistner looks 10 years younger and remains as feisty as ever, with no plans to retire. Her second husband died years ago, so she lives alone, unless you count her cat, Sarah Palin. She serves as a Eureka alderwoman, continuing a career in public service that had been cut short when her stint as mayor of Times Beach ended with the town’s abolishment. She lived there for a quarter century, until December 1982, at which point the town was thrown into what she calls the “time of flood and dioxin.” She

| DECEMBER 2012 117

has spent the past quarter century telling the Times Beach story. It’s important for people to know what happened, to remember. After dealing with the revelatory shock, the stress, the mysterious health issues, and the anger from all sides, yes, Marilyn Leistner would like you to remember Times Beach. Sitting at her dining-room table, gazing out across the hillside through her glass patio doors, she begins. The words come easily, honed over decades of repetition. Times Beach was founded, oddly enough, as a newspaper promotion. In 1925, folks who paid $67.50 for a sixmonth subscription to the old St. Louis Times received a tract in Times Beach. The lots were small, and you needed at least two to build a house. The paper had purchased the land from a farmer and rebranded it as a resort, a place for doctors from St. Louis to relax or catch a few fish on the weekend. The full-page advertisements boasted that “the sweltering heat and discomfort of the city are unknown at Times Beach.”

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Feature Writing, Magazine, Finalists Publication: Ink By: Sarah Gish

Publication: The Kansas City Star Magazine By: Cindy Hoedel

Excerpt from “Sweet Dreams: Young widow holds tight to the big life her husband left behind”

Excerpt from “Cabin Fever”

Rachel and Tyler Fracassa always did things too soon. They became inseparable when they were 12 and married at 16. At 18, they had a house in Raytown and another child on the way. Last year, the couple built a homestead on a 16-acre plot of land in Urich, Mo. The one-room house was enveloped by three pastures, a winding creek and a spring-fed pond. It was as beautiful as it was secluded, and it embodied the couple’s biggest dream: to live as simply as possible so they could spend lots of time together and, someday, save enough money to take their kids all over the world. Delivering their third child at home was wrapped up in that dream. But like many things in Rachel and Tyler’s life, Arlo came early. On a hot July day, Tyler raced his mom’s minivan down Missouri 7 as Rachel, now 26, rode out worsening contractions in the passenger seat. Also in the jam-packed car: the couple’s daughter, Gwynneth, now 10; son Eliott, 7; a cat; two dogs; an overflowing laundry basket; an infant car seat still in the box, and an inflated exercise ball. Between contractions, the whole family laughed at the absurdity of the situation. But when the pain came, Rachel panicked. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. “I don’t want to have the baby in the car!” She remembers saying over and over as she squeezed Eliott’s hand. Just past Harrisonville, Tyler pulled into the empty parking lot of a meat market. He ran around the minivan, opened Rachel’s door, saw a tiny arm and caught his baby boy. What happened next was a blur. The cat bolted from the car, and Gwynneth stopped screaming to chase after him. Rachel cleaned the cat hair off of Arlo and wrapped him in towels from the laundry basket. Then the family, with its new addition, drove 17 miles home. The Fracassas’ life never went exactly as planned. But it was full and exciting and uniquely theirs. Knowing that comforts Rachel now that Tyler is gone. On the night of his 27th birthday in September, Tyler was driving his Honda Element home from work at Michael Smith Restaurant in Kansas City when he dozed off and drifted onto the shoulder. He swerved left and then right before the SUV left the road and hit a tree. Tyler’s life ended about 10 miles from where his son’s began. Tyler and Rachel met when they were kids, at the Kansas City church their families attended. They started “going out” when they were 12. “It was totally innocent,” Rachel says. “It was nine months before we held hands and a year before we kissed.”

MATFIELD GREEN, Kan. — In late December 1999, as a nervous nation fretted about what might happen if computers went haywire when they switched over to 2000, Carole Brown of Westwood Hills loaded her possessions into two station wagons and a pickup and caravanned with her parents and brother to her new home, a 12-by-17foot cabin with no running water or electricity in a desolate corner of the Flint Hills in Kansas. Brown, a classically trained bassist two days shy of turning 40, had no car and no cellphone — only a desire to remove herself from a civilization she felt out of sync with and a longing to steep herself in the beauty and comfort of nature. The rancher who owns the land the cabin sits on figured she’d last six months, tops. Her friends gave her three months. Twelve years later, she’s still there. ••• Before daybreak on a Tuesday morning in late May, a familiar CLICKCLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK awakens Brown. Leopard frogs. Brown opens her eyes and shifts under the weight of her two slumbering rat terriers, causing the hammock to sway. She watches as the inky blackness overhead melts into a wash of deep violet overlaid with a lacework of hackberry branches. The first sunrays bring up a dewy sweetness in the air, and the frog chorus is replaced by the calls of dickcissels, bluebirds and great crested flycatchers. When Piglet and Pooh, the terriers, wake, Brown swings her legs over the side of the hammock and plants her bare feet on the cool hard dirt. Her pajama top flaps against her waist in the wind. She walks over behind the compost bin to the commode: a 5-gallon plastic bucket topped with a plastic seat the creek brought her one day. Brown gathers her bedding and hangs it over a treelimb fence. She steps across the stone threshold into the cabin and washes her face in a metal pan of water, then changes into jeans and a T-shirt. The first thing that strikes you when you meet Brown is her un-hermitlike appearance. She has a petite frame, the upright carriage of a dancer and hip-length blond hair tied back in a ponytail. Her jeans are patched in several spots but clean. The seams of the repairs are neat and straight. She wears no makeup, but her honeybrown eyes, set off by thick brows, pull you in with their beauty and intensity. With a match, she lights the stove and places a pan of water on to boil for tea.

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Profile Writing, Magazine, Winner Publication: Oklahoma Today By: Staff Judges’ Comments: The writer’s keen eye for detail and colorful writing wonderfully capture the subject’s unique character. It leaves me wanting to meet Mary Beth. A marvelous portrait in words.

Excerpt from “There’s Something About Mary Beth” Once upon a childhood, there was a smart, shy girl who liked to let her hair blow and her mind wander as she rode a pink Huffy through the tree-lined neighborhoods of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Back B y S h ea i l afaded h Bright home, she’d throw blanket over an old table on the state in every form from funky murals A little Perle Mesta, a to intimate book readings to jam sessions dash ofthe Vinitaback Cravens, porch and to graphic T-shirts.dream If you don’t know her, you likely know a touch of Aunt Eller, her handiwork. about cash registers. Some“Sometimes, I look around and think, and 100 percent original ‘How did this happen?’” says Babcock as times, she’d steal her brother’s Okie, Mary Beth Babcock, she fires off a list of projects (Booksmart Tulsa, Public Arts Project 66, the Blue our 2011 Oklahoman of Dome Arts Festival, Tulsa Tough,hide This Star Wars characters and Land Press) that have either found a the Year, is doing more launching pad or were borne from the them the family piano. than her part to under make creative spring that resides in her feelgood space. Oklahoma’s dwelling What kind Michael of adult Mason, editordoes and founder of This Land Press, a Tulsa media company, spaces a little brighter. inaugurated his first issue of Thisto Land in a child like that grow up May 2010 at Dwelling Spaces and chose the store as the publication’s merchandischildhood, be? genius comes ing hub. It wasn’t just because, as he’sto there wasCreative a smart, shy girl said on the company’s website, “Mary who liked to let her hair Beth Babcock is ten pounds of Okie blow and her mind wander mind. enthusiasm in a five-pound bag.” The as she rode a pink Huffy rest of the story is that he recognized her through the tree-lined neighborhoods Meet Mary Beth ability to connectBabthe dots on the creative of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Back home, drawing board. she’d throw a faded blanket over an old “She rides the Okie zeitgeist like table on thecock, back porch and dream thirtynine-year-old about the a bronco buster,” says Mason. “She’s cash registers. Sometimes, she’d steal her introduced me to Oklahoma artbrother’s Star Wars characters and hide geek-chic cheerleader for all ists and musicians I would not have them under the family piano. known about otherwise. It’s become What kind of adult does a child like things Okie who somethingmakes of a Tulsa truismyou that if you that grow up to be? Creative genius comes to mind. SOLID GOLD Meet Mary Beth Babcock, the wear thirtywant to state pride like A modern-day incarnation of Tulsa’s Golden nine-year-old geek-chic cheerleader for all Driller, Mary Beth Babcock is a fixture on the Tulsa scene. Whether operating her Blue things Okie who makes you want to wear Dome District store, Dwelling Spaces, or a aparty Her Dwelling state pride like party dress. Herdress. Dwelling organizing community events and projects, Spaces store in Tulsa’s Blue Dome District this Bartlesville native is a powerful creative force who is quick to credit others—including blew the dust off a dilapidated section of Spaces store in Tulsa’s Blue her 94-year-old grandmother, Dora Grace downtown back in 2006 and triggered a Bailey, and her father and brother, Robert and technicolor arts revolution splashed across Babcock—for her success. Dome DistrictDavidblew the dust off a dilapidated section of downtown back in 2006 and triggered a technicolor arts revolution splashed across the state in every form from funky murals to intimate book readings to jam sessions to graphic T-shirts. If you don’t know her, you likely know her handiwork. “Sometimes, I look around and think, ‘How did this happen?’” says Babcock as she fires off a list of projects (Booksmart Tulsa, Public Arts Project 66, the Blue Dome Arts Festival, Tulsa Tough, This Land Press) that have either found a launching pad or were borne from the creative spring that resides in her feelgood space. Michael Mason, editor and founder of This Land Press, a Tulsa media company, inaugurated his first issue of This Land in May 2010 at Dwelling Spaces and chose the store as the publica-

person gushes with personality best evinced by the eclectic offerings at her store, which feels a lot like a hip apartment. Robots. Flaming Lips Hot Sauce. Cuddle Monsters. Okie Grown T-shirts. “When I started the store, back when there was really nothing down here and everyone thought I was crazy, I wanted to be surrounded by robot artwork. I searched the Internet, and Eric Joyner popped up,” Babcock says of one of her favorite artists, a San Francisco native. “I’ve just always loved robots. They’re metal guys with personality.” In 2006, a college friend, Jack Allen, agreed to sell her the name of his furniture store. With his guidance, Babcock moved her version of Dwelling Spaces into his former storage space, a building owned 73 by Michael and Patricia Sager on South Detroit Avenue. It’s taken a steel-tough exterior protecting a sentimental gooey center for Babcock to wage a one-woman war in the retail battleground. On the first day of business in August 2006, she sold four items totaling $108. She kept plugging away, researching Oklahomabased goods that oozed personality. Soon, Babcock rolled out a welcome mat and invited musicians, authors, and artists to hang out to sing songs and tell tales. If customers needed a reason to venture out to the Blue Dome District, she would give them more than one. Art feeds the soul, so she would feed the art. “I’m single. I have a dog and a cat. This store is my life, and I want my life to include music and books and art,” says Babcock. “From there, things just started to happen.”

Film issue

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OklahomaToday.com

tion’s merchandising hub. It wasn’t just because, as he’s said on the company’s website, “Mary Beth Babcock is ten pounds of Okie enthusiasm in a fivepound bag.” The rest of the story is that he recognized her ability to connect the dots on the creative drawing board. “She rides the Okie zeitgeist like a bronco buster,” says Mason. “She’s introduced me to Oklahoma artists and musicians I would not have known about otherwise. It’s become something of a Tulsa truism that if you want to get on the scene in Oklahoma, you need to get in front of Mary Beth. She’s one of the few shop owners who has managed to turn her store into a conversation with the community, and it’s earned her the embrace of nearly everyone in Tulsa.” A true goddess of gab, this people

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Profile Writing, Magazine, Finalists Publication: The Kansas City Star Magazine By: Cindy Hoedel

Publication: Ink By: Sarah Gish

Excerpt from “Mr. Mortgage”

Excerpt from “Gold star wife”

The bratwurst-tasting station at the Costco on Linwood Boulevard, back by the meat counter, has just weathered a big rush and is temporarily out of samples. An older man, projecting an aura of size and height despite sitting in a wheelchair, is waiting patiently for the next batch of sausage rounds to cook up on the griddle when a young African-American woman a few feet away stops chattering to a friend midsentence, turns toward the man and asks, “Are you Mr. Nutter?” The man’s clear hazel eyes smile first. Then the sides of his mouth curl up slightly. “Yes, I am.” Stepping around her cart, the woman extends her right hand and says, “I never met you before, but I’ve seen your picture. You helped put up the money for our community center.” The woman gripping the large paw of the snowyhaired man is Estella Tucker, a resident of the Ivanhoe neighborhood, where a former fire station has been rehabbed and turned into a gathering place. Tucker’s children attend summer programs there. James B. Nutter Sr. purchased the dilapidated building, paid for its overhaul and installed a park next door. He did this after reading a newspaper story about the area’s struggle to drive out drug houses and make the streets safe again. In his deep, slowpoke voice — think Jimmy Stewart — and with characteristic emphasis on key words, Nutter responds, “I am very glad to meet you.” It turns out the woman using the griddle also lives in Ivanhoe, and she adds more bubbling praise. The sausages are done and toothpicked. Nutter pops one into his mouth and steers his wheelchair toward the cheese sampling table. ••• Kansas City knows James B. Nutter & Co. is a mortgage banking company. But how many people would know that it is one of the oldest such firms in the United States, in the top 10 largest of the nation’s privately owned mortgage firms, and that it makes home loans in all 50 states? It currently services $7 billion in mortgages. In the 1950s and 1960s, James B. Nutter & Co. became the first mortgage company in Kansas City to make home loans in black neighborhoods and to single women on a large scale. And, in 1989, the first in the country to write a reverse mortgage. Only business-channel junkies might realize that during the subprime meltdown in 2006 and 2007, the financial media held the company up as a poster child of fiscal responsibility for refusing to get into junk loans.

Abby Knapp hides her emotions. “I’m not the typical girl,” she says. “I hold ’em in.” So it was her husband, Mike, a blue-eyed soldier from Overland Park, who cried at their wedding in 2008 and at the birth of their daughter, Kinsley, last summer. “I was permanent smiles,” Abby says. “I knew he was going to take care of me the rest of my life.” Abby loved Mike’s soft side, but sometimes she got a little embarrassed when he showed it on Facebook. “I love you babe,” Mike wrote on Abby’s wall in January. “You are my sunshine, my queen, my beautiful princess.” In November, the 28-year-old Army sergeant deployed to Afghanistan with his field artillery unit. Abby and Mike hated being apart, but he took pride in his duties, and she liked feeling independent. Mike told Abby not to worry about him, so she didn’t. They stayed in touch with instant messaging and, when the connection was strong, Skype. That’s how Mike watched Kinsley stand up for the first time. In the spring, Mike was finally cleared for two weeks of leave, and Abby planned to meet him in Orlando, Fla. She imagined it would be like paradise. They would touch and kiss and talk whenever they wanted, lounge together in the sun by the pool, and take Kinsley to SeaWorld and the beach. Mike wanted Abby’s parents to come along to watch the baby so they could have some time alone. Every conversation ended with the same two words. Can’t wait. ••• Days before he was to leave Afghanistan, Mike was killed when an enemy rocket apparently struck an ammunition supply. The explosion was so violent that the Army needed to use DNA to identify his body. Mike’s friend JaBraun Knox, a 23-year-old sergeant from Auburn, Ind., with a wife and infant son, also died, and another soldier was badly burned. Around noon that day, Abby came home to her parents’ house in Overland Park and saw two uniformed officers standing in the dining room. “He’s hurt,” she told them. Silence. “Where’s he at?” There was a long pause before one of the officers started to read a statement. Abby can’t remember any of the words. “He’s OK,” she repeated over and over for what felt like minutes. She looked down at 9-month-old Kinsley, staring up from her car seat, and sank into a chair. Abby shielded her face with her hands as her parents and sister wrapped their arms around her. Abby didn’t want to be touched — she needed to be alone. So after signing the necessary documents, she left Kinsley with her family and shut herself in the basement for the rest of the day.

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The Red-Light Camera 8

Column Writing, Magazine, Winner Publication: St. Louis Magazine By: Ray Hartmann

Judges’ Comments: Humorous yet hard-hitting, with a strong voice that’s powerful, playful, and persuasive.

A dispatch from the front lines of St. Louis traffic court. BY RAY HARTMANN

Excerpt from “The Red-Light Camera 8”

t is8:08 8:08a.m., a.m.,and andno noone one is is smiling. smiling. It is There are eight us waiting to There are eight of usof waiting to have have ourcamera red-light camera tickets our red-light tickets adjudicated adjudicated in Municipal in Municipal Courtroom No.Courtroom 1 of the the city of mood St. Louis. Thegood, mood city ofNo. St.1 of Louis. The is not not defendants, good, as we, the as we,is the aredefendants, receiving are the receiving the city’s special hospitality. city’s special hospitality. It starts inside the the main entrance to the It starts inside main entrance to St. the Louis Court on Market St. City LouisMunicipal City Municipal Court on Street at 7:45 a.m.,atwhere we wait a minute Market Street 7:45 a.m., where we or so in aa security line, be toldline, that if wait minute or soonly in ato security we’re there fortold traffic court, then there we’re for in the only to be that if we’re wrong place and need walkinoutside around traffic court, then to we’re the wrong theplace block.and I’mneed thinking thatoutside would around be nice to walk information putthinking on a sign.that would be the block.toI’m Around the block there is aon sign, where the nice information to put a sign. words Around “open at 7:45”—scribbled the penthe block there with is a sign, manship ofthe a first-grader—have scratched where words “open atbeen 7:45”— out.scribbled So while with the building’s main entrance the penmanship of a is open but irrelevant to us, we scratched the defendants first-grader—have been out. shiver outsidethe in the cold for main 10 minutes or sois So while building’s entrance while a uniformed guardto stares blankly at us open but irrelevant us, we the defenfrom the warmth of the other sidecold of a for door10to dants shiver outside in the a lobby plenty enough to shelter us. minutes orlarge so while a uniformed guard He doesblankly open the door, butthe only to allow stares at us from warmth some other official-looking person to enter. of the other side of a door to a lobby He plenty gives uslarge a garbage-in, garbage-out enough to shelter us. onceover and the door. Hecloses does open the door, but only to We are some definitely garbage out. allow other official-looking person But shortly a.m., we are garbage to enter. Heafter gives8 us a garbage-in, in, welcomed to the securityand line closes with barked garbage-out once-over the instructions that sound like we’re about to be door. escorted our cells. I don’t knowout. what the Wetoare definitely garbage first lady line didafter or said, but the they Butinshortly 8 a.m., we way are garevict herin, from the line,toI the really think line she’s bage welcomed security about to barked get arrested. with instructions that sound like The guard’s scowl evaporates into a we’re about to be escorted quickly to our cells. warm grin know when still another official-looking I don’t what the first lady in line person leaves waiting did enters, or said,and buthethe wayus they evictabout her 30 seconds while heIvacates his postshe’s to embrace from the line, really think about her.to Then and his scowl return to us. get he arrested. The guard’s scowl evaporates quickly into a warm grin when still an66 other APRILofficial-looking 2012 | person enters, and he leaves us waiting about 30 seconds while he vacates his post to embrace her. Then he and his scowl return to us. Me, I’m fine until I commit the subversive act of handing him an iPad and laptop.

“You a lawyer?” he growls. “If not, Me,can’t I’m fine until I commit you bring these in.” the subversive act of handing himthere an iPad and laptop. Thinking might be a bottom“You a lawyer?” heexception growls. “Ifatnot, you can’t feeder-profession play bring here, these I offerin.” that I am a journalist. Thinking might be a bottom-feederWould thatthere be OK? profession play here, I offer that I “I told exception you that at you can’t bring ’em am journalist. in,”ahe replies.Would “You that havebea OK? problem “I told you that you can’t bring ’em in,” he understanding that?” replies. “No“You sir,” have I say.a problem understanding that?” Privately, I marvel at two things: “Nohow sir,”anyone I say. could make TSA ofone, Privately, marvel at two things: one, how ficers seem Ilike hospice nurses and two, anyone could make TSA officers seem what kind of strange world we live in like hospice nurses and two, what kind of strange where only lawyers can be trusted with world we live in where only lawyers can be computers. trusted withwe computers. At least make it to the courtroom At least makeI’m it not to the briskly andwe at least the courtroom guy briskly andyet at another least I’muniformed not the guyguy at whom at whom yet another uniformed guy snaps, “Take snaps, “Take off your hat!” Nor am I off your hat!”gruffly Nor amordered I the lady ordered the lady to gruffly move up to move from the fifth bench the front from theup fifth bench to the fronttorow in the near-empty room, as if to make the eight of us appear to be a sold-out house. No, we really aren’t in high spirits when it’s announced that the judge is making his entrance, albeit just a few minutes late to our 8:05 a.m. court date. We are not ready for anything good to happen.

We definitely are not ready for Judge row in near-empty room, as if to make Marvin O.the Teer Jr. the eightmorning!” of us appear be a sold-out “Good heto proclaims withhouse. No,ofwe really aren’t inreserved high spirits when the sort grin heretofore announced that the judge is making his thisit’s morning for uniformed personnel. entrance, albeit just a few minutes late to our “How’s everyone doing today?” 8:05 are not ready for Teer a.m. addscourt a fewdate. moreWe pleasantries to happen. andanything surveysgood the room. The judge’s definitelyisare not ready for Judge jovialWe demeanor jarring, almost surre-MarTeer Jr.he’s the first person to allyvin so,O.because “Good morning!” he proclaims with the sort treat us with respect this morning. of grin to heretofore reserved this morning Then, my extreme discomfort, he for uniformed “How’s everyone does a bit of apersonnel. double-take when he seesdoing metoday?” and flashes an even bigger smile. few more pleasantries and “I Teer knowadds you,adon’t I?” Teer says. surveys the name?” room. The judge’s jovial demea“What’s your nor jarring, almost surreally so, because “It’s,isuh, Ray Hartmann,” I mutter he’s the first person to treat with respect semi-intelligibly. I really don’tus want this morning. attention. I’m here as John Q. Public, my extreme he does albeitThen, a Mr.to Public lookingdiscomfort, to document bit ofprosecution a double-take he sees me and theacity’s of when red-light caman even eraflashes tickets—a pet bigger issue ofsmile. mine—while perhaps netting an easy column in the process. Judge Teer says he’s familiar with my work and sometimes catches Donnybrook on Channel 9. I’m not expecting this—and neither are my fellow defendants in the Red-Light Camera 8—especially after our previous reception.

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Column Writing, Magazine, Finalists Publication: TulsaPeople By: Connie Cronley

Publication: Tulsa Kids By: Cindy Webb

Excerpt from “Dare I weep, dare I mourn”

Excerpt from “Overparenting Anonymous”

On a recent Saturday afternoon that was brilliant with sunshine, I went to the funeral of a young man killed in a drive-by gang shooting. I had met the handsome young man. He struck me as polite and reserved. I know his hardworking and honorable family. I had come to pay my respects to them. A line of law enforcement officers stood at the chapel door. Police cars were parked across the street. The chapel was full to standing-room only, about 400 people. I was one of five white faces there. Some of the young men looked at one another suspiciously; some looked back with eyes like blades. A few of them wore red pants or shirts as a defiant display of gang colors: the Bloods. This funeral began like those at my Episcopal church: A minister led the processional, reciting, “I am the resurrection and the life,” followed by a white casket and the family. From there, everything was different to me. Throughout the service, a pianist noodled background music. People walked in and out, women taking small children to the bathroom and teen girls changing seats. But there was nothing relaxed about the rest of the funeral. An aunt of the deceased delivered a fiery testimonial. She raised an arm above her head and shouted that this violence has got to stop. This street killing of our young men and women must end. She said she had already heard rumors of revenge. “Don’t do it,” she told the young mourners. “Take your guns to the church and leave them there.” Sitting beside me was a young black man in sunglasses. Sometimes he was angry and cursed another mourner, “Who the (bleep) does he think he is?” Sometimes he held his head in his hands and wept quietly. Later he told me he was a friend of the dead gang member. The preacher’s sermon shook the walls. “We must make a change in the way fathers raise their children,” he said. “This death must be a detour for the young men present. All of you who pledge to make a change, stand up.” Throughout the chapel, men began to stand. Some older, some younger. The young man in sunglasses stood up. Then the preacher said, “Those of you standing, take the hands of the people sitting to your left and your right.” The young man took my hand. “Now,” the preacher said, “look at those people and ask, ‘Will you help me make this change?’” The young man did, and I answered that I would support him.

I knew from the start that having children meant I was supposed to be working myself out of a job. What I didn’t know was how powerfully sweet being needed by my children would feel. When my daughter Kathryn had croup or my son Alex had an asthma attack, nothing else in the world mattered: not the taxes, the dishes in the sink, even my job. Everything else dropped away as I focused on that moment with my child. I knew that for my kids I made the difference between misery and relief. In my arms the world was again a safe place. Potent stuff being needed! Some parents become addicted to the feeling of being needed. These “helicopter parents,” as they are called by Jim Fay and Foster Cline, M.D., in their book “Parenting with Love and Logic,” hover around their children shielding them from failure and pain. They leave work to deliver the forgotten lunch, toil away on science fair projects long after their child has gone to bed and call their son at college to make sure he has gotten up for class. According to Cline and Fay, these “loving” parents believe they are easing their children’s path into adulthood, but actually they are ensuring that their children are ill-equipped for the challenges of daily life. “Their learning opportunities were stolen from them in the name of love,” Fay and Cline write. “As children grow — beginning at about nine months of age with very simple choices — the parents must make a gentle, gradual transition to allowing their children the privilege of solving their own problems,” Cline and Fay write in Love and Logic, adding, “By the time children are eleven or twelve years old, they should be able to make most decisions without parental input.” In order for children to mature, we have to say no — to our children and to our own desire to feel needed. We must learn to let them suffer consequences, learn from their mistakes and take responsibility for solving their own problems. We must, according to Cline and Fay, teach them to think for themselves. “When our children leave our care,” they write, “we want them to be so good at thinking that they can face the bigger problems and hassles of life with competence and good sense.” Here are my twelve steps for raising independent, selfsufficient children: 1. I will not do for my children what they can do for themselves. 2. I will allow my children to accept the consequences for their poor decisions. I will not clean up their messes for them. 3. I will teach my children to make their own “business” phone calls, order in restaurants, return things to stores, and call friends for play dates.

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Page Design, Magazine, Winner Publication: St. Louis Magazine By: Lindsay Timme Judges’ Comments: The winning entry stood out among the competition. The use of wood block type, compelling photography and bold design all support and complement the subject matter beautifully.

Baby back ribs from PM BBQ (p. 81)

’cue lou IN THE

THE BEST BBQ IN ST. LOUIS– AND YOUR BACKYARD

EDITED BY GEORGE MAHE  WRITTEN BY JENNY AGNEW, BILL BURGE, CHRIS HOEL, ANN LEMONS POLLACK, ROSE MAURA LORRE, DAVE LOWRY, GEORGE MAHE, SCOTT THOMAS, AND ANDREW MARK VEETY PHOTOGRAPHS BY STEVE ADAMS, KEVIN A. ROBERTS, AND CARMEN TROESSER  ILLUSTRATIONS BY RACHEL HARRIS

| J U N E 2 0 1 2 71

St. Louis: Known for the Arch, the Cardinals, Then Maybe…

PAPPY’S

Top left: Pappy’s pulled turkey. This photo: Owner Mike Emerson doing what he does best

BEST BBQ ITEM IN A NON-BBQ RESTAURANT

Pulled-Pork Sandwich, Winslow’s Home Bringing a bit of his Tennessee roots to St. Louis, chef Cary McDowell does things differently than we typically see “up north,” and his pulled-pork sandwich is no exception. Heaped onto a plump brioche bun and sprinkled with a dash of extra dry rub—à la Lion’s Choice—the sandwich is as moist as you’ll find anywhere. And if that’s not enough, the truly unique addition is McDowell’s white barbecue sauce—a mixture of mayonnaise, mustard, sour cream, garlic, and spices. 7213 Delmar, 314-725-7559, winslowshome.com.

New York once had the Soup Nazi, Chicago still has The Wieners Circle, and we’ve got Pappy’s Smokehouse— that hallowed eatery, exalted by locals and foreigners with equal fanfare, where standing in line has become an integral part of the experience. We’d maybe even say that all of that waiting makes the customer’s eventual spoils taste a little bit better—but could these ribs really taste any better than they already do? 3106 Olive, 314-535-4340, pappyssmokehouse.com.

The Duck’s spice-crusted, slow-smoked chicken wings

Best Second Effort

THE SHAVED DUCK

When the former duck-heavy eatery turned to barbecue and chili in early 2009, we weren’t sure what to think. On the basis of a midweek visit, though, it’s clear that we’re not the only ones smiling as the city has embraced this reborn restaurant, thanks to standards like pulled pork and ribs, as well as nonstandards like smoked meatloaf and a devilishly addicting concoction called brisket dip (think buffalo chicken dip with brisket and barbecue sauce in place of chicken and hot sauce). 2900 Virginia, 314-776-1407, theshavedduck.com.

WE SALUTE

WHERE THE ’CUE MEETS THE CRESCENT WRENCH The Trading Post If you let the signboards dissuade you, you’ll miss out on Prince Carter’s ribs, saucy chicken wings, and smoky links. Kids already know to go for Blue Bunny ice cream, plus candy and chips. And inside is the best sign of all: “Free bike repair for kids 12 and under, Sat 9 to noon.” Says Carter, “It’s my small way of giving back.” 1951 Hebert, 314932-9700.

Hot links at Sandy’s Barbeque & More (200 N. Eighth, East St. Louis, Ill., 618-274-0300)

76 JUNE 2012 |

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| J U N E 2 0 1 2 77

Page Design, Magazine, Finalists Publication: TulsaPeople By: Amanda Watkins

The “Blue Plate Spesh” at Blue Moon Bakery and Café includes two eggs, a choice of meat, potatoes and toast.

t s a f k a e r B lub C Tulsa has no shortage of start-your-day-right cafés, brunch spots and other early-riser locales. by JUDY ALLEN

Kick off your day at one of the great breakfast joints T-Town has to offer. Remember, Mom always said breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Whether you are in the market for a simple sunny-side up egg and toast or a hearty meal of zesty huevos rancheros and homemade tortillas, 46

Tulsa has dozens of “eggcellent” breakfast opportunities. Pardon my pun, but eggs are THE key component in many classic breakfast and brunch dishes. Your breakfast burrito filling could be simply wrapped in a traditional flour tortilla or draped with homemade green-chili hollandaise made with house-churned butter. Whatever the case, breakfast is a meal to get excited about … and don’t forget the coffee!

TulsaPeople SEPTEMBER 2012

TulsaPeople.com

Publication: Kansas! By: Jennifer Haugh, Katy Ibsen, Shelly Bryant

Kansas’ powerhouse

PhotograPhy by Michael c. Snell The Flint Hills of Kansas has become a destination for domestic and international travelers drawn to its beauty and heritage.

SteakhouSeS and reStaurantS

across Kansas

continue to Serve up the beSt

“They seem to be enthralled with the cowboy culture,” says Grand Central Hotel owner Suzan Barnes, speaking of the German guests who frequent the hotel in the summer. “They want to come where it’s real. We don’t round up cattle on a four-wheeler out here.”

Kansas’ roots in beef date back to 1867 when the Texas cowboys drove herds of longhorn cattle north to the railhead at Abilene, then was crystallized when settlers discovered the richness of the Flint Hills, where cattle can gain up to 2 pounds a day grazing on its bluestem grasses. By the turn of the 19th century, the Kansas City Stock Yards was ranked second busiest in the nation. As Kansans, we know our steak.

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Magazine Cover Winner Publication: Sunflower Publishing By: Jason Dailey, Shelly Bryant, Nathan Pettengill, Bert Hull Judges’ Comments: As designers, we all want to work on a “kick ass” cover. This designer did that, literally. I feel like the rugby player is going to come out of the page and kick my ass. An amazing portrait, played perfectly with understated headlines and an understated nameplate. Just gorgeous.

Lawrence magazine

The Original Power Sport sp 12 | sunflowerpub.com |

KnocK-KnocK! It’s the Lewis Brothers (and your bananas) + Air Support The People behind Life Star Rescue + nAtive tongue Haskell Preserves Indigenous Languages

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Magazine Cover Finalists Publication: Oklahoma Today By: Staff

Might

S aint Kate

House

of Rocks

Working

Dogs

Into the Mystic

Autumn landscapes will inspire you to fall in love with the state all over again. Page 44

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012 OklahomaToday.com

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“The woods are lovely, dark, and deep.” —robert frost

Publication: The Oklahoman By: Suzanne Green

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Great Plains Magazine Writer of the Year Winner Publication: Oklahoma Today By: Nathan Gunter Judges’ Comments: Nathan Gunther has a great eye for detail and a comfortable way of putting together words and thoughts that propels readers through his work. The entries reflected a strong sense of place, one made more accessible by his captivating story-telling.

According to family legend, George Walton was a sheriff in Indian Territory killed by a band of bank robbers. As such stories go, it has tantalizing elements: a Wild West setting, a heroic lawman cut down in his prime, and a violent denouement worthy of a John Wayne movie. Dale Coate of South Dakota first heard the story about Walton, his greatgrandmother’s first husband, from his uncle. Dale’s mother and uncle were born in Oklahoma and orphaned at an early age, and their grasp of family history was thin. Since retiring two years ago, Dale and his wife, Marj, travel full time. Their journey across America took them through northeastern Oklahoma in April, and because Dale’s elderly mother had always said she was of Cherokee descent, the couple decided to stop and do some research. In an attempt to fill in some of the gaps, the Coates met with genealogist Gene Norris at the Cherokee Family Research Center inside the Cherokee Heritage Center near Tahlequah. “We’d heard that George was a sheriff killed by bank robbers on his front porch,” says Marj. “I happened to mention that to Gene, and within thirty seconds, he went over to the shelf, pulled a book, and said, ‘Oh, here it is!’” What Norris found in the book, Murder, Mayhem, Outlaws & Lawmen: Articles From the Indian Chieftain 1895-1900, was that Walton was never a sheriff. According to an October 15, 1896, story in the Vinita newspaper, a man who had “exchanged wives” with Walton hired a band of outlaws to kill him. As is often the case, the real story proved to be more interesting than the legend, and the finding fueled a passion to learn more. “Family research is a never-ending thing,” says Marj. “All the questions

john jernigan

“Origin Stories”

July/August 2012

Gene answered brought up a hundred more.” The Coates’ search had an additional advantage: Dale was able to locate his grandmother and great-grandmother on the Dawes Final Rolls, making him eligible to apply for citizenship in the Cherokee Nation. “The main reason we were pursu-

ing our genealogy was that we knew there would be records available to us because of the Dawes Rolls,” Dale says. “But Gene added to our understanding of what we were pursuing and what the Dawes Rolls meant.” Though Dale is excited about the opportunity to apply for tribal membership, the real payoff was the chance

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to share his family’s history with his mother, including the transcript of his great-grandmother’s interview with the Dawes Commission. “My mother is ninety, and she knows so little about where she came from,” he says. “Being able to show her the testimony from her grandmother is back to that person,” says Norris. “The quite valuable.” lowest blood degree that I’m aware of is Around same time George Walsomeonethe who is 1/4096th Cherokee.” ton wasHow running afoul of those hired does one go about documentguns,ing theanUnited ancestorStates on the government Dawes Rolls—or anywhere, up for that matter? ownership was breaking communal information have at of tribal“Start land.with In the 1887, Senatoryou Henry home,” says Billie Fogarty of Oklahoma Dawes of Massachusetts introduced the City, a seven-time past president of the Dawes Severalty Act, also known as the Oklahoma Genealogical Society. “Finding General Allotment Act, which the things that you already havecalled shows for the individual allotment of land you what you need to look for.” for Native Americans. Wary federal Fogarty says the best way of to start is with birth and death certificatesmatto intrusion into tribal and personal establish a family tree. Olderloss family ters that meant an additional of membersmany often know a great deal about sovereignty, Indians hesitated to family history, but for historians, assercooperate with the allotment. tions of family connections are useless The original Dawes Act did not without documentation. apply to“Ifwhat were known asit’s the you don’t have a source, notFive Civilized Tribes, so in 1893, Dawes, genealogy—it’s mythology,” Fogarty says. For tribal citizenship eligibility, directa then retired, was appointed to head lineage totoa Dawes enrollee must be commission the Cherokee, Choctaw, proven through birth,and death, and marChickasaw, Seminole, Muscogee riage certificates. Though many of these (Creek) Nations that would give each documents may be found at home or individual throughtribal familymember members,possession often geneaof a portion of tribal lands. Setting up logical research requires a look through headquarters Muskogee, additional in records, includingthe willscomand probate files. mission processed more than 250,000 “Startapplications, with yourself and work back enrollment approving to about 1900,” says Nancy more than 101,000 people toCalhoun, receive head of genealogy and local history at the allotments—whether they wanted them Muskogee Public Library. “Document or not. everything strongly, including birth, mar“The tribes wereYou against allotriage, and death. have tothe have somement,” Norris says. someone did not thing that ties the “If generations together.” consistently began keep-the speak toOklahoma the Dawes commissioner, ing birth and death records in 1908, commissioner would go to the next-and those records are available through the door neighbor, who would tell them State Department of Health. For estabwhat they needed to know.” lishing family connections from the early Astwentieth part of century the Dawes Commission’s and before, genealogists interviews, applicants were also find U.S. census records,asked which to are state their percentage of on Indian blood. viewable through 1940 a number of websites, useful. Norris says that until Dawes, this noThough theto Dawes FinalAmericans. Rolls are tion was foreign Native searchable online, accessing requisite “The federal governmentthe established records to prove a family connection will blood degrees among tribal people in take some offline legwork—and there is the United States,” he says. “Most longof always the possibility that a family’s the Cherokees had no concept of what was meant by blood quantum. To the Cherokees, you were either Cherokee or something else.” By the time Oklahoma became a state in 1907, the Dawes Commission had established what became known

issue

john jernigan

IndIan country

Potawatomi nation cultural rumored be awhich Dawes todaythe citizen ofinfamily connections as the Indian Dawesancestor Final will Rolls, Heritagetions center Shawnee has a numberare useless Rolls no-show. Many did not make the cut, of tribalwithout records indocumentation. its collection, including are the standard for membership in the either because they did not live in Indian this handwritten ledger book. “If you don’t have a source, it’s not Choctaw, Territory at theChickasaw, time the finalCherokee, rolls were Musgenealogy—it’s mythology,” Fogarty cogee (Creek), and Seminole nations. taken, because they never met with a Dawes says. Anyone who can definitively commissioner, or because they objectedprove to sion is to bring as much information as we the allotments. the Dawes Finalname can here and make it accessible.” For tribal citizenship eligibility, a direct linkThough to a person whose Rolls are theon lastthe word on citizenship for themay The advantage of physical direct lineage to apresence Daweslies enrollee must appears Dawes Final Rolls five tribes, other rolls and tribal censuses exnot only in accessing the information be proven through birth,firstdeath, and apply for tribal membership. Though ist and may prove a family connection. hand but in developing a deeper connection marriage certificates. Though many some tribes use a blood quantum reto one’s heritage. quirement for citizenship, others do not. t tHe 40,000-Square-foot “A lotofofthese peopledocuments start with theirmay ownbe found at home or through family “You have to have an ancestor on Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural family—they want to learn about theirmembers, often genealogical research requires the Dawes and document HeritageFinal CenterRolls in Shawnee, direcgreat-grandmother or great-grandfather, and a look tor Kelli Mosteller andthat tribalperson,” curator and when they learn about them, it sparks an including through additional records, yourself back to says Norarchivist R. Blake Norton are degree working that to I’minterest wills in Native andAmerican probateculture,” files. Mosris. “The lowest blood make searching the Citizen Potawatomi Nateller says. “Or when people are interested “Start with yourself and work back aware of is someone who is 1/4096th tion’s records as easy as the push of a button. in Native American history, they want to to about 1900,” says Nancy Calhoun, Cherokee.” For seven years, they have been digitizing seek out those family members.” head ofresearch genealogy and local How does of one go of about document- Genealogical tens of thousands pieces information, may include some history at the Muskogee Public Library. ing an ancestor on the Dawes Rolls—or including tribal censuses, photographs, startling realizations about Native American “Docueverything including anywhere, that matter Nation history, ment including the fact thatstrongly, many chose and artifacts, tofor bring Potawatomi not to document their ethnicity. citizens’ connection to the past into the you have birth, marriage, and death. You have “Start with the information Google age. But the Billie InternetFogarty is no substitute hardsomething for people to that put themtobe have ties the generaat home,” says of Okla- “It can for hands-on research. selves in the shoes of their ancestors who tions together.” homa City, a seven-time past president “If you want to do genealogy, it’s imporhad to make the decision not to sign a roll,” Oklahoma consistently began keepof the Oklahoma Genealogical Society. tant to know your repositories and to be says Mosteller. “At many times in American ing birth and death “Finding the things that you already willing to travel,” Norton says. “Our mishistory, it’s been very hard to be arecords minority.in 1908, and those records are available through have shows you what you need to look the State Department of Health. For for.” OklahomaToday.com 53 establishing family connections from Fogarty says the best way to start the early twentieth century and before, is with birth and death certificates to genealogists also find U.S. census reestablish a family tree. Older family cords, which are viewable through 1940 members often know a great deal about on a number of websites, useful. family history, but for historians, asser-

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Though the Dawes Final Rolls are searchable online, accessing the requisite records to prove a family connection will take some offline legwork— and there is always the possibility that a family’s long-rumored Indian ancestor will be a Dawes Rolls no-show. Many did not make the cut, either because they did not live in Indian Territory at the time the final rolls were taken, because they never met with a Dawes commissioner, or because they objected to the allotments. Though the Dawes Final Rolls are the last word on citizenship for the five tribes, other rolls and tribal censuses exist and may prove a family connection. At the 40,000-square-foot Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center in Shawnee, director Kelli Mosteller and tribal curator and archivist R. Blake Norton are working to make searching the Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s records as easy as the push of a button. For seven years, they have been digitizing tens of thousands of pieces of information, including tribal censuses, photographs, and artifacts, to bring Potawatomi Nation citizens’ connection to the past into the Google age. But the Internet is no substitute for hands-on research. “If you want to do genealogy, it’s important to know your repositories and to be willing to travel,” Norton says. “Our mission is to bring as much information as we can here and make it accessible.” The advantage of physical presence lies not only in accessing the information firsthand but in developing a deeper connection to one’s heritage. “A lot of people start with their own family—they want to learn about their great-grandmother or great-grandfather, and when they learn about them, it sparks an interest in Native American culture,” Mosteller says. “Or when people are interested in Native American history, they want to seek out those family members.”

Genealogical research may include some startling realizations about Native American history, including the fact that many chose not to document their ethnicity. “It can be hard for people to put themselves in the shoes of their ancestors who had to make the decision not to sign a roll,” says Mosteller. “At many times in American history, it’s been very hard to be a minority. If they knew for themselves that they were Native American, that was enough.” Norris, like most researchers, has had to tell visitors their relatives do not appear on the tribal rolls. “We can’t second-guess our ancestors,” he says. “We can’t change the decisions they made. We’re not trying to tell anyone that they’re not Cherokee. We’re just trying to help people document it.” But when the goal of a genealogical search is not citizenship but a sense of connection to the past, any information can be a treasure. At the Muskogee library, more than 18,000 volumes can assist those interested in researching family connections and learning more about the world their ancestors inhabited. “I don’t think people realize what a drawing point it is to have a genealogy collection,” Calhoun says. “People come here from all over the United States.” Calhoun says the ability to reconstruct an ancestor’s life through historical records is limited only by the amount of time available. At the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City, researchers can go beyond Dawes Commission materials to search tribal census records for many of the thirtynine tribes headquartered in Oklahoma, plus records from Indian Territory, including permits, obituaries, oral histories, more than 33,000 rolls of newspapers on microfilm, and more than nine million photographs. City and county libraries, tribal headquarters, and genealogical societies

have locally specific resources as well, and once an ancestor’s residence is documented to a certain year, researchers are often able to find court and property records, probate listings, and relevant newspaper stories. Each is a scrap of a life, a piece of a story, a bit of a person left behind. When a loved one passes away, survivors often comfort one another by saying that no one is ever truly gone. Since the beginning of the age of bureaucracy, this platitude has a literal antecedent: Few people have wandered through American life since the nineteenth century without leaving some kind of paper trail. “For Native Americans, the paper trail can be a lot stronger because there were so many instances where they had to check in with the government,” Mosteller says, “when they signed a roll, when they signed a treaty, when they moved, when they got a land allotment, when they sold that land allotment, if their kids went off to boarding school.” Genealogy is about connecting those dots, carefully and deliberately, to deepen a familial connection. For proving tribal heritage, the burden of proof is heavier. Citizenship requirements vary among tribes and nations: While many link citizenship to an ancestor on one or more federal rolls, others have strict blood quantum requirements, and many mandate that tribal citizens have an enrolled family member. For these tribes, qualifying ancestry often goes back only a few generations and can easily be proven or disproved. But for many, even a cursory glimpse into family connections can open up a lifelong appreciation for Native American culture. “The little pieces connect together,” says Calhoun. “We’re really crumb chasers—sometimes you take little bits of information and put them together to get the whole picture.”

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Great Plains Magazine Writer of the Year Finalist Publication: St. Louis Magazine By: Jeannette Cooperman

Excerpt from “Deconstructing Bob Cassilly” Bob Cassilly worked with junk and hired misfits; did everything to guarantee economic failure and made money instead. He was labeled an overgrown kid without social skills, yet he jumpstarted two wrecked neighborhoods and turned a rotting warehouse into what’s been ranked one of the greatest public spaces in the world. He set out to please only himself, and he managed to delight more than 600,000 people every year. How did he pull it off? One answer’s up in the sunlit air, as he slung a leg across his 24-foot, 3,000-pound praying mantis and rode her, without safety ropes or harness, to the top of City Museum. Another’s deep below the earth, in the caves born of his earliest memories. And a third is out on the sharp edge of experience, where he pushed himself and everybody around him daily. To say Bob Cassilly knew he was wanted would be an understatement. Judy Cassilly told her firstborn more than once, “The day I felt you move for the first time was the happiest moment of my life.” Play came easily to him: He figured out the workings of older kids’ toys, hung vines so he could swing across his backyard creek, dug a cave out of its banks. He was sweet, his mother says, “but a difficult child to raise, because he was so shy.” She gave gentle pushes and continual encouragement, and for eighth grade, she sent him to the Marianists at Chaminade College Preparatory School, “because he needed more attention.” What really worked, though, was getting him apprenticed to Rudy Torrini, a sculptor with the same wildly prolific energy. Bob swept the floor in Torrini’s studio, kept silent, and watched. Soon he was coming every day after school and all day Saturday—a pattern that lasted through high school. He was so determined to continue studying with Torrini, he forsook a Fulbright grant and became Fontbonne College’s

first male graduate. “He’d be working on 10 or 20 projects a semester,” recalls classmate Kurt Knickmeyer (who spent the next three decades as his assistant). “I had an aesthetics class with him, and all of a sudden I was listening to a side of Bob I’d never heard before. He was incredibly articulate, poring over all that philosophy and just sucking it in.” Also in that class were Cecilia Davidson, a lighthearted artist with whom Bob had fallen in love, and Gail Soliwoda, a Missionary Sister of Our Lady of Africa. “I thought he was just this arrogant guy,” Gail remembers, “and he thought I was this misguided young woman.” He married Davidson right after graduation, in the spring of 1972. They honeymooned in Rome, where Bob managed to wrestle a crazed, hammerwielding saboteur to the ground and save Michelangelo’s Pietà. Returning in a flurry of publicity he loathed, they moved into Lafayette Square, then in ruins. They bought a house at the corner of Hickory and 18th streets and used their fireplace to heat it. A community of friends began to form—including J. Walter Scott, who, inspired by Bob, bought a house on his MasterCard. They shared a studio for a time, and garrulous Scott learned to work without speaking while Bob blasted classical music (he liked its complexity) and chiseled away. When Bob and Cece decided to open Park Place Restaurant, Scott helped Bob salvage a marble reception desk from the old Hotel Claridge to use as a bar. The wrecking ball was poised to swing as they tore through the rooms, prying off medicine cabinets whose beveled-glass mirrors, framed with molding, would become a wall behind the bar. Once the restaurant was up and running, it was less fun, so Bob and Cece flew to Maui to live on the beach. They returned from their idyll a year later (Bob was bored), and soon after, they

divorced. By then, Bob was working on a master of fine arts degree at Fontbonne, where Soliwoda—who’d left the convent—was teaching sculpture. Bob exerted all his charm. They married in 1982 and started a fiberglass fabrication company, Cast Stone, in their basement. The chemicals reeked; neighbor Alice Sherwood once opened the door to find Bob awkwardly clutching a dolphin column in token apology. “He was kind of a standoffish guy,” she says, “a little socially inept, yet very sweet. He’d always jump to help somebody if they had a bike stolen out of their yard or something.” There was a lot of theft in the early days—her hammock, John and Alison Ferring’s barbecue pit… Cassilly would drop his art to give chase, but he and Gail also started hiring kids from the neighboring projects to do odd (no doubt truly odd) jobs. Lafayette Square started to stabilize. By now, Bob was making what Gail called his “critters.” There was a praying mantis to sit atop his studio and a griffin for his alma mater, St. John Vianney High School, and there were dragons on playgrounds, Romanesque owls on town houses, baboons in bas relief on an office building. No project was big enough to satisfy his imagination, though. “Sometimes he was just sort of aimless,” his friend Thomas Danisi remembers. “He’d say, ‘I’m not feeling well today. I’m just going to be alone.’” “The worst of Bob’s moods were in the late ’80s,” Knickmeyer says. “Then we started doing more of the big stuff for the Saint Louis Zoo.” He did a 28foot great white shark, a 50-foot giant squid, a pterodactyl that had to be taken apart to get it through the doors. This was more like it! He created Hippo Playground in Manhattan; Turtle Park in St. Louis; a 67.5-foot giraffe for the Dallas Zoo (lengthening its tongue to clinch its record as the tallest sculpture in Texas).

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Great Plains Magazine of the Year Publication: St. Louis Magazine Judges’ Comments: Gorgeous photography, excellent writing and editing, beautiful design — this publication is truly a thing of beauty.

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Great Plains Magazine of the Year Finalist Publication: Oklahoma Today

Home

Moments sports in OklahOma Sports

school

Jim

Calling

Great

ThOrpe

WINNING

Photos

Bacone Ttheracing art YEARS

OldSchool:

I n d I a n c o u n T ry

Towana

Guardian

issue

Tribes Five scenic motorcycle adventures wind through the state’s most beautiful places.

July/August

2012

OklahomaToday.com

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“I love this land and the buffalo and will 8

not part with it.” —Satanta, Kiowa Chief

Dust ART Decade Bowl a

Celebrates

TROUBADOURS

Biker

Book

B l a c k

Easy Rides

5 Hard-Hitting High School Football Rivalries

Five scenic motorcycle adventures wind through the state’s most beautiful places.

September/OctOber 2012 OklahomaToday.com

Then now

Community G R A I N

Elevators

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“I won’t even attempt to predict how this game will 7

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turn out.” —kurt fridrich, union head football coach

2012

OklahomaToday.com

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“On a cycle, the frame is gone.” —ROBERT PIRSIG 8

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Great Plains Magazine of the Year Finalist Publication: Sunflower Living

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Best Website Design Winner Publication: WholeHogSports.com (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette) By: Matt Jones, Cody Kinsey, Mat Costa, Shawn McLaughlin Judges’ Comments: A very clean, very functional design: The color palette underlines the focus on all things Razorback. The home page offers a good display of photos in its rotating panel, with appropriate dwell time. The images are scaled well to catch the eye, and there’s not too much text to get in the way. Displaying current content — even in the “off season” — helps meet the audience expectations of an always up-to-date experience. Video, galleries and social links are well integrated into the page. Even the favicon continues the theme. Article templates are consistent and support the brand. Nice work!

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Best Website Design Finalist Publication: Everyday People (Tulsa World) By: Micah Choquette

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Best Website Design Publication: Big Red Today (Omaha World-Herald) By: Staff

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Blog Writing Winner Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Kevin Coffey Judges’ Comments: Strong music writing is a highlight of Rock Candy. The author does an excellent job of leveraging blog assets — video, links to other sites, interaction — to create content with energy and social media appeal. Kudos for being visible and active in the comments and for handling even critical commenters with aplomb.

“Review: Desaparecidos debut two new songs at secret reunion show” Texts, tweets, e-mails and phone calls went out around 10 p.m. It was on. A secret show. Desaparecidos, whose reunion was announced about 24 hours prior, would be taking the stage at Slowdown at 11 p.m. Monday. Before band’s reunion had been announced, they were supposed to play a secret show last week, but it didn’t work out. Late Sunday night, the band was announced as the headliner of Maha Music Festival. Excitement was high with Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Paste and others picking up The WorldHerald’s story about the reunion. At Slowdown on Monday, a sign on the door said “rock show.” Earlier in the evening, the bar hosted a pub quiz and attendees were informed of the show but asked to stay quiet until later. The crowd grew until 11:17 p.m. when the band — led by Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes and also including Landon Hedges, Matt Baum, Denver Dalley and Ian McElroy — unceremoniously walked onto the tiny front room stage at the venue. (Check out photos and video.) “Hi guys,” Oberst said. “Thanks for coming to our band practice.” Right away, they went into a new song. “Left is Right” was loud, brash, crashing — the same kind of punk noise that fans of the band would expect. And with lyrics about war, including lines about how “a bloody pacifist could see the truth,” it sounds like the new material has the political undertones of the band’s lone album, which came out a decade ago. The other new song, “Backsell,” came in the middle of the short set. It dropped lines about the music industry. It seemed to be Oberst’s stab at fame, with a line about him scratching out his face in a music magazine and another

about if he had AutoTune, “I could hit the notes.” I’ve heard the group has been practicing lately, and I assume with the new material, the band is almost surely working on a new album. The rest of the set included all the old favorites. Oberst dedicated “Man and Wife, the Former (Financial Planning)” to the winners of the night’s pub quiz. He also dedicated “Mall of America” to the operators of Slowdown, the venue and the complex of buildings around it, that was built by Oberst’s pals (and Saddle Creek Records execs) Robb Nansel and Jason Kulbel. “When our friends formed bands in the mid to late ’90s, I didn’ think that one of us would end up building a mall,” he said, tongue firmly in cheek. “But here we are. They built a mall and here we are. This one goes out to this beautiful mall we love so much.” The diehard fans were up front headbanging, though many in the back of the room followed suit. It was a free show, but I don’t think even a $10 (or higher) cover would have deterred anyone. Up on stage, Desparecidos were a blur of fury and motion. Considering how the band is fronted by Oberst, Mr. Folk Rock, it’s amazing that the band is more punk rock than many actual punk

rock bands. Almost every song was the most energetic version you could dream up. They blazed through “The Happiest Place on Earth” with power chords and whirling band members. As he was known for in the past, Baum shouted at the crowd between songs. “Mañana” was a wild inferno of guitars and shouted lyrics and the melody was almost totally lost, but it was what we wanted. “Man and Wife, the Latter (Damaged Goods),” the most mellow song of the set, retained its melody and quiet tone, but the band shot back with “Survival of the Fittest/It’s a Jungle Out There” right after. Oberst treated it like it was a rehearsal. “Thank you guys so much. Normally, we’d have to do this in front of a bunch of stuffed animals lined up on our bed,” he said. “This is much more realistic.” No rehearsal needed. They haven’t lost a step. They were finished and off the stage by 11:58 p.m. In 41 minutes and 10 songs, the band declared, “We’re back!” And the crowd responded: “We’re here. We’re listening…” Setlist: Left is Right* Greater Omaha Man and Wife, the Former (Financial Planning) The Happiest Place on Earth Mall of America Backsell* Man and Wife, the Latter (Damaged Goods) Survival of the Fittest/It’s a Jungle Out There Mañana Hole in One *new song

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Blog Writing Finalists Publication: Tulsa Kids By: Missy Davis

Publication: Tulsa World By: Tulsa World Photo staff

Excerpt from “Valley Grove Pecans”

Excerpt from “Graphic images: A discussion about photo editing and the decision to use them or not”

My step-kids go to school in Glenpool, and every time I drive to take them to school or pick them up, I pass this place on 151st Street:

It’s the most darling little shop set right in front of a gorgeous pecan grove. Every time I pass it, I think to myself, “Self, you should stop in there one of these days and see what they’ve got!” So, this week we did! Valley Grove Pecans is a family owned, locally owned and run farm in Bixby, Oklahoma, located at 2301 E. 151st Street. They are only open during the November and December harvesting season, so they sell only the freshest pecans. The littles and I had fun exploring their shop and all the goodies! Besides fresh pecans, they have all kinds of candies, gift baskets, pecan oils (apparently lower in fat content, higher heat tolerance and really good for you), syrups and more! It is such a great place to come for holiday gifts! You can purchase fresh-cracked, papershell pecans in various quantities, which is what I did. They even let you taste the different varieties. We tasted Pawnee and Kanza. They also have local, raw organic honey! Bees are so important to our environmental economy, and I use honey in a lot of my cooking, so this is a product I always buy local! I got to talk with Allen Stevens, one of the owners and store manager. They’ve been there a little over ten years and love providing high quality, fresh products that highlight native Oklahoma pecans from their orchard right on the same property. I brought my pecans home and am roasting them as gifts to friends and family along with some other homebaked goodies!

There is a process to deciding what photographs that run on our front page. This is true every day regardless of how mundane or dynamic an image or situation may be. When it comes to choosing an image for page one we evaluate many factors. As a photo editor, I am always concerned with the overall quality of an image, from the technical to the aesthetic and everything in between. We also evaluate the relevance to the accompanying story and the news value of the photo. This is all part of our daily process. So when a situation like yesterday’s shooting in the plaza near the courthouse occurs, that process becomes all the more important. The decision to publish a photo that some may view as offensive or graphic was not taken lightly. The decision did not rest solely on the shoulders of one person. It was a group decision and it came after a discussion. Yesterday, we weighed the importance of the situation. The public nature of a shooting in which a sheriff’s deputy and a bystander were shot made this an important story to tell. Having the photos from the moment the gunman walked into the plaza through his arrest allowed us to visually tell the story in ways we don’t often get to. However, just having the photos does not always mean we will or should run them. This was ultimately the decision we had to make. Did all of the above factors outweigh the possibly offensive nature of the image? In our minds they did. While the situation is unfortunate, no matter how you look at it, the gravity of the situation would be difficult to communicate without the images. News is not always easy to look at. There were images more graphic that we chose not to publish. We ultimately settled on an image that balanced as many of the factors we found important with the graphic content of the image. We chose a photo that represented what was one of the most important moments of the sequence. We chose an image that conveyed the urgency of the situation and the challenge that faces law enforcement personnel in a situation like that. I will contend that though much criticism is lobbed at media for being sensational and irresponsible, the opposite is more often the case. It was far more common in the late 1920’s into the early 30’s to see graphic photos of death and mayhem on the front pages of newspapers. The Chicago Daily News ran an extremely graphic photograph of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in February of 1929. This was not uncommon to see in newspapers during the time. In my view, the sensitivity of the public is directly tied to the events of the time. Mob slayings were fare more common in Chicago in the 1920s and 1930’s, therefore the public was far less shocked to see images of these killings.

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Graphics/Illustration Winner Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Matt Haney Judges’ Comments: Great creation of environments, not just illustrations. Top notch.

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Pitchers’ paradise Southerly breezes and quieter bats are making the new home of the College World Series

grandest in the game The top 25 CWS players ever, from Barry Bonds to Dave Winfield. Page 8W

a comfortable place to take the mound. In a park where pitchers thrive and home runs are few and far between, small ball is becoming the rule in Omaha. STORY, Page 6W

Learn the lingo JIMMY BUFFETT IN CONCERT When: 8 p.m. Saturday Where: CenturyLink Center Omaha, 455 N. 10th St. Tickets: Sold out Information: www.centurylinkcenteromaha.com or 402-341-1500

Parrotheads (Buffett fans)

“Cheeseburger in Paradise”

“Margaritaville”

The Coral Reefer Band

COMING THIS WEEK ›› Omaha has plenty of Parrotheads, and they’re planning to party.

›› A review of the concert

ON THE WEB Go to The World-Herald Facebook page and vote for your favorite Buffett song. Results will be posted at Omaha.com

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A championship would give the Gamecocks a three-peat, the first in almost 40 years. Page 2W

SUNDAY, APRIL 8, 2012

Parrotheads in paradise

Florida’s Hudson Randall

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Rainbow Rowell

Take a break with a walking lunch! Wednesday, April 25

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Sign up as an individual, group or company nebraskablue.com/walk Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska is an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Graphics/Illustration Finalists Publication: Tulsa World By: Jason Powers

Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Theresa Berens SUBMIT HOLIDAY EVENTS

The holiday season is fast approaching. We’re collecting information about holiday-related events for our “Holiday Book,” a special section appearing Nov. 18. • Send us details about concerts, holiday lighting ceremonies, gingerbread displays, Christmas pageants, ethnic festivals, New Year’s Eve dances and more. Include the name, date(s) and time(s) of the event, location, name of the sponsoring organization and a daytime phone number. • Submit your information by Oct. 26. Send to Shelley Larsen, 1314 Douglas St., Suite 700, Omaha, NE 68102, or to shelley.larsen@owh.com.

LIVING E OMAHA WORLD-HERALD

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012

OMAHA.COM

BEER TOURISM

LOVE OF BREW TAKES FOLKS FAR AND WIDE BY MICHAEL O’CONNOR | WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

ARLEY, WHEAT AND HOPS are luring tourists across America and Europe. They’re clutching mugs and sipping frothy brews in places a few hundred miles from Nebraska and spots more than 5,000 miles away. It’s called beer tourism, and it’s on the rise. A growing interest in craft beer and a growing number of breweries are fueling the trend. These trips offer beer lovers a chance to sample dozens of brews and an opportunity to meet the brewers and learn how they turn grain, yeast and water into tasty regional suds of all kinds, such as porters, ales and stouts. Destinations are all over the map. Hot spots in the United States include big cities and small: Chicago, Seattle, Portland, Ore., and Asheville, N.C. Breweries in the Omaha area and Iowa also are drawing visitors. In Europe, beer lovers are showing up in the

Smart choices at Great Wall of Yogurt

Jill Koegel LivewellNebraska .com blogger

I’m not Greek, but I love Greek yogurt. A bit more of a treat than typical “light” yogurt, Greek yogurt offers some major benefits in the way of higher protein content and how it will make you feel more full. The craze over this creamy, delicious snack began a couple of years ago. By now, most of us have tried it. One by one, food companies jumped on the bandwagon with Greek versions of their yogurt, touting its “twice the protein” benefit. If you don’t like Greek yogurt because it tastes sour, or if you don’t like that it has double-digit sugars, I’m with you. My family finally resorted

MAGAZINE 10.18.12 - 10.24.12

to buying a light cherry version that had 11 grams of sugar (ugh), just because it tasted better and still offered 6 grams of protein. But the downside to “light” yogurt, besides containing less protein, is that it’s just not as satisfying. Walk toward the dairy aisle at most grocery stores, and you’ll ﬁnd a huge section devoted to yogurt. The Great Wall of Yogurt, if you will. How are you to decide without spending an hour reading all the labels? It can be confusing (and a bit exciting for those in my profession) to have so many brands to choose from. But once you weed out the less

nutritious options and find a favorite, yogurt can be a great high-protein snack, dessert or side to a balanced meal. If you want the best bang for your nutritional buck, shop like a dietician: Go for doubledigit protein and single-digit sugar. I finally found a solution that met these standards (check out the first bullet point below). Here are my suggestions for simplifying the yogurt confusion: » Choose a brand like Dannon Light or Fit GREEK, whose cherry flavor has 80 calories, 12 grams of protein and 8 grams of sugar. See Livewell: Page 2

Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium and the U.K. Phil Doerr of Bellevue took his ﬁrst beer trip in 2008 and returned from his latest one to Belgium and Amsterdam in August. Crescent Moon Ale House in midtown Omaha organized those trips. The bar has taken customers and staff on ﬁve European trips since 2008 and is planning another for next year, said owner Bill Baburek. The Crescent Moon trips have drawn everyone from twentysomethings to 60-year-olds, from couples to buddies on a guy adventure. The Crescent Moon tours have hit famous beer cities such as Munich, Germany, which hosts an Oktoberfest that drew more than 6 million people last year. The Crescent tour also has landed in the Czech Republic, where some breweries have been making beer for hundreds of years. Another tour stop was Bruges, Belgium, where See Beer: Page 2

Operation School Bell helpers serve as a reminder of the goodness of others When I talked with two retired teachers I used to work with, Rose Sheehy and Marcia Allen, it reminded me of the goodness of people. Sometimes we are so bombarded with the negativity in life that it’s nice to remember that many people still do good deeds. Rose and Marcia Janice are members of the Gilmore Omaha Assistance League, a nonproﬁt volunteer service organization whose members identify, develop, imple-

ment and fund ongoing philanthropic programs to serve speciﬁc needs of children and adults in the community. Over the last several years, Rose, Marcia and other volunteers have been very active with the league’s Operation School Bell. Rose is the overall chairwoman and Marcia is the registration chairwoman. Operation School Bell helps children who need clothing in 13 area school districts. The goal is to encourage school attendance and increase self esteem. The process is mind-boggling; the group needs orderly procedures to ensure that everything is fair and balanced. The league contacts the See Gilmore: Page 2

THE HORROR! A scary movie guide to the good, the bad, the so-bad-it’s-good and everything in-between.

PAGES 10-11

PLUS

HAUNTS Itching to be scared by the ghouls of a haunted house? Check out our list of area attractions. » PAGE 12

NIGHTLIFE Omaha vintage clothing boutique owners are sharing their love of mid-century clothing. » PAGE 16

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Great Plains Website of the Year Publication: arkansasonline.com (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette) By: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette staff Judges’ Comments: Arkansas Online’s home page answers questions important to an online audience: What’s new? What’s important? What’s interesting? Content is clearly prioritized by significance and freshness. Columnists and other high-value channels are cleanly delineated downpage. Presentation of visual assets such as photo galleries and videos is striking. Article pages were consistently rich, with content interactives and social sharing options complemented by intuitive intra-site navigation. Especially on a site this deep and dynamic, repeated references to the print product seem awkward and unnecessary.

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Great Plains Website of the Year Finalist Publication: tulsakids.com (Tulsa Kids) By: Tulsa Kids staff

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.orgâ&#x20AC;&#x192; /â&#x20AC;&#x192; 123

Great Plains Website of the Year Finalist Publication: omaha.com (Omaha World-Herald) By: Omaha World-Herald staff

124â&#x20AC;&#x192; /â&#x20AC;&#x192; Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

Great Plains Student Photographer of the Year Publication: The Eagle — Chadron State College By: T.J. Thomson Judges’ Comments: This is excellent news story coverage. T.J. had to use different lenses and make choices to show the strange beauty and the destruction of this fire. Having a firefighter was key to this success. The opening photo is clean and has an element of drama. This photo shows the wind, the fire and the conflict all wrapped into one. PHOTO ESSAY

REGION 23 COMPLEX

FIRE

The Region 23 Complex Fire A photo essay by T.J. Thomson

A Dawes County farmer creates a fire break Aug. 30 in fields adjacent Table Road, about 10 miles south of Chadron. This blaze, dubbed the West Ash Fire, started Aug. 28 due to lightning. The West Ash Fire, along with another nearby blaze, the Douthit Fire, are collectively referred to as the Region 23 Complex Fire. The fires prompted Chadron State's administration to cancel classes Aug. 30-31.

16 | ACCLAIM Fall 2012

ACCLAIM Fall 2012 | 17

REGION 23 COMPLEX

FIRE

Marty Jones, of Alliance, lifts a hose as he prepares to make a water transfer from a civilian truck to his fire engine Thursday afternoon in Dawes County. In places along Table Road, a small gravel route serving as an artery for water transport and fire crews, the flames licked at either side of the road as cars travelled through. The sun’s pale orange haze, in the areas where the smoke wasn’t too heavy to obscure it completely, illuminated the raw power of the flames. Wavy lines formed patterns on the horizon as a testament to the flames’ enormous heat output.

The sun sets in the evening sky above Chadron Aug. 31.

“This fire is really fast. The summer is so dry and so hot, plus the grass in the national park is a little higher than usual since the parks service reduced grazing.” – John Morford Chadron Volunteer Fire Department

18 | ACCLAIM Fall 2012

A tractor and an ATV drive down a gravel road along partially-downed power lines Aug. 30 in an area of Dawes County approximately six miles west of U.S. Highway 385. Firefighting personnel, many of whom were volunteers from Chadron, neighboring Hemingford, and Crawford, banded together to combat the flames engulfing the arid region. Returning from the fire lines after 22 hours, John Morford, of Chadron, said “This fire is really fast. The summer is so dry and so hot, plus the grass in the national park is a little higher than usual since the parks service reduced grazing.” As a volunteer for 18 years, Morford has seen his fair share of conflagrations, including the 2006 Spotted Tail Fire, which prompted evacuations and marred the Dawes County landscape six years ago.“The two fires are really similar,” Morford said.“They were both managed the same, and they both required lots of resources and people.”

A pine tree erupts into flames in a hilly portion of terrain roughly 50 feet from U.S. Highway 385. The West Ash and Douthit Fires combined burned more than 88,000 acres, according to containment officials.

ACCLAIM Fall 2012 | 19

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Great Plains Student Photographer of the Year Finalist Publication: Threefold Advocate — John Brown University By: J Pablo Garcia

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Great Plains Student Photographer of the Year Finalist Publication: Threefold Advocate — John Brown University By: Ron Asbill

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Great Plains Student Editor in Chief of the Year Publication: The Collegian — University of Tulsa By: Kalen J. Petersen Judges’ Comments: This entry showed great range — good news judgment, creative design, enterprise reporting, and more. The editor wrote some of the toughest stories. Editor of the Year should demonstrate overall and consistent excellence, and these entries do just that. Well done!

a student newspaper of the university of tulsa

november 12, 2012 issue 11 ~ volume 98

september 17, 2012 issue 3 ~ volume 98

IN THE

DARK Orsak’s dismissal still unexplained, questions remain unanswered Kalen Petersen Editor-in-Chief

Mystery continues to surround the firing of Dr. Geoffrey Orsak from the University of Tulsa’s presidency after 74 days in office. Orsak’s removal was announced Wednesday in an e-mail to students and staff signed by Duane Wilson, Chairman of TU’s board of trustees. That message did not cite any cause for the unexpected decision. Executive Vice President Kevan Buck, the university’s chief financial officer, will be taking over the duties of the president until the board decides on an interim president. Buck said that he was notified of the board’s decision “about a day in advance.” Buck, who has spent 29 years in higher education, said that TU can expect a smooth transition because of its highly experienced senior staff. “As far as the University’s going forward, we’re in good shape,” he said. In a statement to the press, Orsak said he was “very disappointed given the lengthy due diligence process for the position.” Orsak was Dean of Southern Methodist University’s Lyle School of Engineering before taking the helm at TU. “My family and I made significant professional and personal sacrifices when we uprooted from Dallas so that I would have the special opportunity to lead the University of Tulsa,” Orsak said. Buck called Orsak “a nice guy,” but declined to comment on the causes of Orsak’s termination. “I have to give you the answer that’s been published,” Buck said. “The board did an exhaustive search to find him, and wanted it to work, and it didn’t.” Members of the board and administration have consistently declined to comment on the reasons for Orsak’s firing. In a statement Thursday, Wilson acknowledged that the decision “occasioned intense interest and many questions,” but offered no further details as to the board’s action, citing “discretion and university policy.” Orsak’s release came one day after it was announced that he was taking a leave of absence to visit his father, who is hospitalized in Dallas with a brain tumor. The board’s second statement noted that “Although unavoidable, the timing of this decision was particularly unfortunate,” and wished Orsak’s family well.

Students and staff alike reacted to the firing with shock. “I think it’s a big deal because when we just got a new president and we’re in this period of transition, he just goes away on mysterious circumstances,” said sophomore Trokon Johnson. “You wonder what happened, and if the university’s alright.” Jerry McCoy, a TU physics professor, said that he was “caught off-guard” by the news. “I knew his father was ill, I knew he was in Dallas tending to that, and even got a note from him two or three days ago from Dallas,” McCoy said. “In the note, he acted all presidential, and I was aware of nothing. Then I hear yesterday that he’s taken a leave of absence. Then I started getting indications, hearsay from others that it’s more serious than that.” McCoy said that he was told by an employee in the Office of Human Resources that while it is “not illegal to disclose personnel actions, it would be to invite a lawsuit.” Wilson offered assurances of a “smooth course” ahead, expressing confidence in both Buck and in the board. “We are moving forward with business as usual,” he said. After its 18th president served the shortest term in university history, that business will now include counteracting rumors and convincing the TU community that the school is still on course. “It’s an unfortunate thing, but I don’t see it as setting us back, I really don’t,” Buck said. “There’s too many people who think too highly of this university.” Wilson said that the search for Orsak’s successor would soon be underway: “The board is discussing next steps as we work toward identifying TU’s 19th president.” Buck confirmed that the board would meet Monday to discuss an interim presidency. While no arrangements have been made yet, Buck said that former President Steadman Upham might be considered to lead TU through its presidential transition. “It wouldn’t shock me if he were to say, ‘I’ll come back and stabilize things until we continue the next search,’” Buck said. Buck called Upham, with whom he worked for eight years, “a great guy, a gentleman,” and expressed enthusiasm for the possibility of his return. Buck declined to comment on whether the search process for Orsak was flawed, but pointed out that the search agency that identified Orsak was the same one that brought Upham and former President Robert Lawless to TU. “We’ll probably go back to another exhaustive process to find somebody again, and hope it works out better,” Buck said.

A fter The reelection of President Obama strikes contrary chords for TU students and faculty. Oscar HO VictOria McGOuran Staff Writers

s the rising cost of attending college remains a growing concern for low-to-middle income families, President Barack Obama’s re-election provides a chance for his administration to demonstrate its commitment to higher education. Many students graduating with debt have had difficulty making payment, citing the small job market. The state of the economy and the affordability of a university education have taken priority in the Obama campaign, and they are problems he has pledged to fix if re-elected. Faculty outlook Faculty could gain or lose from Obama’s victory. Privately endowed professorships and research grants subsidized by the federal government could feel the largest impact of educational and economic reform. If funding for education increases, research grants could grow, and if the economy improves, endowments will experience much better performance.

t h e v otes wh

If Obama does nothing, or if his plans are hampered by House Republicans or unwilling Democrats, funding for education could very well shrink. University of Tulsa professors are hoping that the president will act soon, but are uncertain about what exactly he will do. TU faculty seem to agree that Obama’s plans for tackling the cost of education are vague. “It is not clear what specific policies he will promote or if there will be any major changes from his first term,” said Dr. Jeremy Kuzmarov, a history professor. Besides Obama’s support for the Pell Grant and federal work study, his intentions are left to speculation. Dr. Robert Donaldson, Trustees Professor of Political Science and Director of the Tulsa Committee on Foreign Relations, was not too sure what to expect from Obama’s second term. “Although the president will try to hold education spending at present levels, there may well be cuts in these programs as a result of any deficit reduction deal that he has to make with House Republicans,” Donaldson said. However, Obama might have a

a r e c o u n te d

n e xt at’s

fo r e d

sense of direction. Both Donaldson and Kuzmarov are expecting the Obama administration to invest in the sciences, especially in green energy and engineering. These measures may help schools to control the cost of college and help the job market at the same time. The president could direct “more federal monies to univer-

u c atio n?

subsidies will likely be a hot-button issue if the Obama administration continues to pursue them. Both professors also expect Obama to use regulation to curb tuition hikes. Donaldson believes the Department of Education will “continue to put pressure on colleges through regulatory measures to justify tuition increases.” With regard to student loans, Kuzmarov said that “he may put more pressure on the big banks to

“Although the president will try to hold education spending at present levels, there may well be cuts in these programs” sities,” Kuzmarov said. “Community colleges will also receive significant money for technical degree and job-retraining programs.” Donaldson agreed, but added that “the main positive impact for students will come from more general measures to stimulate job growth.” However, the president may have a hard time getting green lights for green energy research. Memories of Solyndra, A123 Systems, and other policy embarrassments are still fresh in some people’s minds. Renewable energy

ensure fairer standards with regard to loans and bring down the interest rates.” Kuzmarov also believes that the president should repurpose federal funding from the prison system and the military. Moving money this way “can lead to a dramatic reduction of tuition costs, ensure an expansion of grant and scholarship opportunities, caps on loans, and lead to an improved quality of education through the hiring of more faculty,” Kuzmarov said. He called attention to the effec-

tiveness of federal subsidies, citing the GI Bill and other parts of the New Deal, saying that such measures led to the wide availability of public education. However, he was cautiously optimistic when he suggested that a similar effort at education could be made again. “It will require large-scale student organization and pressure on the administration ‘from below,’ ” he said. The University of Tulsa, as a private non-profit institution, does not comment on political developments. TU President Steadman Upham also declined to provide his opinion on Vision 2, which would have contributed $4.3 million to the forthcoming Tulsa School of Community Medicine. Upham and TU’s administration have been quite clear in their approach to the economic downturn. This year, the administration has stressed endowment growth and conservative fiscal strategies to support faculty and student financial aid. Student reactions The student population at TU seems to be divided on what to expect from four more years of Obama’s administration. Those who were disenchanted by Obama’s re-election did not like his handling of the economy. Some believe the president’s economic policies might drive up the cost of a college education.

See Election page 8

Volunteers needed for Kids’ World 2012, Nov. 15-17 at Expo Square Volunteer responsibilities include setup, hospitality room, information table, ticket sales, and more. Shifts from 8:30am–8:00pm. For more details about this opportunity or other volunteer opportunities, contact Kathy Shelton in the True Blue Neighbor Volunteer Center at kathy-shelton@utulsa.edu or call 918-631-3535.

Campus wishes speedy recovery to Devon Walker p. 4

a student newspaper of the university of tulsa

september 10, 2012 issue 2 ~ volume 98

New wireless network lacks security Shortly before fall classes began, TU’s two wireless networks were replaced with a single network—TU Wireless. Since the change, students raised specific security concerns. Conor Fellin Student Writer

The University of Tulsa’s new wireless network, “TU Wireless,” is not a secure network, according to many of TU’s aspiring computer security professionals. Their worries, many of which have been corroborated by the TU Information Technology (IT) department, include the lack of protection for passwords sent to unsecure websites and the ease of impersonating another student on the network. TU Wireless replaced the TU Secure and TU Web Only wireless

128 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

networks of previous years just before the first week of classes. Dr. Dale Schoenefeld, Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Information Services at the University of Tulsa, said that the decision to change networks came out of the difficulties new users regularly encountered configuring their devices to connect to TU Secure, difficulties that put pressure on the IT department. “With the broad, wide assortment of…BYOD (Bring Your Own Devices), we just simply aren’t staffed to help people configure all of it,” Schoenefeld said. Students who did not discover the new wireless network on their own were informed by a mass email explaining the new log-in requirements and encouraging wired connections. “They didn’t tell the students that the encryption was removed,” pointed out Electrical Engineering major Alison Maskus.

“I heard from other students.” The new network’s lack of encryption is a chief concern of the students opposed to the network. TU Wireless does not encode of a user’s credentials (that is, usernames and passwords) and inactions with unsecure websites in a way that prevents others on the network from seeing them. Computer science major and computer security researcher Christian Mann described one implication of not having encryption: “If I’m sitting across from you in ACAC (Allen Chapman Activities Center), I can read all your Facebook messages or post to your Twitter or delete your on-line persona without you ever knowing who I am.” Mann qualifies that this would require that the user connect to an unsecure website, i.e. any website whose address begins with “http” and not “https.” Most major sites,

including Google and Facebook, contain an option for connecting using “https.” John Lobsinger, TU’s Senior Network Engineer, admitted that credentials sent over http are now visible to nearby computers in a way that they were not when TU Secure was in place. He added, however, that “http is never deemed secure. (Data sent over the network) always going to be unwrapped somewhere in the network between here and there.” If no one in ACAC can see your password, there is still a chance that someone somewhere can. “If you’re accessing an http site, you should check to see if the vendor has a secure connection,” Lobsinger said. Another fear of TU’s computer security base involves the Machine Access Control (MAC) addresses that students can register in order to avoid the need to enter their

credentials whenever they connect to the network. According to computer science major and member of TU’s Collegiate Cyber Defense Team Jonathan Teel, “Registering MAC addresses means someone else can spoof my address and pretend to be me on the network.” When asked how a system administrator could prevent a user from learning another’s MAC address over the unsecure network and using that person’s identity for illicit actions like illegal downloading, Lobsinger replied, “You can’t. There are no actions to prevent it.” Lopsinger adds that the perpetrator could be caught if he or she attempts to use the network at the same time as the address’ real owner. Analysis of network statistics could also give circumstantial evidence that a user is not who he or she claims to be.

See Security page 5

Great Plains Student Editor in Chief of the Year, Finalist Publication: The Griffon News — Missouri Western State University By: Dave Hon

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

PERMIT NO. 32 St. JOSEPH, MO

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

PERMIT NO. 32 St. JOSEPH, MO

Zumba is just one of the options that students have to get fit on campus.

Former Western kicker Greg Zuerlein prepares for the NFL draft.

Western student Nick Brothers stays updated with politics. Learn about him on page 5.

See page 3

See page 7

griffonnews.com

Vol 94 | Issue 17

February 23, 2012

Republicans Adjuncts make 27 percent of faculty College come to Meet some of the SGA senatorial candidates.

See page 3.

See page 7

See page 4

Eboni Lacey | News Editor elacey@missouriwestern.edu

Lauren Prywitch Marcus Sutton VOTING BEGINS MARCH 6

Mary Beth Rosenauer

WAC VP and Vice Chair:

Matthew Hunt

Dillon/Asher

Monterio Seewood

SGA President & Exec VP:

Rinnie Treese

Beyers/Samenus

Travis Hart

Scott/Upton

Zach Stuart

griffonnews.com

Vol 94 | Issue 18

March 1, 2012

Students to choose next leader Scott puts student body first Beyers promises to cut costs Caitlin Cress | Managing Editor ccress1@missouriwestern.edu

Eboni Lacey | News Editor elacey@missouriwestern.edu

Current SGA Executive Vice President Jacob Scott is aiming for a promotion. He is hopeful that the student body chooses him in the upcoming presidential elections March 6 and 7. Scott cites the students as the focus of his campaign. “I will always work for the student,” he said. Scott wants to continue to build on the transparency and interactive qualities that he feels SGA has gained during current SGA President Alison Norris’ administration. Scott plans to hold many open student forums to communicate with his constituents if elected. He also plans to use Twitter frequently, allowing students to contact him and running mate Lauren Upton whenever necessary. “Lauren is a Twitter ge-

“Change” is the slogan and goal for SGA president candidate Cory Beyers and running mate Kelsey Samenus as both are hoping that their inexperience with SGA will ultimately change things up for the student government elections. “I was looking at the budget plan and I noticed student government has a $7,520 operational cost, which is up $1,520 from last year,” Beyers said. “With that, they’ve done things like buy new furniture for themselves. None of this has to be passed through student government. I want to take money out of these over-inflated budgets that don’t give money back to the students. With more money for on-campus and off-campus activities, students will be happier and it will make

Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates Jacob Scott and Lauren Upton promise communication and transparency. Jason Brown | Photo Editor

nius,” he said. “If we pass what we would call an important piece of legislation then Lauren could immediately tweet that and people could know. They wouldn’t have to wait until Thursday to find out from the Griffon News. They’ll have more time to think about ‘Maybe this issue affects me; maybe we should go to the meeting next Monday and talk about it.’

Western singers advance to next round of national competition Natalie Spivey | Staff Writer nspivey@missouriwestern.edu Three students from Missouri Western’s music program competed Feb. 11. and advanced to the second round of the Classical Singer competition. The national competition, sponsored by the Classical Singer magazine, gave $6,000 in cash prizes for the event and awards cash prizes to the top three contestants. The competition involves contestants at the high school, undergraduate and graduate level to compete for $2.1 million in scholarships. Kaitlyn Christian, Adrienne Collins and Donovan Jones competed and are advancing to the next level. The singers said that not a lot of undergraduate contestants showed up to compete when they auditioned. “For the three of us to advance, that was a huge honor that all three of us will get to go to the second round in Chicago,” Music major Collins said. Each student competed for personal reasons. “I want to excel in the music world,” Freshman music education major Christian said. “One of my big dreams is to sing opera on stage someday, so I want to get my voice out there.” Jones, freshman piano and vocal performance major, said he competed for the scholarships and feedback from the judges. “I was very excited to go; I love to compete and perform,” Jones said. “It was exciting, especially exciting

Missouri Western Music student Kaitlyn Christian practices her high notes inside Potter Hall for an upcoming competition in Kansas City. Michelle Cordonnier Staff Photographer

to get feedback from the judges.” Each student prepared three classical songs and sang two of them in front of a panel of judges at William Jewel College in Liberty, Mo. Jones, Christian and Collins, who advanced to the second round, were also the only students from Western who sang for this specific competition. “I really think that if other people would have done it, they would have definitely gone on with us,” Christian said. “A lot of talented people in this department and a lot more people probably could have excelled.” The second, semifinal and final rounds of the competition will be held in Chicago, Ill., May 25 through 27.

SEE SINGERS PAGE 3

This interactivity is crucial to Scott and Upton’s vision of SGA’s relationship with the students. Upton feels that the accessibility of Twitter will help the student body stay connected to her and Scott.

SEE SCOTT PAGE 2

More information will be needed before the Student Government Association can make any decision on a new fee for students. At a joint committee meeting last Wednesday, SGA executives announced that they are still waiting on how the University will respond to the $3.4 million shortfall in the budget. The meeting was open to students and also acted a forum for opinion on the proposal of a new fee. The Joint-Committee session focused on three main areas of discussion; where should the money from a fee be placed in the budget, how much of a fee should be levied and should the vote a fee be confined strictly to the

them want to get involved.” Currently the Samenus and Beyers duo has been meeting with organizations and trying to find out how to provide more activities and programs for students. Beyers said their main emphasis is face time with the students. “If elected I want it so that students are seeing results,” Beyers said. “I want to push things through and get more

100%

75%

25%

66%

33% 16.5%

3.3%

$10 $50 $100 $200 $301.78 fee amount per student (6,296 students total) Senate? Senator Christina Jennings proposed that the fee be used for campus expansion or services initiatives. Nick Brothers, a student, believes that this resembles a slush fund.

Western

Matt Hunt | Asst. News Editor mhunt8@missouriwestern.edu

Adjunct faculty member Rosetta Ballew-Jennings points out instructions at the beginning of her English 100 class. Jason Brown | Photo Editor

THE COST OF DEDICATION MLA recommended minimum compensation for 2011–12

Missouri Western adjuncts pay

SEE Adjunct PAGE 2

$27,200 12 credit hours

$8,400 12 credit hours

Missouri Western is about to get a political mixture for students to choose from. In 2010, the University Democrats were formed, and now students are working to create the College Republicans. Travis Hart, president of college republicans, believed it was time to give students the opportunity to choose a student group that fits their political preference. This past year the University Democrats have been able to recruit, fundraise and be a voice in the political arena for students on campus. “We are here to promote the conservative message, in order to help elect Republicans running for office,” Hart said. “The college democrats were rather unopposed by a different group with different views.”

SEE Republicans PAGE 2

EACH COLOR BLOCK REPRESENTS A CREDIT HOUR

Campus maintenance suffers from low staff

Tennis opens season with loss to Riverhawks

“Change” is the goal of Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates Cory Beyers and Kelsey Samenus. Jason Brown | Photo Editor

100%

50%

able to pay somebody,” Daffron said. Though adjunct numbers have increased, the university’s usage is still fairly below the national average, Daffron said. “I’m fairly comfortable, really, with where we are right now,” Daffron said. “In terms of our use of adjuncts, we did increase. Primarily two years ago we had a huge increase in enrollment, more than we had anticipated. Using adjuncts gives us a lot more flexibility. It’s wonderful that we can call on some of these folks.” Adjuncts are used in nearly every department to teach and assist in multiple courses. Some adjunct instructors are former teachers that have retired and have come back to teach minimal courses, some teach here and at other universities, some have additional jobs and some are fresh out of college, looking for an opportunity to get their foot in the door.

Natalie Spivey | Staff Writer nspivey@missouriwestern.edu

done then what is being done now. If at the end of the year the students aren’t happy with the results, I’m going to take the amount that students pay, which is $50 every semester, and we are going to take it to a student vote and try to get it lowered. “

SEE BEYERS PAGE 2

Senate Joint-Committee meeting leaves potential student fee questions unanswered Dave Hon | Editor-in-Chief dhon1@missouriwestern.edu

At Western, adjuncts make up about 27 percent of faculty. Nationally, the use of adjuncts has risen over 40 percent at four-year institutions. Adjunct faculty members work without a contract for significantly less pay than full-time professors. “We haven’t had any new money, and we’ve had our budget cut every year for the last few years,” Academic Affairs Provst Jeanne Daffron said. “When a person leaves a position there are those dollars there, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll use any or all of those dollars for that position. Sometimes we might decide to put a number of these positions on hold. So that frees up those dollars to be used some place else.” Thirty employment positions are currently placed on hold. Using adjuncts isn’t the only thing the President’s Cabinet looks at and considers when filling positions, financially it helps the university deal with the cuts. “You have to have the resource, and you have to be

Brooke Carter | Graphics Editor

Max the Griffon “jinxes” baseball pitcher Brandon Simmons.

Daniel Cole juggles classes and playing drums professionally.

“Frankly, I believe there’s a lot of room for abuse in that,” Brothers said. Other Senators and students believe that the fee should be used strictly to maintain the current conditions of Western academic

programs as well as services. Brothers suggested labeling the fee as a Budget Maintenance Fee for the sake of clarity. SGA President Alison Norris said that since they don’t have all the information available, these questions can’t be answered, but they are still listening to the students. “Before we can come up with a decision, there’s still a lot if information we still need,” Norris said. “We can’t really decide on a flat number and say, ‘put it toward this’ without knowing what the university needs.”

SEE FEES PAGE 2

Black Heritage Ball celebrates unity

Ball attendees watched a video about what it means to be African American. The ball also included a presentation by Sounds of Ambition, reading of a Malcolm X speech and an award ceremony. Jason Brown | Photo Editor

Ceara Boldridge backhands the ball over the net on Feb. 17. Missouri Western women’s tennis started their season against the Northeastern State Riverhawks. Western was defeated 9-0. Jason Brown | Photo Editor

Budget cuts are affecting all aspects of Missouri Western, including the maintenance department. In the last several years, the maintenance staff has decreased by four custodial employees, a painting position and a mail clerk. “Our staffing levels are bare bones right now,” Director of Facilities Lonnie Johnson said. Johnson said that the campus only has two custodians working for each of the academic buildings on campus. One electrician and one plumber are covering the whole campus. Auxiliary Maintenance Supervisor Steve Conway said he has not heard of anything changing in the future regarding the number of hours maintenance employees work or a decrease in the number of working employees. Johnson said that while the cost of materials continues to go up each year, the operating budget is not increasing fast enough to cover all the areas. Maintenance cannot keep from going over their budget in some areas. Conway said that he and

Trash can be found many places on campus, especially with cuts to campus maintenance. Jason Brown | Photo Editor

several other employees cover all the dorms on campus, as well as the student union, commons and fitness center. There are 9 full-time workers and four student workers. They take care of anything that has to do with student involvement. Auxiliary maintenance has four maintenance techs that take care of maintenance requests such as heating, air and plumbing. Conway and and his team get a lot of door

requests. Director of Residential Life Mark Stier said in case of an emergency he could call on the radio and maintenance would respond. Residential life consists of only the director, three hall directors and 40 resident assistants. Since residential life does not have its own maintenance personal, Stier relies on campus maintenance for assistance. The maintenance department is quite diverse and

encompasses every section of campus. The staff is currently made up of seven different areas: mechanical maintenance, building trades, grounds, events/ set-ups, custodial, auxiliary maintenance/custodial and mail room/shipping receiving. The custodial staff works Monday through Friday and also cleans up after college events such as sports and conferences.

said. “The LGBTQ is a particular and vulnerable group in our K-12 schools.” Laura Beal, president of PRIDE, said that this advocacy day is very important for all students, and not just for the LGBTQ community. She believes that if it’s not this issue that they are fighting for, something will come up one day that students will want to advocate for or against.

“We want all students to go; there will always be issues that come up that you will want a voice in,” Beal said. “It just so happens that this issue is towards the LGBTQ community, and they are ready for their voice to be heard.” The PRIDE organization and the Legal Studies Association have been working to gain student involvement

for students to go to Jefferson City to voice their concerns on this issue. Student Victoria Coursen said that no one should be judged for who they are and believes that legislators should listen to the students.

Western students will travel to Jefferson City to advocate LGBT rights Matt Hunt | Asst. News Editor mhunt8@missouriwestern.edu The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning community is planning an advocacy day in Jefferson City to fight for civil rights. On Feb. 29, students along with leaders of PROMO, an organization that stands for LGBTQ rights and has a

chapter here in Missouri, will go to Jefferson City to advocate two pieces of legislation. According to Dr. David Tushaus, professor of legal studies and PRIDE’s advisor, the bills that students will be discussing with legislators include civil rights legislation and the Safe Schools Act. “Students will be advocating a civil rights piece of legislation that already ex-

ists,” Tushaus said.“This will make it against the law for employers to fire someone for being a member of the LGBTQ community.” The second piece of legislation is to help strengthen the Missouri Safe School Act, Tushaus said. “This piece of legislation will include a list of groups to be concerned about in terms of bullying,” Tushaus

SEE LGBT PAGE 2

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

PERMIT NO. 32 St. JOSEPH, MO

Campus a capella group Western Appeal puts their own twist on popular songs.

Sports editor Kyle Inman selects athletic awards for the 2011-2012 season.

The Griffon News reviews the year in pictures.

See pages 6 and 7.

See page 5.

See page 12.

griffonnews.com

Vol 94 | Issue 24

April 26, 2012

Western debates value of ‘required’ texts Caitlin Cress | Managing Editor ccress1@missouriwestern.edu

After four years of paying for tuition, student fees, supply fees and textbooks, the bill senior printmaking major Ali Dalsing regrets paying most is the $200 for a textbook her freshman year. Dalsing expected to use the textbook for four semesters of art history classes, but never used it once. “I think she assigned us to buy the book, and then she never spoke about it again,” she said. Dalsing bought the textbook for Dr. Allison Sauls’ art history class. Sauls cancelled the only project assigned that would have required students to use the textbook, and tests were based solely on lecture and slides posted to the O:drive. Dalsing said she did well in the class without using the textbook and

Approximate cost of text books for English major: $1,811.26 Semester

Semester Semester

ENG 112: $20.98 HON 195: $51.30 SPA 202: $180 THR 113: $90.50

COM 104: $32.88 HIS 150: $58.88 PSY 101: $28.93 GOV 101: $60

BIO 101: $70 ENG 341: $58.99 HON 395: $16.96 HUM 205: $37.40 PED 101: $81.50

Semester

ENG 220: $51.73 ENG 232: $43.48 ENG 325: $57.45 ENG 340: $43.75 PHY 104: $15

knows that many other students did so as well. Many of the people in her class didn’t buy the textbook at all. “A lot of people that did buy it are still mad about it,” Dalsing said, reflecting on a class she took four years ago. Dalsing said the book, “Janson’s History of Art,”

was about $180 used and about $200 new. According to the Missouri Western Barnes & Noble website, the textbook is now $179 new and $134.25 used. Sauls, chair of the art department, could not disagree more strongly with Dalsing’s opinion about the textbook.

instances of cheating reported

said that there are limitations in communications. “There’s no body language that comes through, there’s no inflection of voice,” Tushaus said. “There are things like Emoticons to help students try to make sure that the message they are posting on a social networking site is the message they are trying to get across.” “I think cheating is something that we have to deal with on an institutionwide basis,” Tushaus said. “I think it has nothing to do with social networking or anything else. Students have been encouraged to do their own work for many years.” Tushhaus said that there have been previous incidents of other students who have cheated in the department. Brian Cronk, associate provost and dean of graduate studies, said that most incidents of cheating at Western are instances of plagiarism. “There’s a whole process—a formal process. Now, who knows how many students are informally caught and they just work it out with the instructor,” Cronk said. If an instructor decides to move forward with the formal process, students accused of cheating have an opportunity to appeal. The student would have a chance to make their case in front of a committee of faculty members. Cronk was unaware of Bracken’s situation or any of the details, but he still offered advice for the use of social networking for students. “Anything you post on Facebook is there pretty much forever and anyone can read it,” Cronk said. “In general, students need to be aware and be careful of what they post of Facebook.”

Semester

JOU 200: $52.99 ETC 200: $53.99 ENG 333: $28.10 ENG 385: $71.95 ENG 357: $32.57

ENG 320: $58.21 ENG 352: $39.99 EPR 326: $18.99 ENG 330: $44.19

BIO 101: $70 ENG 341: $58.99 HON 395: $16.96 HUM 205: $37.40 PED 101: $81.50

Sauls studied an earlier edition of the same text she asks her students to buy when she was an undergraduate. She has this original textbook in her office: it’s falling apart and has her dorm address and a stamp with her maiden name on an end page.

“To an artist, this is the Bible,” Sauls said. “They’ve got their brush, their canvas, and they’ve got their Janson.” The art department is not the only place on Western’s campus where students and instructors disagree about the value of textbooks. Across the disciplines, stu-

dents complain about required textbooks that end up not being necessary in order to pass a class. Textbooks are a major investment, and sometimes that investment doesn’t pay off in class.

SEE BOOKS PAGE 3

Student sees repercussions Scott, Upton inagurated after Facebook post Dave Hon | Editor-in-Chief dhon1@missouriwestern.edu

Holly Bracken was frustrated with an assignment. Jokingly, she posted on her facebook, “Who wants to do a 5 page paper on spanking. Don’t have to be good. PM me the amount.” Despite her intentions, some of her professors didn’t get her joke. Bracken, a junior nontraditional student studying criminal justice, said she’s never cheated in her life. “A lot of people commented back wanting to know if I would do it for this amount or that amount,” Bracken said. “It got out of hand.” After a while, Bracken deleted the post. The morning after she said she was still receiving messages about how much money she was willing to pay. “So I posted again that said, ‘I found people to write the paper but I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. So guess who’s writing the paper,” she said. Bracken’s professors didn’t take it as a joke. The post caused her to lose backing for an internship at Riverbend Juvenile Correctional Facility. Formal charges have been dropped against Bracken, but she said the damage is still done. “It is something that needed to be questioned,” Bracken said. “It frustrated me that they didn’t believe me, but it hurt my feelings more than anything.” Even though it’s against the rules, that’s not why Bracken has never cheated. “It is against the rules, but I’m smart enough that I don’t have to cheat,” Bracken said. “Things frustrate me but I strive hard for the grades that I get. I always want to see what I can do, not what someone

else can do.” One of Bracken’s professors, Department Chair for Criminal Justice, Legal Studies and & Social Work David Tushaus, couldn’t directly comment on Bracken’s situation. He believes that social networking hasn’t made it easier for students to cheat. “I think social networking is a way for people to interact,” Tushaus said. “I certainly think that people should be able to exercise their first amendment rights within the constraints of our first amendment liberty. But, in doing so, what students have to realize is that anything they post on a social network site is really in the public domain.” Even though students have the right to express themselves on social networking sites, Tushaus

Jacob Scott is sworn in as the new SGA President . Michelle Cordonnier | Staff Photographer

READ THE STORY ON PAGE 2

WAC spends big money for low turnout

(Left to right) Stacy Temple, Andrew Butcher and Alex Rowland dance during the WAC Formal Hollywood Exposed. Jason Brown | Photo Editor

Eboni Lacey | News Editor elacey@missouriwestern.edu This year’s WAC formal had slightly under 100 in attendance. Though it almost doubled the attendance from the last formal, students and other observers are still pondering whether the event should be deemed financially successful among other WAC expenses. Vice President of WAC Lauren Dillon said she was very impressed by the com-

mittee’s efforts in the WAC formal. Dillon thinks that a big reason for a low attendance was because of the weekday that the formal had to be on due to other calendar priorities. “Usually they spend a lot of money and only 50 people show up,” Dillon said regarding the WAC formal. ”This budget is about $3,000. This year they spent less then half of that and we got double the numbers. People say ‘Well you didn’t have a good

turnout.’ But it had to be on a Thursday. If we had it on a weekend that would have helped.” In addition to the WAC formal, the Sara Evans concert was another WAC event that doubled in attendance this year over the J. Cole concert last spring. Though the concert was one of Western’s biggest, WAC still spent more money on the artist then they actually received from the ticket sales, rather then breaking even. “Unfortunately, when you try to break even you have to bring in a big artist,” Dillon said. “You can’t please everyone. You have to consider that there might not be a chance to break even. We are not looking to make money.” Dillon explained that the goal of the concert is to provide Western with entertainment rather then provide revenue for the WAC budget. Yet WAC is always seeking improvement. “We are always coming up with new ideas with marketing,” Dillon said. “It’s a constant learning experience.”

SEE FORMAL PAGE 3

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org / 129

Great Plains Student Editor in Chief of the Year, Finalist Publication: Threefold Advocate — John Brown University By: Jenny Redfern 90

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Siloam Springs, Arkansas

his short red shorts, generosity, kindness and dedication. The mayor also named Oct. 23 as John Brown III Day to commemorate the servanthood of

“I really don’t deserve this, folks. I do have a few flaws. Not many, but a few.” —Brown the former president. Brown said that receiving the award was just “an overwhelming experience.” “I really don’t deserve this, folks.

I do have a few flaws. Not many, but a few,” he added with customary humor. As a man, Brown has served in many different roles. Not only did he come from a family of four sisters, he also had four daughters to add to one son. Politically, he served for two terms as the Arkansas State Senator and attended college with Bill Clinton at the University of Arkansas Law. Despite the fact that he came from a staunchly Democratic family, Brown served Arkansas on the Republican ballot, to which his mother claimed that it would take her birthing one to actually vote for a Republican.

looking for a place to settle down. “Businesses do not try to capture you students,” he said. “You drive over to Fayetteville instead and take your dollars with you.” Siloam Springs’ board is similar to a city council, Jones said. But the directors also hire or fire the city administrator, who holds the enforcement power in the town. The mayor elected by the citizens can veto measures passed by the board, but apart from that his role is more ceremonial. Jones’ opponent is the current holder of the position, Ken Wiles. He has served on the board for eight years. In his first election, he ran against two opponents. Four years ago, he ran unopposed. Wiles pointed to board successes such as selling the hospital, building the new high school. The city has also invested $9 million in infrastructure, he said. Wiles said he is seeking

Managing Editor

Former president named civic leader his community. His service projects include serving on a northwest Arkansas council for educational improvement, the Kiwanis Club, CEO and president of Windgate, and many other organizations dedicated to the furthering of education for disadvantaged students such as high school dropouts. Those that came to speak out on behalf of his character include Coach John Sheehy, Mark Simmons, Siloam Springs Mayor David Allen, and his own daughter Jenny Benson. Each told stories about the integrity, quirky sense of humor, lifeguarding years in

Issue 8, Volume 78

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Esther Carey

j o h n b r o w n u n i v e r s i t y ’ s s t u d e n t n e w s pa p e r

Issue 7, Volume 78

online at advocate.jbu.edu

Siloam Springs, Arkansas

Professor seeks spot on city board

online at advocate.jbu.edu

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Friends and family gathered in John Brown University’s Kresege Dining Hall to commemorate the lifelong service of John Brown III. On Oct. 23, Siloam Spring’s Chamber of Commerce awarded Brown with the Outstanding Civic Leader award. Awarded by friends and family of the Siloam Springs community, this award provides tangible proof of the former president’s servantheartedness to both his grandfather’s namesake University as well as to

j o h n b r o w n u n i v e r s i t y ’ s s t u d e n t n e w s pa p e r

Threefold Advocate The

odomj@jbu.edu

Threefold Advocate The

Staff Writer

The Election Issue: Candidate breakdown, international views & more inside.

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Celebrate Halloween with ghost stories & pumpkins p. 7 & 10

Jamie Odom

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Students in college during his presidency had a few things to say about Brown. Mary Nolan, class of 1976 and the now director of the Siloam Spring’s Children Center, said, “We were so excited when he became president. We just related so much more easily to him because of his youth.” James Barnett, who studied Business Law under Brown, said, “He was a very good, factual teacher with an excellent dry humor, and a fair grading system.” Students now have Brown

See BROWN on page 3

Scott Jones, adjunct professor at John Brown University, is running for position five on the Siloam Springs City Board of Directors. The seat Jones is aiming for is one of the three at-large positions on the board, which means that it is not tied to any geographical area. Owning a downtown business, Fratelli’s Wood-Fired Pizzeria, for the past three years opened his eyes to how the city government does and does not work, Jones said. “Siloam gets a lot of things right, but we need to rethink other things,” he said, explaining his reason for running. The city should make better use of the University, he added. The students present a unique opportunity, both during their college years and when they are

reelection because he feels that there is still much to do. “We are just getting started, just getting our momentum going,” he said. “I still enjoy [serving on the board], I’m still passionate about it, and it’s still fun for me.” Wiles declined to comment on specific plans he has for the city if he were to be reelected, since some of those ideas are currently in the talking stages with the board. He said that his experience and knowing how things work to run the board is his main selling point. “I have a genuine passion for making and keeping Siloam Springs the great place it is,” Wiles said. “That is what compels me to run again.” Jones said his family is “in general ok with it.” His wife, Tasha, grew up with her dad serving on the city council. His business partner in the restaurant is also supportive.

J PABLO GARCIA/The Threefold Advocate

Adjunct professor Scott Jones campaigns in front of his pizza shop, Fratelli’s, in downtown Siloam Springs. Jones is running for city council.

See JONES on page 2

AN EMERGING GENERATION

JENNY REDFERN/The Threefold Advocate

New wave of voters determines what issues matter most F

ive days and counting remain until the final ballots are cast and the roller coaster ride of the 2012 American campaign season rolls to a stop. redfernj@jbu.edu Meanwhile, young people ages 18 to 29 make up 21 percent of the vote, according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. How they will use that percentage remains to be seen. When it comes to politics, John Brown University students sway far left, far right and everywhere in between. Political debates can spark up in the dorm, the classroom and even the Caf as students determine which leaders should govern the country. Though disagreements abound—President Barack Obama or Gov. Mitt Romney, Republican or Democrat, to vote or not to vote—some common themes weave throughout the patchwork quilt of students’ political beliefs. No matter where students land when it

Jenny Redfern Editor-in-Chief

comes to marking the ballot, a generational shift in attitude, a concern for the economy, an identification with third parties and the necessity of involvement in the political process continually reappear.

We are not our parents. When speaking of politics, many students quickly mention their conservative upbringing. Students often followed this statement by explaining how they are in the process of building their own political stance apart from what their parents believe. “I was raised conservative, as most people probably are that go here,” said senior Andrew Goff. “It’s hard for me to get outside of that, so I was trying to come into… this semester with an open view. Just like developing See EMERGING on page 2 your own faith, I’m trying to develop

Residence life encourages political involvement Anali Reyes

event out of a series of three and is sponsored by residence life this month. Lehr said the idea to begin the political activities started earlier this semester after bringing several resident asistants together and highlighting major issues that should be discussed within a community. One of the semester’s highlighted topics focused on civil and political engagements. “There is definitely a need

Staff Writer

Visual art department purchases 19th century letterpress KATLYN TWEEDY/The Threefold Advocate

Jenny Redfern Editor-in-Chief redfernj@jbu.edu

J PABLO GARCIA/The Threefold Advocate

Todd Goehner, associate professor of visual arts, cranks the wheel of the Chandler & Price letterpress. Though the letterpress is outdated, it has regained popularity among artists today.

One of the newest additions to the visual art department might also be one of the oldest pieces of technology on campus. This past month the department purchased a letterpress and large cabinet of type for Windgate Visual Arts East. The Chandler & Price letterpress originated between the 1880s and 1920s in Cleveland, Ohio. The visual art department purchased one such press from Cody Langford, a graphic designer and letterpress artist who restores old letterpresses in Carthage, Mo., said Todd Goehner, associate professor of visual arts. The department also negotiated a deal with Siloam Springs Printing to acquire a large cabinet full of type to use with the new printing press. “They just have a whole treasure trove of lead and wood type,” said Bobby Martin, associate professor of visual arts. “We’ve reached an agreement to get all their old type stuff—the type cabinets, the type itself and they’ve also got some other bits and pieces of equipment we can use.” Though letterpresses are no longer commercially used, Martin said they have become a “cottage industry.” “It’s this boutique printing now where designers will get a letter press machine and do really upscale wedding invitations and different projects,” he said. “Artists use it, too. You can print not only with type, but you can print linoleum cuts or you can even do digital plates…and lock them into this machine.” In order to use the letterpress to create a

print with type, the artist first lays out the type using a composition stick. Both the letters and words are set up backwards so it will read correctly after it is printed. Once the type is composed, the artist sets it into the chase, which holds everything in place during the process. Originally, printers pedaled the machine to turn the wheel and start the press, but now the press is equipped with a motor. As the wheel turns, rollers cover both the chase and type with ink and then lightly press the type against the paper for a “kiss,” or impression. The kiss slightly embosses the words and figures onto the page. The artist will remove the freshly printed sheet and replace it with a new one in a continuous process. This particular letterpress prints on 8” x 10” sheets of paper or smaller. Martin said the department would eventually like to have a dedicated letterpress class. “In the beginning stages it might just be integrated into a printmaking class or… a typography class,” he said. “We haven’t 100 percent decided. It initially might just be a class project.” However, both Martin and Goehner agree the letterpress helps make the art department a more complete program. “The press will bring more depth to our department, giving students a better understanding of the history of design and communication and teaching a new set of skills that they can integrate into their art and design,” Goehner said. Martin added that the press provides “part history lesson, part contemporary practice.” “They need to know the ideas of leading

See PRESS on page 3

Jenny Redfern Editor-in-Chief redfernj@jbu.edu

The Northwest Arkansas Business Journal named John Brown University the “Greenest Office” in their 2012 sustainability issue. The article highlights the University’s status as the first zerolandfill campus in Arkansas. Steve Brankle, director of facilities and sustainability, was dubbed CSO, Chief Sustainability Officer, by the journal. Though Brankle found the title humorous, he also said there was some truth in it.

“It’s cool because I think my job is that,” Brankle said. “I should find ways to save you money… If we can impact the environment in a positive way, that’s great, but if we can make the school more financially stable and ultimately affect your tuition going up as fast, that’s what I see.” Both Brankle and the article emphasized the importance of financial sustainability. “It makes no sense just to do something that’s green if it’s going to cost you more money,” he said. “Every project we’ve done makes financial sense.” These projects include

removing dumpsters, which saves the University $30,000 each year, and installing the HVAC control system, an interface that can control any thermostat or boiler on campus and should bring a return on investment in one to two years. The article additionally mentions other projects that are in the works. Brankle said the major one involves working with Siloam Springs leaders to find a way to pump effluence—clean water that comes from the sewage plant—on campus to use for irrigation. Brankle also said they are researching lighting improvements, occupancy sensors,

high-efficiency cars and vending machine sensors, all with the purpose of saving students money. “I hope students see this as important,” Brankle said. “Just the recycling, I don’t expect everyone to do it. I really don’t. But hopefully some of the things we do here changes how you think about stuff.” Senior Matthias Roberts loved the school’s recognition for its sustainability efforts. “Sustainability is important to me, as I believe

to be involved,” suggest Lehr. “Sometimes we think there is a distance from here to D.C., but in the end it really does have an effect on us no matter where we are.” The mock election is an opportunity for students to voice their opinions as they choose their top contender for president. Regardless of age or residential status, all students are welcome to cast their ballot until the end of today at the table in Walker.

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online at advocate.jbu.edu

J O H N B R O W N U N I V E R S I T Y ’ S S T U D E N T N E W S PA P E R

Thursday, Novem November m b e r 8, 2012

Issue 9, Volume 78

Siloam Springs, Arkansas

Obama reassumes presidency The country re-elected President Barack Obama Tuesday night, according to projections by television networks. After a close race, Ohio’s final count gave Obama the 18 electoral votes to surpass the needed 270. At press time the electoral votes tallied 303 to 206. Exit polls stated that minorities, women and moderate voters backed Obama, including strong support from the Hispanic population, CNN reported. Shortly after the projection, Obama personally tweeted, “We’re all in this together. That’s how we campaigned, and that’s who we are. Thank you.”

Jenny Redfern Editor-in-Chief redfernj@jbu.edu

The John Brown University community, whose majority proved to be strongly conservative in the mock election results last week, received the news in a variety of ways. Several found the results disappointing, yet expected. “Obama’s last four years have not shown any real change or promise,” said senior Braden Paterson. “As a young American, I want to feel confident that we have a leader who is going to keep our country moving forward.” Others were excited about the selection and looked forward to the next four years.

“I am so glad that the people of the United States have spoken and chosen someone who stands for equality, healthcare, women, the underprivileged, those that the Bible commands us as Christians to be concerned about, and who understands the place of the U.S. from a global perspective,” said senior Matthias Roberts. Yet, despite or in light of the outcome, many students remain hopeful. Senior Brian Franz tweeted, “Our country is still strong, we have to remember that. It’s just four more years. Truth and time walk hand in hand.”

Campus rocks the vote in mock election Esther Carey

Managing Editor careye@jbu.edu

Before the majority of the United States voted for its next president on Nov. 6, the community at John Brown University voiced its consensus about the race. As part of the Residence Life staff’s election programming, students, faculty and staff had the opportunity to vote in a mock election held Nov. 1-2. After students dropped a slip of paper with a candidate’s preprinted name into the ballot box, they received a YOVO stamp on their hand – “You Only Vote Once.” Gov. Mitt Romney won the unofficial vote, with a 72.3 percent majority. President Barack Obama followed with 15.2 percent, and Libertarian Gary Johnson, former governor of New Mexico, trailed close behind with 12.5 percent of the vote. Approximately 300 people voted in the election. Junior Heather Adams, one of the resident assistant organizers, said about six students wrote in names of other third party candidates. She also related that many students said they were simply voting for the lesser of two evils. Adams said that overall she wished even more people would have voted. In the end, she was surprised by how close Obama and Johnson were in the numbers. “This election demonstrates that our campus is not completely Republican,” she said. The mock election helped to

raise political awareness on campus, Adams said. It demonstrated who the majority of people here would go for, but it also encouraged people to participate in voting in presidential and local elections. Bryan Cole, townhouse resident director, took part in the execution of the event. He said mostly students participated, although some professors added their opinions to the mix. “We hoped for even more participation,” he said. “I hope that we do this again in the future, and if we did I would suggest encouraging more faculty and staff to take part.” Cole said he noticed a distinct difference in students’ attitudes between Wednesday and Thursday after the faith and politics chapel. While some on the first day said voting did not matter, a few came back the next day recognizing their responsibility to vote. Other students did not seem to know who to vote for, Cole said, but the resident assistants sitting at the table would encourage them to check the candidates’ websites to help make their decision. Some took that admonition seriously and came back the next day. Also on Wednesday, Cole sensed some pushback from students about why the University even held a mock election. While he said he could not quite gauge why students reacted that way, Cole said some seemed to think that the conclusion was set and thus that the process was pointless.

Breakdown by Number of Votes

JOHNSON

OBAMA

ROMNEY

214

% of Undergraduates Who Voted

Breakdown by Percentage 12.5%

13%

15.2%

87%

72.3%

Nonvoters

See MOCK on page 2

Jenny Redfern Editor-in-Chief redfernj@jbu.edu

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See RES LIFE on page 2

INDEX

Construction on Simmons Great Hall and the Northslope Apartments progresses as the construction crew brings in steel for the structure of the cafeteria addition. A portion of the road on West Valley Drive from Berry Performing Arts Center to Bell Science Hall will be closed at the beginning of next week.

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professor of political science, led a discussion afterwards. Niles encouraged students to stay politically connected while becoming more involved locally through campaigns and advocacy. Jessica Boss, assistant resident director in Hutcheson Hall, said the event was a success, and that deep conversations began as the debate ended.

Construction temporarily diverts University traffic

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Results will be announced during the TP game. “The election gives all students, including those not eligible to vote, that experience,” Lehr said. “It also serves as a good indication where students stand, as far as electing a president.” The mock election comes just a week after the last presidential debate watch party, the first event in resident life’s political series. Frank Niles, associate

KARA UNDERWOOD/The Threefold Advocate

University recognized regionally for sustainability

reyesa@jbu.edu

With less than a week until the Nov. 6 election, residence life is continuing to spark a healthy political interest among the student body with this week’s two-day presidential mock election. Andrew Lehr, resident director of Walker, explained the mock election is the second political

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130 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

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Construction continues on Simmons Great Hall and the Northslope Apartments as the semester passes quickly by. The construction crew began delivering the steel to form the walls of the cafeteria addition on Monday. Next Monday through Thursday, several large pieces of steel will arrive on campus. As a result, a portion of West Valley Drive will be closed from University St. to Bell Science Hall. Students will still be able to access the Mabee and Chapman parking lots from the entrance by the flagpoles. “We are all waiting for those big pieces to get here,” said Steve Beers, vice president for student development. “Once the steel goes up you get to a sense of the volume of the building.” While they wait, the University, architect and construction crew continue making smaller decisions about the interior. Every last detail

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from doors to interior window blinds to loading docks must be planned. The crew on the Northslope Apartments is still working to lay the foundation. For the past two weeks, they have been getting utilities to the building such as electric, sewer, water and gas. They also delivered rebar to put in the footing for the concrete foundation. “It’s still foundational stuff, running pipes to the building, putting the foundation in,” Beers said. “They will probably start laying blocks for the basement soon. There is a basement apartment that will eventually be built, so they’ll have to put blocks down there.” This late in the semester, townhouse residents are used to the noise from nearby construction. Junior Leah Engstrom said the construction starts about 6 a.m. every morning. “At first it was annoying, but by now I am used to it,” she said. “They start the jackhammers early in the morning. Our walls literally shake.”

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Great Plains Student Designer of the Year Publication: Threefold Advocate — John Brown University By: Kara Underwood Judges’ Comments: From the design on all the entries, student designers have different level of design skill: the application of color and visual elements, type selection, information structure and hierarchy, and the theme design, all the visual storytelling abilities are what I am looking for. I think for a designer, the most important thing is to deal with the relationship between content and space. For such relationship we can use our visual language to tell readers, which is represented by how we use color or size or structure or all the visual elements to express the order of importance, the theme and the meaning. 90

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November 1, 2012

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Still committed to system overhaul; issued directive that children of illegal immigrants be allowed to stay and given work permits if they apply

Would uphold Obama work permits, but does not favor educational benefits for illegal immigrants; favors Mexico-U.S. border fence

Supports plan to be out of Afghanistan by 2014; more willing to use military force against Iran and to aid Syrian opposition

In favor of legalizing same-sex marriage; oversaw the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell military policy

Does not support legalization of same-sex marriage and opposes civil unions, though believes that states should decide rights and benefits of unions

September 27, 2012 20

The Threefold Advocate

KARA UNDERWOOD/ The Threefold Advocate

By Esther Carey

isitors to Broadway Street in Siloam Springs may or may not notice the most recent changes – and that is part of the plan. Café on Broadway opened a new dining area next door to its original location Tuesday, in the store previously called Books on Broadway. The extra space includes a commercial-grade kitchen to increase room for cooking and baking. While the Café placed additional tables in the front of the old bookstore, many of the bookshelves and books along the side remain in place. The Café’s owners, Rick and Carolyn Robinson, called the new section “Café on Broadway & Books” to provide both cohesiveness and differentiation between the two parts. From the street, the only visible difference is the change of logo over the old Books on Broadway and the expansion of the Café’s outdoor tables. Inside, a new doorway and window

provide passage for people and orders between the two parts of the Café. Carolyn said plans are still being made for other changes. The next probable step is to begin operating a second cash register in the addition during times of heavy traffic, particularly the lunch hour. Eventually, they are also considering increasing their menu options for dinner. The building and books still belong to Trish Houston, the owner of the previous Books on Broadway. Café staff will sell the books for Trish, and Trish will continue ordering books requested by customers. Andrew Nycum, day manager of the Café, said the new arrangement benefits both parties. “The Café gets more space, and Siloam Springs gets to keep a living and active bookstore,” he said. “It would have been a horrible loss for the city to not have that.” The new kitchen, mainly built by Rick,

provides a significant improvement compared to the crowded kitchen in the original section. Along with the additional space, the Café upgraded to larger ovens, mixing bowls and other kitchen appliances. The Café added eight tables and 40 chairs in the new area, including a couple eight- and six-person tables. Rick said this doubles the size of the Café, which can now accommodate larger groups or meetings. Lauren Tremonti, a sophomore at John Brown University, agreed that the Café needed more space. She said the addition might make students more inclined to go to the Café, “if they advertise it right.” Nycum said the goal is not to change either Books on Broadway nor the Café substantially. “We are molding how they look together,” he said. “Things are a lot the same, but in a new way.”

Reviewed by Jamie Odom

Eric Weiner is not a pleasant man. In fact, he is a grump. Therefore, he sets out on a year-long journey around the world to find happiness. No, not personal happiness. Weiner wants to find where happiness lives geographically. His travels take him from North Carolina to India to Iceland. Everywhere he goes, Weiner explores with an eye for political structure, weather dynamics, and science to figure out why people from different areas of the world are so happy. This memoir-type novel, with its Eeyore-like humor style and genuine passion for the search, lets readers travel across 10 different countries worldwide on a quest for the rationale behind happy people’s happiness. ABBY CHESNUT/ The Threefold Advocate

“Essential Muir” is a collection of works on nature from Californian writer John Muir. Not only does Muir scientifically spin to perfection the inner workings of flowers and plants, he also is an interesting study himself. Muir is not just a writer, he is also an inventor. Among his peculiar inventions are an alarm clock bed that actually tilts you out of your sleeping form and a study desk that would actually open up your textbooks for you to the right page. Muir used his notoriety as an inventor and author to become a nature activist, protesting deforestation and the destruction of natural beauty. Written by the founder of the Sierra Club and one of the creators of Yosemite National Park, this book is a wonderful read for nature lovers and activists alike. Designed by Kara Underwood

SPOTLIGHT

Move over and make room for “Quite a Sightly Place” in your personal bookshelves. This artful and hilarious book by David Middleton covers his five-year span living on a dairy farm in Vermont, the location of a once-booming milk industry. Now, though, only four dairy farms remain in the area. Middleton worked alongside one of these to learn from a family of milkers three generations deep. Worry not non-readers, David Middleton doubles as a photographer, so “Quite a Sightly Place” is chock full of interesting pictures of dairy farm living and, of course, lots of cows. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself moved to tears. Middleton has a tendency of mixing humor and sentiment, so both laughter and sympathy could produce waterworks. You will not want to miss out on the inside look at this near-extinct way of living.

Ended Iraq War and refocused troops on Afghanistan; would only send troops to Iran as last resort; and seeks diplomatic approach to Syria

What cities were you in?

Promises to repeal recent overhaul; continuing to protect people with pre-existing conditions

We were in Jinja, Uganda for two and a half weeks as well as Kamuli, a poorer rural community, for one week. I was able to teach students and also do some work in the hospitals trying to make kids laugh and smile.

Put into practice new expectations, nicknamed “Obamacare,” under which almost everyone is required to have, and have access to, health insurance

Most interesting experience?

Opposes stricter gun laws, but would like to see current laws more strictly enforced

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Senior

As president, has not sought tighter gun control laws, though previously backed stronger control

What cities were you in?

Insists that causes of climate change are still unknown and that green energy is not yet a practical resource; against policy that limits emissions

It is really hard to narrow it down! I was really caught off guard with how much we were encouraged and served on the trip. We went there expecting to pour into the people and bless them through the Lord. But we were equally if not more blessed and served! The people there have such contagious joy and strength in the Lord. They are some of the hardest working people I have ever met and they have such faith in the Father. They are a people who are so thirsty for him and it is incredibly humbling and inspiring.

Lesson Learned?

Invested heavily in green energy and achieved regulations on gases blamed for global warming, although he failed to persuade Congress to pass promised limits on carbon emissions

What cities were you in?

Junior

What city were you in?

Believes that federal government should have less control over education and agrees with the results of No Child Left Behind

M A G E N TA P L AT E Y E L LO W P L AT E

We stayed in Jinja, Uganda for the majority of our time. We lived in a house that had a small courtyard and guest quarters, all surrounded by a six foot brick wall. A guard was always present on this compound. For one week, we stayed on a large, beautiful farm. This farm had no electricity, and running water was only available in one of the buildings. “Bucket showers” were our means of getting clean.

Approved waivers liberating states from some of the requirements of No Child Left Behind

Guatemala City and Antigua, Guatemala. I traveled with Buckner International, a missions organization dedicated to providing care for the orphans and elderly.

Most interesting experience?

Definitely working at the orphanage with the special needs children. Most of them were abandoned because their parents did not want them or could not afford to take care of them. They were very receptive and grateful that you were actually touching them, hugging them, and loving on them.

Lesson Learned?

Humility

Humility. Nothing we do in the world is in vain.

His goal is to have the federal budget balanced by 2020, slashing $500 billion per year by 2016. But he would also increase military spending and cut taxes

Most interesting experience?

Wants to cut deficit by $4 million over the next 10 years--significantly through taxes on the wealthy

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My most interesting experience was aiding in surgical procedures at the hospital in Kamuli. As a pre-med student, I was honored to be allowed to perform all of the tasks given to me, such as taking and testing blood in the HIV clinic, administering immunizations, witnessing births and cutting and suturing during surgeries.

Pro-life, previously pro-choice; views this as a state issue and would end federal aid to Planned Parenthood

Lesson Learned?

Pro-choice; signed a health care law that requires women with work-sponsored health plans to have access to the morning-after pill

September 13, 2012

We worked in the small town of Killyleagh, and stayed in some cottages in the Irish countryside about ten minutes away. It was everything that you might imagine Ireland to be, and then like eight times more wonderful.

Most interesting experience?

Walking in the local parade celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. We passed out American flag tattoos and everyone seemed excited to see us.

Lesson Learned?

Being genuine with people

I learned God has indeed placed a passion within me for the medical profession.

Compiled by: Kelsey Gulliver

Junior Junior

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The Threefold Advocate

By: Kelsey Gulliver

SPOTLIGHT

The Threefold Advocate

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Great Plains Student Designer of the Year Finalist Publication: The Collegian — University of Tulsa By: J. Christopher Proctor State-run media

12 november 1880-iSh

10 SEPTEMBER 2012

the

THE STATE-RUN MEDIA

State-Run media This newspaper is not dictated by fact-checkers.

Harvey becomes sentient, destroys Tulsa

Big Brothers, Big Sisters to watch children

Big Brothers, Big Sisters recently announced a new surveillance campaign called “Big Brother is Watching.”

the

State-Run media A R]evol[utionary News Source

Proposed Paul cabinet appointments: Secretary of State: Herman Cain Secretary of Energy: The Golden Driller Secretary of Defense: (vacant) Secretary of Education: Ayn Rand Secretary of the Interior: Martha Stewart Secretary of Nepotism: Rand Paul Secretary of Labor: Ron Paul, OB/GYN Secretary of the Treasury: Scrooge McDuck

Graphic by Jill Graves

In a strange turn of events, the typically inept “Harvey”—the Hurricane Academic Resource Virtually EverYwhere—became aware of its own existence and went on a murderous rampage, destroying everything in sight. The sentient Harvey had razed most of downtown before timing out due to login inactivity. The University of Tulsa has apologized for the disaster, calling it “an unfortunate cost of progress.” When asked why he created such a dangerous being, TU Head of I.T. Will Buffer said, “Honestly, we didn’t think it was any different from WebCT. Everyone’s still pretty shocked it was able to do anything the old version couldn’t.” Harvey was put down after the incident, leaving academic life on campus largely unaffected.

Orsak: “Tear down this hall” After years of oppression, Keplinger Hall will finally been demolished, leaving TU’s campus a significantly happier—though slightly less productive—place. staFF rePort On Monday, the University of Tulsa’s administration announced plans to demolish Keplinger Hall, longtime home of the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences. According to the administration, Kep will not be rebuilt, but replaced with a field of beautiful daisies. The decision to destroy Kep came after university President Geoffrey Orsak was forced to sit through several hours of meetings in the building. “Throughout my career as an engineer and administrator, I’ve spent a lot of time in academic buildings,” he said in a press conference. “Until I visited Kep, I had never before encountered such a pit of misery and darkness and filth and despair. For the health and sanity of future generations, Kep must go.” Although Kep was home to over a thousand ENS students, sources confirmed that the hopeless prison of an academic building will go unmourned. “I can’t wait to watch the wrecking ball smash Kep’s walls,” said Melissa Clawson, a electrical engineering student. “It will be beautiful to watch natural sunlight enter that accursed place for the first—and last—time.” The announcement of Kep’s imminent demise reportedly sparked spontaneous demonstrations of joy across campus. With rapturous cries of “free at last!,” a crowd of mechanical engineering students armed with sledgehammers began to smash the building’s doors, reportedly spitting on the edifice with each blow. Pallid chemistry majors shuffled out of Kep’s doors, blinking and squinting in the bright sunlight. Graduate students, locked for years in damp dungeons and murky laboratories, wept at their first taste of liberty, kissing the red brick of Samson plaza and leaping for delight in the sprinklers. Speaking before a milling crowd of freed Kep students, Orsak urged the ENS Dean James Sorem to remove the offending building. “Mr. Sorem, tear down this Hall!” he

cried. Although end of Kep will likely spell a significant drop in TU’s intercollegiate rankings, the administration cited “enormous intangible benefits” in its decision. “Although TU will likely drop out of the top 100 universities, you really can’t quantify happiness,” said Vice President for Enrollment and Student Services Roger Sorochty. “No amount of research funding can bring the simple, undiluted pleasure of lying in a field of wildflowers and feeling the wind on your face,” Sorochty added. Since the announcement, the Henry Kendall College of Arts and Sciences has reported an 800-percent increase in enrollment, as former chemical engineers and physics majors have enrolled in poetry, literature and art classes. “Instead of solving thermodynamics problems each day, I can now look forward to painting pictures of fruit,” said Antonio Morales, a junior. “That feeling of impending doom I’d feel as I walked to Kep each day--it’s gone. Fly free, my soul!” he added. As of press time, the university said that “under no circumstances” would it tear down Stephenson Hall too, thus quashing various hopeful rumors.

Rise of a monarch

Photo credit / Meh.ro

As part of the program, Big Brothers Big Sisters has distributed thousands of t-shirts with Big Brother’s countenance on them to remind children that they are never far from the loving gaze of their Big Brother.

Photo by Aubry Midkiff / Graphic by Jill Graves

—King John I

Paul’s elevation to the office of president brings the gold standard into the limelight for the first time since the 80’s—the 1880s, that is. tiM nissen

Student Muckraker In a surprising turn of events, former Texas Congressman Ron Paul has been elected as the 45th president of the United States. What has been described by various commentators as the country’s most “surprising,” “perplexing” and “honestly pretty funny” electoral turn of events began in Florida with the discovery of over 75,000 partially punched paper ballots, swinging the Sunshine State in favor of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Virginia and Ohio swung similarly after recounts found buckets of these ‘hanging chads’, dismantling Obama’s projected wins in these states. All this would have been ineffectual, as despite the unexpected shifts Obama still had a slight edge in the Electoral College, but two Washington D.C. electors unexpectedly went rogue, switching their votes to Romney, despite the fact that Obama received 92 percent of the vote in the District. The electors cited their concerns with D.C.’s non-state state status as their primary motivation for throwing the American electoral system into total chaos, releasing a joint press statement that simply read “no taxation without representation.” When the dust settled finally settled after the dramatic week of post-election shenanigans, Gover-

Graphic by Cameron Cross

nor Romney and President Obama each emerged with exactly 269 Electoral College votes. Romney, in an instinctive—if insensitive—appeal to the bluecollar votes that initially cost him Ohio, rolled up his denim sleeves and began shadow boxing, challenging Obama to “settle this like men.” Instead, the candidates ultimately decided to “settle this like the Constitution laid out”, with a vote in the House of Representatives. In such a situation, Constitutional guidelines dictate that each state—regardless of population and electoral votes—receives one vote to choose the next president. With a bit of still-mysterious of congressional logic, the Republican majority selected Representative Paul, and not Romney, as the 45th president. Unnamed House sources have cited “years of integrity and service,” “Ron trying really, really hard” and “heck, it’s the guy’s last chance” as key factors in the decision. House Democrats were equally

vague on the out-of-the-blue pick, with Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi offering only that “we finally agreed after hours of debate that Representative Paul was the only true American hero still alive.” She also revealed that “Theodore Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, and ‘the founding fathers’” were all considered for the position but eventually decided against. Selection of the nation’s vice president then fell to the Senate, where the Republican minority is currently engaged in a filibuster, leaving the office vacant. The GOP has appealed to elect Clint Eastwood, because, to quote Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, “I mean think about it, it just feels right. Right?” but the move was shut down by the Democratic majority. At press time, the Republicans have been filibustering for six days, and have read the entirety of the Harry Potter series, the D.C. Yellow Pages and “War and Peace.” Most pundits expect the filibuster to continue until the

Graphic by Jill Graves

“easily ten pounds” in the week since his surprising election. “Having run three presidential campaigns, served as a state representative for 25 years, and delivered over 4,000 babies, I think I’m owed one measly statue, and a little parade,” Paul told Fox News reporters Wednesday. In response to questions probing his intention as Commander in Chief to bring American troops home from bases in Israel and Germany, Paul responded that he might “eventually get around” to bringing soldiers home from bases that serve no real defensive purpose, but that on day one he would probably “beef up Air Force One, and maybe run some personal errands for me and (First Lady) Carol (Paul) on our way home.” Following this statement, Paul became suddenly animated and launched into a lecture detailing how “I’ve flown coach for 77 years and once you’ve seen the world you cheeky whippersnappers will all understand.” Paul also commented on his plans for the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, which he labeled “an immoral waste of beachfront property” and “a beautiful site for a new presidential mansion.”

2016 election. The surprises, however, do not stop here. President-elect Paul was once noteworthy for a consistency rare in the political world and for his principled but often unpopular stands for the gold standard and against American military intervention. However, Paul now seems to have had a slight change of heart on the issues the previously held so dear. President-elect Paul, though yet to have any real power, in a recent press release stated that among his first presidential acts will be, “a giant parade” that would last “six, or seven weeks,” and “visit every home in America.” Paul indicated that the parade J. Christopher Proctor provided would include “pandas, giraffes research and fact-checking for this and maybe even a couple of li- article. ons or something,” and would end in Paul being “showered in confetti made from worthless fiat dollar bills.” According to Paul, the parade would be “funded completely by taxpayer dollars.” The former Representative has also purchased a 300-foot, taxpayer-funded pure-gold statue of himself to be placed atop the United States Capitol. When asked if he believed this statue was related to his plan to put the U.S. dollar back on the gold standard, Paul replied, “no.” Rumors of a soda fountain and soft-serve ice cream machine for the Oval Office are also circulating, and the AsGraphic by Jill Graves sociated Press also reAfter a long, hard-fought campaign for rereelection, TU president Steadman Upham was ports that Paul, once an elected with 103 percent of the popular vote. avid runner, has put on

Stead wins in landslide

Ron Paul: great or greatest president? patrick creedOn Minster of Truth

In a shocking turn of events, Ron Paul has miraculously ascended to the presidency, an occurrence even more shocking since he has technically been out of the race since August when Mitt Romney officially accepted the GOP nomination. Nonetheless, Paul walked out onto the floor of the House to accept the position, and trumpets blasting out confetti as he shook Speaker of the House John Boehner’s hand. He had also spent $25,000 on back-up dancers scantily clad in nursing uniforms who reportedly threw small gold pieces bearing his visage into the representatives’ seats. Though a bit distasteful due to gold’s limited supply in the market, I feel this problem will soon be solved, as Ron Paul will change the world simply through his continued breathing. Paul’s consistency is definitely his finest quality.

24 SEPTEMBER 2012

What this country needs now is a man who is committed to his own convictions, dictating what he feels to be right to an entire country. A man who is unerring in his viewpoints will not be influenced to change those opinions by other modern opinions, popular or academic. I finally have a man in the highest office in the land who can both eliminate all budgets and deliver my first child, whilst we chat about radical survivalism over a beer. Anyone who says that a doctor has no business making financial decisions for an entire country obviously does not understand how smart a doctor really is. Ron Paul represents a return to an America that only existed on lunchboxes and television, and I could not be more excited. His perfect isolationist ideals will bring this country to everlasting heights in a competition that it only plays with itself, and when the only thing a country has to compete with is itself, then that is simply the purest form of market capitalism that I can imagine.

VictOria McGOuran

That girl with Ron Paul sign As the final electoral votes in Florida were officially awarded to the 45th president of the United States, I breathed a sigh of relief. We as a nation have made the right decision. Ron Paul has finally become our president. It is incredibly gratifying to have supported and elected a president who will undoubtedly bring this nation back into the 19th century with aplomb and ease. Finally, our nation will have the president that it deserves, a man who is willing to roll up his sleeves and get back to today’s important issues, such as reinstating the gold standard and sustaining dollar hegemony. In exposing the Federal Reserve as the unconstitutional neo-fascist communist cabal it truly is, President-elect Paul has opened the nation’s eyes to what life on the gold standard could be like. Unlike the soon-to-be-former President Obama—a man who couldn’t pour

water out of a boot with instructions on the heel—Paul recognizes the faulty logic behind fiat currency and is not afraid to overhaul our nation’s entire monetary system to address a problem that economists since the 1880s have widely have agreed is nonexistent. Paul’s plans to eliminate the Department of Education and cancel all federal funding for higher education cannot earn enough laud.

“God bless America, and God bless President Paul! By obliterating these useless governmental agencies, Paul—a benevolent grandfather of wisdom— is essentially handing power back to the people. Another major change in our nation will be the non-interventionist stance taken by the U.S. military. Under our practical new policy, the military will mind its own damn business, and stop nosing around in the interests of other

the

countries who wish to starve people or cultivate terrorism. Paul rightly believes that this will help us regain better economic footing. He stated that “getting involved in numerous wars at once is about as intelligent as two carriages in a one horse town,” and I think that his rustic, non-conformist stance is worthy of being touted. In regards to healthcare, the hands-off approach of our new president will, I believe, help American citizens to realize that they need to take care of themselves, because the government sure isn’t going to do it for them. While some have said that this approach is “heartless” I think that allowing America’s poor to “live free and die” is the greatest pinnacle of modern healthcare. Ron Paul is the man that America needs to lead us back to the gilded libertarian glory days of America’s past. God Bless America and God Bless President Paul!

THE STATE-RUN MEDIA

State-Run media This newspaper does not pay federal income tax.

Curiosity discovers teapot near Martian surface

Flying Spaghetti Monster sighted above McFarlin Students were shocked to see the noodely appendages of the Flying Spaghetti Monster grace TU’s campus this week. helen Patterson

Sneaky search site stealthily steals students’ souls

Student Writer Graphic by Jill Graves

The Curiosity rover shocked NASA researchers when it returned this picture, which seems to show a mysterious teapot orbiting the Martian surface. NASA officials are unsure what the picture means for future -exploration of the red planet, but all agree that it is earthshaking for our understanding of our place in the universe. Bertrand Russell was unavailable for comment.

Football surpasses Christianity as predominant religion With millions supplicating local deities in weekly worship, football has now become the most practiced religion in the United States. J.ChristoPher ProCtor Minister of Propaganda

Graphic credit / Jill Graves

University of Tulsa researchers have found definitive evidence that the popular search engine Google has been slowly stealing the souls of millions of users worldwide. “At first we thought it was some kind of data error,” researcher Jim Mann said, “but after a few hours we finally realized the horrible truth that for all these years Google has been stealing our souls.” This news has angered many TU students, who are already weary of technological hardships, with periodic human sacrifices to TU Wireless and Harvey’s Godzilla-esque rampage through the streets of Tulsa testing students’ patience. Students have also voiced concern over their potential lack of soul, as most had planned to sign them over upon finding gainful employment.

king Former president Grant McCarty swears in King John at his coronation last spring. McCarty was forced to resign after the implementation of his controversial McCartyCare program. Immediately following his ascent, King John permanently banished McCarty to the frosty wasteland of North Campus.

When Ron Paul shakes his finger The darkness shall not linger

Ron Paul elected president

JareD starkweather Student Writer In a press conference on Wednesday, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America officials released a statement outlining a new plan to monitor children’s every waking move. The organization will begin rolling out the new program starting late this September and plans to have completed the upgrades by early January. “Everybody knows that most children grow up to be thieves, murderers, drug dealers, gang bangers and college newspaper writers. Our organization has decided that enough is enough, we need to start taking action,” an official said. The program includes plans to install cameras and microphones in highly visible places around homes, schools and playgrounds. “Concerns were being raised about the cameras and microphones being visible to the children at all times, but we’ve decided that we want these little monsters to know that every single action they make is being watched and judged by our viewing operators,” said an organization spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity. In addition to using electronics to intimidate children, the organization has planned new training for mentors as well. “In some cases, the constant gaze of a camera does not convey a feeling of fear as efficiently as we want to, so we’ve started training our mentors to constantly berate these little delinquents with insults every time they make a mistake.” With this new plan in action, officials expect to see a dramatic decline in the country’s crime rates in the next two to four years. “We really think that this plan is going to change the country for the better,” the official concluded.

king When Ron Paul gives a roar The Fed shall be no more

King John can see you every morning, every night you can’t run or hide

—King John I

Researchers at the University of Tulsa have come to the surprising conclusion that Christianity— while once widely popular among Americans—has lost its top spot as the most adhered-to religion in the country. Football, the upstart new belief system replacing Christianity, has taken the country by storm, winning converts from all walks of life. “At first we didn’t know whether to even classify this as a religion,” said Jim T. Bow, the lead researcher on the project. “Most of us just assumed it was only a game, but after seeing the intense amount of time, resources and emotion that adherents devoted to the worship of football, it was only fair to include it among the other great world religions.” Defending the study’s religious classification of football, researchers described mass worship sessions that could last as long as four hours and include as many as

100,000 people, the endless hours spent by followers debating precise theological differences and the well-defined set of rules and hierarchical structure that governs their beliefs. The study also pointed to the emergence of different denominations of the religion, including the professional, college, high school and recreational branches. Other variants of the religion given cult status in the study are Canadian and Australian Rules. This shift in religious preference hits close to home, as the University of Tulsa hosts a thriving football community, with well over 20,000 attending this weekend’s service. The inclusion of football has drawn criticism, but Bow refused to exclude it, saying that “while many of us have been normalized to the presence of football due to years of exposure, it is really more akin to a religion than is commonly believed.” He also cited regions of the country like Texas and the South, where football has been frankly acknowledged as a religion for decades. This study mirrors developments seen in Europe, where football—a significantly different religion of the same name—has overshadowed Christianity for at least a generation.

Photo courtesy Lost Angeles

Oddly, some groups have begun to merge their old beliefs with the new beliefs of football. The most striking example comes from Notre Dame, a former Catholic school that has aggressively converted to football.

king There once was a team from Fresno Who thought they would put on a show But old Tulsa was tough and it played the game rough so the bulldogs went home full of woe. —King John I

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It is common knowledge that the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster has millions of devout followers, including many students at the University of Tulsa. Often slandered by the followers of more mainstream religions as an irreverent joke or a satire, Pastafarians have faced discrimination, oppression and derision. But this all changed last Friday when the Flying Spaghetti Monster unexpectedly appeared over McFarlin Library. It was an unprecedented moment for the denizens of TU and the surrounding Tulsa area. Thanks to the quick thinking of several film students, footage of the event has been broadcast across the globe. The Flying Spaghetti Monster did not have much to say. In fact, he did not say anything. He simply looked down at his worshippers and wiggled energetically. But it is clear to all who saw Him, whether in person or via the indisputable video footage, that he came as a sign of peace during these troubled times. “Never have I felt such a sense of oneness with the world and such a love for my fellow man,” said one student, who asked to remain anonymous. There has been a noticeable uptick in sales of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster-related merchandise. Men, women and

Graphic Credit / Cameron Cross

While many have doubted the existence of his noodliness, this picture—which was clearly not Photoshopped—offers definitive proof that He exists.

children from every nation have been laying aside hateful and negative thoughts, comforted by the fact that the Flying Spaghetti Monster is real, and that he cares. Several countries have declared Pastafarianism their official religion, and several schools are considering changing their dress

codes to make them more in line with Pastafarian piratic values. To honor the doctrines of Pastafarianism, which has rapidly surpassed all other religions to become the largest church on earth, TU has declared every Friday a religious holiday and instituted a three-day weekend.

Upham released from duties staff rePort

Steadman Upham has been released from his duties as President Emeritus of the University of Tulsa, university officials announced in an all-campus email last Wednesday. Upham’s tenure as President Emeritus, lasting a mere 84 days, is among the shortest in the history of higher education. His sudden dismissal has generated intense speculation in the general public about the reasons for the termination, but the University has not yet

been forthcoming with answers. “Discretion and university policy dictate that I not discuss the specific circumstances surrounding the decision,” said Duane Wilson, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. TU, as a private institution, regularly exercises its right not to comment on personnel matters, but Wilson underscored his “confidence in the collective wisdom of The University of Tulsa Board of Trustees.” “That email was definitely a shock,” said John Lepine, Student Association President, “especially because of how much the students

love and respect Stead.” Lepine urged students to resist the urge to spread ignorant gossip during this time, adding “Even if he is no longer our President Emeritus, the Student Association wishes Dr. Upham all the best in whatever is next for him and his family.” Upham worked in Tulsa, OK before moving to Santa Fe, NM to take up the post as President Emeritus of the University of Tulsa. During his time as President Emeritus, TU slid in the U.S. News & World Report’s rankings of Best Colleges from No. 75 to No. 83.

47 percent of students found to be worthless freeloaders PatriCK CreeDon Minister of Truth

After a painstakingly long survey, investigators from the University of Tulsa’s political science department have found that among those who attend school at TU, there are 47 percent who are freeloaders, “dependent upon the administration.” According to the study, these are students “who believe that they are victims, who believe the administration has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it.”

The administration responded, saying that “Our job is not to worry about those people” because “we'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.” These comments come in the wake of the controversy created by the administration’s refusal to upgrade facilities on campus despite admittance of the largest freshman class in the university’s history. The lines for bread and porridge in the Pat Case Dining Facility, where hungry, beleaguered students stand crammed together, do little to assuage the university’s administration, which has been consistently out of touch with the common student.

There are reports of shanty towns being built in John Mabee Hall out of free t-shirts and discarded athletics tickets, while residence halls and apartments on campus quickly exceed capacity. The university has also failed to respond to calls for action regarding the sanitary disaster of piles of rotting crickets strewn about the campus. Students were also outraged after a video was leaked showing a meeting of TU’s top administrators in which one official bluntly stated that, “If these students wanted to be treated like people, they would have gotten into an actual top 50 school.”

Great Plains Student Designer of the Year Finalist Publication: Collegian — South Dakota State By: Emma DeJong H2

Wednesday • October 24, 2012

sdsucollegian.com

#HoboDay

October 24, 2012

#HoboDay

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Single Issue • Free

S O U T H D A K O T A S T AT E U N I V E R S I T Y ’ S STUDENT-RUN INDEPENDENT N E W S PA P E R S I N C E 1885

Float tradition revamped for 100th By NOAH BROWN News Editor

Float building has a long tradition at SDSU, spanning back to the origins of Hobo Day, and the 100th anniversary of the celebration will reflect the spirit of student organizations and special entries that are up to the task of building, decorating and riding in the parade this year. “The main thing we wanted to change this year is how the floats look,” said Erica Coomes, this year’s floats coorCoomes dinator. “In the past we have had problems with students just getting a flatbed and throwing some streamers on it, and calling it a float.” In order to help students turn their float ideas into reality, the Hobo Day Committee created the Fantastic Floats program. The program gave $1,000 grants to student organizations that applied, which allowed those groups an actual budget for supplies. The program also helped students find a location to store and build their floats, something that had been a struggle in the past for some. Next, the program assisted student organizations in finding a flatbed trailer for the base of their floats. “We gave them numbers of local businesses that they could rent from with the money we gave them,” Coomes said. The SDSU Alumni Association funded the Fantastic Floats program, but eventually had to cap the number of participants due to the an unanticipated amount of interest. “We were expecting around 12 groups to participate in the program, we had 27,” Coomes said. 35 student organizations in all have built, or are currently finishing, their floats for Hobo Day. This is slightly above average for a normal Hobo Day. Coomes is hoping that that the biggest thing spectators will notice is the quality of the floats this year. “It’s the 100 years of Hobos, we wanted it to be bigger and better… we want them to get better, like they were in the past,” Coomes said. The groups have a reason to spend extra time on their floats this year with the return of large felt banners that will be given to the winners in each of four categories: best Greek organization; best Student organization; most outstanding; and best residence hall. There will also be around 30 special entry floats from outside groups like the Shriners from Sioux Falls and a few animal entries. Those floats were organized by Casey Janisch. “It has been really interesting seeing the interest peak over the last couple months,” said Janisch. “There were people beating me to the punch trying to get ahold of me to make sure they were registered.” On the morning of the parade, Coomes and Janisch will be up before the sun at 5:45 a.m. to organize the nearly 70 float entries along the intersection of Medary Ave. and Highway 14. Their largest responsibility on parade morning is to make sure that every entry has filled out the correct paperwork and knows the rules of the parade. The floats are not allowed to distribute anything political or religious or any materials other than candy. The Hobo Day parade will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday morning with a forecasted high temperature of 43 degrees.

100 YEARS

COLLEGIAN FILE PHOTO

By THE INDUSTRIAL COLLEGIAN

Hobo Day traditions stand test of time

This article about the first Hobo Day 100 years ago was published by The Collegian — then The Industrial Collegian — Nov. 5, 1912.

history and connects everyone for one day each year. Hobo Day carries the aura of being “The Biggest One Day Event in the Dakota” and year after year it delivers. For alumni, it’s a chance to come back to Brookings and enjoy what’s great about State. Students can point to these four or five or six weekends in their college careers among their most memorable moments. As Hobo Day has moved through the years, alums bring their children and their children become students, making their own memories and starting the Hobo Cycle over again. For Jackrabbits, this has become an annual pilgramage to the windy city on the prairie every fall to catch up with old friends and make a few more in the process. It’s good, old-fashioned fun, with an emphasis on old-fashioned. And if you know SDSU’s history well, you know that Dakota Days in Vermillion was rejected as SDSU’s homecoming choice. Hobo Day has stood the test of time. The first Hobo Day 100 years ago was “a success in every respect,” and as you’ll see on the following pages, this year’s celebration plans to replicate and improve on that memorable beginning. In this, the 98th year of celebrating after

The first annual Hobo Day was a success in every respect and was one of the biggest boosting days that South Dakota State College has ever seen. By it spirit has been added to the college which will not soon be lost. Every student in college was represented and not one has been heard to say that he or she did not have the best kind of time. The townspeople of Brookings joined hands with the students and many were the “boes” who called at the back doors of the residents and received enough food to separate themselves and scores of Indian maids from starvation until supper time. At the October twenty-fifth booster meeting of the Student’s Association it was decided to have a Hobo Day in lieu of the old time night shirt parade. Friday, the day of the Yankton games, was the date set, and a committee of which Dr. Slagle was chairman, was appointed to interview the excuse committee to request a holiday. The committee reported that there would be no classes after ten o’clock and that every student would be permitted to attend the first two classes bedecked in costume See 1912 • H4

By MARCUS TRAXLER Managing Editor It’s sort of silly, really. To dress up as bums, grow beards and pigtails, going from house to house to eat stew and party like it’s 1912 every year. Everyone else celebrates a homecoming. We celebrate a Miss Homelycoming. But we love it. Where else would there be a statue of a hobo named Weary Wil strutting with his dog, Spot, down the street? We love the chance to be wild, have fun with friends and honor a tradition that now spans 100 years of students here in Brookings. We wake up, bleary-eyed from the week before and we walk down to Medary Avenue or 6th Street for the parade and we give a hearty hello to everyone, known or not. We wave to our friends on the floats in the parade and they wave back. We make fun of the Bummobile breaking down. We go to Coughlin-Alumni Stadium, tailgate in The Backyard and cheer on the Jackrabbits for another win. It’s Hobo Day. It’s South Dakota State. People come from all across South Dakota and the upper midwest to be a part of something that is vividly part of our university’s

ARCHIVE PHOTO

Don Thompson and Margaret Hegerfeld were crowned Hobo Day King and Queen in 1941. pausing twice for the two prior World Wars, just about every Jackrabbit is gearing up for the party of the century. Every school has unique traditions but nobody else celebrates quite like we do. Jackrabbit or not, it’s a good time. Enjoy yourself, Hobos.

Top photo: Bob Burns, a junior political science major at SDSU, rests on a tree in Sylvan Theatre in the fall of 1962. Burns was on the Hobo Day Committee and the Students’ Association, and after graduation, he joined the SDSU faculty. After 38 years, he retired in 2008 as department head and distinguished professor of political science.

ARCHIVE PHOTOS

Top: Floats drive down Main Street in 1962 for the Hobo Day Parade. Bottom left: Sophomore Austin VanderWal works to construct the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ float for the Hobo Day Parade. Middle right: The Hobo Day Committee of 1978 behaved similarly to many students today: dress in rags, smoke cigars and grow extra facial hair. Bottom right: Students drive the Bummobile in the 1949 parade. COLLEGIAN PHOTO BY NICK LOWREY

October 24, 2012

Use the hashtag #HoboDay to connect with other hobos for the week’s events.

#HoboDay

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Far across the plains of Brookings, as I can see, stands an coldfar south c abandoned outhouse calledc

the university. It’s at Vermillion. — “Across the Plains,” traditional Hobo Day song

COLLEGIAN FILE PHOTO

1977 Grand Pooba Dave Daniels hosts the freshman fire-up picnic, which was intended to initiate freshmen into the college atmosphere. At the picnic, Daniels told jokes and discussed SDSU history, while the Hobo Band traditionally played eight songs at once.

The man behind the Hobo: Adams Dutcher’s legacy By ERIN BECK News Editor While the celebration of Hobo Day is a well-known tradition that has gone down in history at SDSU, the story of how it originated might not be as familiar. Unbeknownst to many students, Hobo Day draws its roots directly back to one person: Adams Dutcher. A native of South Dakota, Dutcher attended SDSU, then known as South Dakota State College, as a freshman in 1902 at the age of 16. With the intention of heading into pharmacy, Dutcher soon changed his major to chemistry. According to the SDSU Archives, Dutcher was a member of the “first Jackrabbit staff which issued the 1907 Jackrabbit.” He was also sports editor of what was then known as The Industrial Collegian in 1904. After graduating in 1907 with a B.S. in chemistry, he worked as an instructor and an experiment station assistant with the title of assistant chemist. He received his M.S. from SDSU in 1910.

Dutcher then received an assistantship at the University of Missouri, a university that was noted for its biochemistry program and research in livestock nutrition. In 1912 he earned his M.A., as the University of Missouri at that time didn’t hand out M.S. degrees. Dutcher was ready to head on his way to the University of Illinois as a graduate assistant in 1912 when he heard about the dilemma that students at his alma Dutcher mater were having regarding a damper put on their festivities for their annual Night Parade. An article from a 1923 issue of The Alumnus tracks the history behind Hobo Day, recording a letter that Dutcher had written. “As I remember it Hobo day got its start over a couple of ice cream sodas in Tidball’s Drug Store,” Dutcher wrote. “I had just arrived home from Missouri and Roy Nord, Harry Rilling and myself went

into Tidball’s and sat down to have a soda. I described Missouri’s Hobo day as they had asked me what could be done to revive the student spirit of old S. D. S. C. I suggested the Hobo day idea and the next year they tried it out. I believe that Nord, Hyde and Rilling were the leaders of the first Hobo day stunt.” Although an alumnus at that point, Dutcher gave SDSU students the fuel to create a tradition that has had a lasting impact at State for 100 years. While Hobo Day didn’t last at the University of Missouri, it took a solid foothold in South Dakota and hasn’t left since. After working as a grad assistant at the University of Illinois, Dutcher moved on to Oregon Agricultural College in 1913 where he worked as first an instructor and then an assistant professor. In 1917 he transferred to the University of Minnesota as an assistant professor and later worked his way up to the position of an associate professor and the head of section of animal nutrition. Dutcher finally made his way to Pennsylvania State University in 1921. He acted as professor and head

of the agricultural and biological chemistry department for 30 years before he retired. He was also the chairman of the Council of Research for Penn State from 1945 to 1951. Dutcher gained many achievements during his education and career. According to the SDSU Archives, he served as a captain in the nutrition division in the Sanitation Corps during World War I. Following World War II, he acted as a scientific consultant to the Field Intelligence Agency in Germany to report on the health of the German people. On the academic front, Dutcher was instrumental in organizing the graduate school at Penn State. He also conducted research throughout his career, including research on vitamin stability from harvest through canning and storing food, thiamine intake of pigs and its content in pork products and the effect of storage on vitamin content of butter. Dutcher has cut a wide swath in the world of academics. He has left just as big a footprint at SDSU, one that has left its stamp on Jackrabbits that spans a century. The Hobo tradition lives on.

Special delivery brings hobo caricature to life By DAVE GRAVES STATE Magazine Classes were almost done for the year when the Collegian’s office received a call from the office of the State College president. The Brookings Chamber of Commerce was gearing up support for the start of commercial airline service, which would start just a few days later — June 1 — at the new Brookings Airport. College President Fred Leinbach asked for student backing He got it in the form of 500 students, including one who had been on campus since 1941, but would be taking a higher profile. That one was Weary Willie, a hobo caricature drawn on the wall of the Pugsley Student Union in 1941. It was Walt Conahan, then the Collegian editor, who brought Willie to life. “I probably volunteered for it. I don’t think anybody really thought about it,” he recalls. In other words, the incarnation of Hobo Day personification Weary Willie wasn’t the product of a longplanned scheme. At 11:42 a.m. Thursday, June 1, a DC-3 propellerdriven aircraft landed in Brookings. Dressed inconspicuously, Conahan was there when Western Airlines executives stepped out of the plane. He boarded the plane with Leinbach, local dignitaries and bags of airmail.

Presto chango It was a short flight to Huron, where there was a brief welcoming ceremony to that community. Conahan spent that time changing into Weary Willie’s wardrobe. When the plane landed in Brookings,

Willie was greeted by Gayle Gilbert, Hobo Day chairman; Richard Rindels, Students’ Association president; and 500 students — about one-fourth of the entire student body. The hoopla followed Willie from the airport. He jumped in the Bummobile with driver Bill Matson, and Rindels and Leinbach, both of whom carried signs welcoming Wil. After photos, Matson drove the Bummobile around town followed by nearly 30 cars and lead by a police escort, the Collegian reported. This was an era when students were often asked to promote Hobo Day, which drew 40,000 to Brookings.

Making history without knowing it An enthusiastic group of Staters took the Bummobile to parades in the region. Conahan remembers going with the group to Box Car Days in Tracy, Minn., Sept. 4. For that event, he was dressed as a hobo but didn’t parade himself as Weary Willie. “I never did that Weary Willie thing again” that year, Conahan recalls. Today, Willie is immortalized in a bronze statue outside the Student Union and takes a prominent role in Hobo Weekend events. But on June 1, 1950, “I don’t think that it dawned on us” that a major character in State’s history was being brought to life.

Next time by train Conahan does have the distinction of twice taking on the role of Weary Willie. Vance Sneve, Hobo Day chairman for 1954, asked Conahan to return as Wil. “We used the train. The train stopped about a block or so away from the depot.

Then SUBMIT TED PHOTO

Now COLLEGIAN PHOTO BY NICK LOWREY

Pictured is Walt Conahan during his year as Students’ Association president at SDSU.

Walt Conahan stands in front of the caricacture he helped bring to life so many years ago.

I got on the boxcar step and I got off at the depot. They did have the pep band there,” Conahan says. Sneve drove him up to campus in the Bummobile Thursday night to oversee the frosh-soph tug-of-war. Weary Willie has returned to campus every year since 1950, but Conahan is believed to be the only person to fill his shoes twice. The hobo is chosen by the grand pooba with input from the Alumni Association. Current Grand Pooba Abby Settje notes, “They are usually have served on a Hobo Day Committee or

have dedicated an immense amount of time and effort to the tradition of Hobo Day. They embody the true hobo spirit and are outstanding advocates for the “Biggest One Day Event in the Dakotas.” In recent tradition, he appears anonymously until being revealed at halftime of Saturday’s football game. STATE Magazine is published by University Relations for the SDSU Alumni Association. This story was published in the Fall 2012 issue.

ILLUSTRATION BY MARC WAGNER

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Great Plains Student Writer of the Year Publication: The Journal — Webster University By: Josh Sellmeyer Judges’ Comments: Josh Sellmeyer has a deft touch with the language, combining good material with effective storytelling. His strong reporting skills really pay off — his pieces are full of rich detail and engaging quotes. His promise is also evident in the care, clarity and precision he brings to his writing.

“Shaheen Shabrou silences his doubters” It’s 6 p.m. on April 8, 2009, and Shaheen Shabrou is back where he belongs — on the pitching mound. It doesn’t matter that only a day and a half earlier, Shabrou was completely immobile. On April 7, 2009, Shabrou was paralyzed as a result of a 290-over160 spike in his blood pressure. An adult’s average blood pressure is 110 over 60. But the very next day, Shabrou, a then-freshman at Quincy University, dominates each batter he faces and throws three shutout innings during a JV game. “When Shaheen is on the mound, that’s where he feels more comfortable and he actually feels he’s in power,” said Ryan Tabeling, Shabrou’s coach at Tuscola Community High School in eastern Illinois. “He’s got control of the game. He’s in control of his life when he’s on the mound. That’s why he loves the game of baseball so much — it gives back to him a chance to feel good, to feel powerful.” When Shabrou returns to the dugout after his third inning of work, he loses control of his legs. The paralysis he had experienced the night before is back. Shabrou is taken to the hospital. After an hour, Shabrou regains control of his legs. Everything is normal once again. But during the fall of 2010, Shabrou’s high blood pressure — coupled with his social anxiety, sleeping disorders and panic attacks — causes Shabrou’s doctor to tell him that he will never play baseball again. “After (the doctor) told me everything, he goes, ‘Now, I’m going to give you a couple minutes to adjust to this, but I think you should stop playing baseball and focus on your health,’”

Shabrou said. “As an 18-year-old freshman in college, that was exactly what I didn’t want.” But now, a junior pitcher at Webster University, Shabrou is proving all the doubters wrong. Though he’s appeared in only one game during his first year of baseball at Webster, Shabrou knows stepping foot on the mound again is an accomplishment in itself. “I know so many people that can’t play baseball anymore and they miss it terribly,” said Shabrou, a business administration major. “I’ve been in those same shoes. I wasn’t able to play a children’s game anymore. Now, I’m getting another chance to play. It really feels like I was reborn and can play again.” A warrior on and off the field

Shabrou began playing his favorite sport at the age of 10. He was attracted to baseball because hardly anyone else played in Tuscola, a football town with a population less than 5,000. Baseball set Shabrou apart. Baseball made Shabrou different. During his senior year of high school, the Tuscola Warriors made it to the state tournament behind Shabrou’s right arm. Shabrou decided to walk on at Division-II Quincy. During the fall of 2008, Shabrou began to have serious breathing troubles. He thought the issue was simply sports asthma, a problem he’s had his whole life. Shabrou has undersized lungs and bronchial tubes as a result of being born premature, which leads to his breathing problems. Despite this, he made it through the fall baseball season. But during a routine check-up over winter break to get his inhaler refilled, doctors discovered Shabrou had hypertension — abnormally high blood pressure — and a hole in his chest, another result of his premature birth. “My doctor said if I got hit with a golf ball at the right angle and the right speed, it would just stick (in the chest hole),” Shabrou said. Doctors informed Shabrou of more bad news — he was diagnosed with insomnia, delayed sleeping phase, sleep apnea and social anxiety disorder. As a result, Shabrou didn’t play baseball for much of the spring season. “I was really naive, probably a little stupid to keep trying to play, especially with how many times I’ve wound up in the ER,” Shabrou said. “Four different times I’ve had a doctor look me straight

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in the face and go, ‘We can’t explain how you’re still alive.’” One of those times was April 7, 2009, when Shabrou had the paralysis incident. Shabrou’s sleeping pills weren’t working and he hadn’t slept for nearly two weeks because he was stressed about midterms. He was having daily panic attacks. Shabrou’s body shut down that night in April, rendering him immobile. In July 2009, Shabrou had a panic attack that mimicked a heart attack. “I was driving home on the interstate and just completely lost control of my left side,” Shabrou said. “I had severe chest pains and almost wrecked my car going 65 miles an hour. I just lost control of the car and went right off the interstate.” In March 2011, Shabrou fell asleep in his apartment and his breathing became shallow and weak. Shabrou said his German Shepherd, Dakota, went “berserk.” The landlord heard Dakota’s barking, found Shabrou asleep and took him to the emergency room. On Aug. 6, 2011, the morning after Shabrou’s 21st birthday, Shabrou fell asleep and stopped breathing. His friends took him to the hospital when they couldn’t wake him up. Despite these near-death experiences, Shabrou still tries to live as normal a life as possible. “One thing I think is important is I haven’t changed the core of my lifestyle,” Shabrou said. “I can’t change what I can’t control. I still do all the things I love. I just don’t take life for granted and (I) find joy in some stuff that seems trivial.” Dakota, the lifesaver During the summer following his freshman year at Quincy, Shabrou fell in and out of depression. On June 1, 2009, Shabrou walked into an animal shelter and found a skinny, white dog. If the dog wasn’t adopted soon, he was going to be put down. Shabrou did something he had wanted to do his entire life — he adopted the dog and named him Dakota. “I was at an extreme low in my life,” Shabrou said. “I adopted him because I felt like I could relate to him. He had all these issues, and I had all these issues.

It ended up being the best thing I did in my life.” Dakota’s presence helps keep Shabrou’s blood pressure down and lessens the number of anxiety attacks Shabrou has. When Dakota, who is now three and a half years old, was still a puppy, he would help awaken Shabrou when his sleep apnea caused him to snore and then stop breathing. Dakota would jump onto Shabrou’s chest when he began to snore because the dog noticed the change in noise. This got Shabrou into a pattern of waking up when he snores. The sleep apnea still affects Shabrou every night in 30-minute intervals, but he’s able to wake up without the assistance of Dakota or a CPAP machine. Despite Dakota’s presence, Shabrou’s blood pressure was still too high, so his doctor had him sit out his sophomore year of baseball at Quincy. The following summer, with his health

problems still persisting, Shabrou, who started out as a history major at Quincy, decided his education was more important than his favorite sport. He transferred from Quincy to St. Louis Community College-Forest Park for the spring 2011 semester with the hope of being accepted into Saint Louis University the following semester. But two weeks after he moved to St. Louis, Shabrou’s doctor cleared him to play baseball once again. Shabrou chose to transfer from Forest Park to Webster for his business administration degree at half the cost of SLU. As a result, for the first time in three years, Shabrou would be able to play collegiate baseball. Webster coach Bill Kurich extended Shabrou an invitation to join the Gorloks this season based on the recommendation of Quincy coach Josh Rabe. Kurich said he will primarily use Shabrou out of the bullpen. He added it hasn’t been too difficult for

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the coaching staff to manage Shabrou’s conditions. During preseason workouts, Shabrou did not participate in the more strenuous activities. “First and foremost, we make sure he’s cleared medically by the doctors and by our training staff, and everything has been good,” Kurich said. “He is a young man that is very well aware of some physical limitations he might have. “Being able to run a marathon doesn’t necessarily make you a great pitcher. The most important thing is he’s in condition to not get tired in games and keep his arm healthy. We’re just in contact with him; we obviously have to keep an eye on him.” Senior pitcher David Mueller said although Shabrou isn’t a pitcher who overpowers batters, he does a great job hitting spots and mixing pitches. Shabrou throws four pitches: a fastball, a sinking split-finger fastball, a curveball and a changeup. “It’s amazing he pushed through three years of not even playing just to get one year with us here at a new school, where he didn’t really even know anybody,” Mueller said. “It just shows how much he loves the game, and all the hard work he put in really paid off. He’s going to be good for us this year — he’s going to see a lot of innings and he’s going to be a key part of our success.” Mixing business and baseball Because of Shabrou’s hospital and college bills, his credit has been affected and he is nearly $39,000 in debt. A few foundations and charities have helped Shabrou out. But mostly, the money has come out of Shabrou’s own pocket. He works in sales at a furniture store to pay off some of his debt. Shabrou’s family does not help him out financially. “As I’ve heard many times from people who have helped me get where I am, ‘It may be tough now, but 10 years from now, you’ll be further ahead than anyone else because you’ve already

been through it,’” Shabrou said. Shabrou said one positive is his medical issues haven’t bothered him much while he’s been at Webster. He still has to deal with his high blood pressure, sleeping disorders and social anxiety disorder, but for the most part, he’s been able to keep them in check. He stays away from caffeinated soda and canned soup, along with other high-sugar and high-sodium foods and drinks. “I know I have to deal with it, even once I stop playing baseball,” Shabrou said. “I try to do everything I can with the rest of the team. Whenever I start to feel that pain, and it’s beyond a level where I’m comfortable with it, I pull myself out. It’s basically a day-to-day, constant monitor of how I feel.” Tabeling said Shabrou had to mature at an early age, which has enabled him to overcome any obstacles that come his way. “It could be another story of just another kid that went to college, had to deal with all this stuff, dropped out and you never heard of him again,” Tabeling said. “I’m talking fighting to know

if he’s even got enough gas money to get around, fighting to know what he’s going to eat, if it’s enough that he’s going to make it by before he has to pay his loan or a bill. “It’s very impressive, as a kid. Not many adults could even go through what he did — a lot of people could give up pretty easily. Baseball is his first love, and baseball is where he feels he’s got an opportunity to do something.” Shabrou has one year of athletic eligibility left, which he will use next season. Once he graduates from Webster next May, Shabrou wants to start an academy that will place high school baseball players at colleges that fit their academic and athletic abilities. Shabrou will call his company the Dakota Baseball Instruction and Development Academy. Until then, Shabrou is going to enjoy playing baseball. “I know there’s always going to be the visible glass ceiling above me because of my health conditions,” he said. “But until I hit my head on it, I guess I’ll just keep trying.”

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Great Plains Student Writer of the Year, Finalists Publication: The Daily O’Collegian — Oklahoma State University By: Samantha Vicent

Excerpt from “Student arrested on sex crime complaints” A student found responsible for sexual misconduct by OSU’s student conduct board turned himself in to the Stillwater Police Department just Wednesday night. Nathan Cochran, 22, was arrested around 10:15 p.m. Wednesday on a warrant for three counts of sexual battery, Stillwater Capt. Randy Dickerson said. Cochran was charged with the crimes around 4:30 p.m. that day. He is in custody at the Stillwater City Jail and will be transferred to the Payne County Jail before his arraignment on Thursday, Dickerson said. Detectives contacted members of Cochran’s family in northeastern Oklahoma and learned that he and one of his relatives were en route from there to the police department to facilitate his arrest, he said. Cochran is accused of committing the acts on Nov. 3, 2011 and Aug. 15, according to the Oklahoma State Courts Network. OSU university officials released the results of its student conduct investigation on Tuesday, revealing the board found Cochran responsible for four violations of sexual misconduct. Cochran was suspended from the university for three years, effective Friday, according to the document. He was a member of FarmHouse fraternity and served as secretary of the Interfraternity Council until last week. On Dec. 11, Stillwater police Sgt. Jeff Watts interviewed a witness who said on the night of Nov. 3, he woke up to find Cochran’s hand down his pants, where he was rubbing his genital area. The man said he pretended to be asleep in hopes Cochran would stop, according to an affidavit. Soon after, the man reported feeling Cochran’s genitals on his face and around his mouth, saying Cochran tried to make him perform oral sex, the affidavit says. During that night, the man said Cochran performed oral sex and digital anal penetration, eventually stopping when the man did not respond, according to the same affidavit. In a separate affidavit, another man claimed Cochran groped and fondled his genital area in his on-campus dorm room around 4 a.m. on Aug. 15. The witness went into the bathroom when he woke up and realized what was happening, according to the affidavit. Soon after, Cochran left, sending the witness several text messages apologizing for his drunken behavior, according to the affidavit. In a conference call Wednesday, administrators Gary Shutt and Gary Clark elaborated on the university’s handling of the incident.

Publication: The Oracle — Oral Roberts Unvirsity By: Hannah Covington

Excerpt from “Sept. 18 marks one-year anniversary of student’s murder” Friends say they remember her smile and peaceful demeanor. She was never flustered. Never angry. Memories of her from her floor, Anointed, always include the 18-year-old singing. Always. Her resident advisor, Jessica Fitzgerald, remembers she had “amazing shoes.” A group of girls from her old floor may get together for a dinner on Tuesday night. They plan on sending her family a card. In the days ahead, students across campus will join the girls in remembering Carissa Horton, the 18-year-old freshman with the contagious smile and peaceful spirit who was murdered alongside her boyfriend, Ethan Nichols, 21, on Sept. 18, 2011, in Hicks Park. Both Horton and Nichols moved to Tulsa from the small town of Keokuk, Iowa. When the freshman began her studies at ORU, the two started dating. On the night of Sept. 18, the couple was taking a walk in Hicks Park when two males confronted them. According to police reports, the men intended to rob the pair. That’s when the unthinkable happened. Police reports said that Horton and Nichols were then forced on their knees and shot in the head execution style. Their bodies were found the next morning by a man and woman walking their dogs in the park near East 31st Street and South Mingo Road. Police soon arrested Jerard Davis, 22, and Darren Price, 20, and charged them with two counts of first-degree murder. In the March arraignment hearings, Tulsa District Attorney Tim Harris announced that he will seek the death penalty. Harris, a 1983 graduate of ORU’s former law school, has served as Tulsa’s district attorney for 14 years. During that time, he has sought the death penalty in 10 cases and convinced a jury all 10 times to impose that sentence. In a Sept. 10 phone interview, Harris said he decided to take the case last year because the thought of such a young couple being killed execution style “was just so horrendous to me.” “This was a case that we believed had aggravation and allowed us to go for the death penalty,” he said. In Oklahoma, prosecutors must find at least one or more of seven “aggravating circumstances” to seek the death sentence for first-degree murder. Harris found three in the case of Davis and four for Price.

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Great Plains Student Newspaper of the Year Publication: The Collegian — South Dakota State Judges’ Comments: The Collegian stood out from other entries with its excellent writing, design and packaging of compelling centerpiece topics. The paper included a variety of stories that were well-edited and and make sure to include the voices of fellow students. The front page design is bold and great consideration was given in the visuals and organization of the entire publication. A job well done.

coofcollege $t

Wednesday • December 5, 2012

Wednesday • September 26, 2012

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Single Issue • Free

Inside:

S O U T H DA K O TA S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y ’ S S T U D E N T RUN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1885

SEXUAL ASSAULT • A Collegian Report

SHINING A

LIGHT

Sexual assault is one of the most uncomfortable issues facing college campuses today. A survey conducted by the American College Health Association published in fall 2011 reported that 37.9 percent of college students said they were interested in receiving information about sexual assault or relationship violence prevention. That particular figure comes in spite of some alarming statistics. Nationally, only about 54 percent of rapes are ever reported to police. On college campuses, the percentage of reported sexual assaults plummets to 5 percent. Several Department of Justice studies have suggested that the reason for this is that the vast majority of rapes or attempted rapes on college campuses are ‘acquaintance rapes.’ According to the DOJ, 8 out

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S O U T H D A K O T A S T AT E U N I V E R S I T Y ’ S STUDENT-RUN INDEPENDENT N E W S PA P E R S I N C E 1885

the

COLLEGIAN PHOTO BY STUART HUGHES

Enrollment numbers drop

For the second straight year, SDSU has seen its enrollment totals drop by a slight margin. The fall 2012 grand total comes in at 12,583, which is 142 students lower than in 2011. It also marks the second straight year SDSU has seen a decrease in its annual headcount of students. State is down 233 students since 2010, when the school had an all-time high for students. What are the contributing factors for the slide? President David Chicoine explains on A3.

of 10 rapes are committed by someone known to the victim. Despite the statistics, colleges and universities still struggle with how to handle sexual assault on campus. Many institutions don’t have a comprehensive strategy to educate their students about sexual assault. Indeed many programs focus on the victim’s responsibility to avoid dangerous situations and spend very little time discussing the responsibilities of bystanders in preventing the crime or the responsibility of an attacker for committing it. South Dakota and SDSU are not exempt. Sexual assault does happen here—and more often than most people would like to admit. The Collegian examines this important subject in this week’s issue.

Students borrow, work, struggle to pay for school By NICK LOWREY Editor-in-Chief Every year, students are faced with another tuition increase. In some years, it’s small. In others, it’s pretty steep. In the last four years, due in no small part to the 2008 economic recession, tuition has increased even faster. One of the biggest reasons for increases in tuition is a decline in the amount of state support per student. In South Dakota, students now pay nearly 60 percent of the cost of their educations, while the state pays a little over 40 percent. Just 12 years ago, those figures were reversed. There has been little in the way of accounting for a massive increase in university enrollment during that time. Essentially, the amount of state money available for each student

One of the prime reasons (tuition) has gone up is the amount of state support.

has been steadily decreasing state’s current general fund every year. budget of around $1.2 billion “One of the prime reasons has been slated to go to health, (tuition) has gone up is the human and social services, amount of state support,” said which includes programs like Board of Regents Executive Medicaid, whose costs are Director Jack Warner. also constantly rising faster Jack Warner, Board of Regents executive director Warner explained that with than inflation. state funds becoming a small“There are other elements of er and smaller portion of the BOR budget, tuition and fees state budgets that are difficult or impossible to cut,” Warner have had to make up the difference. said. “The main components of our budget are state funds and Students have had to bear the brunt of rising costs. Accordtuition,” Warner said. ing to the Project on Student Debt, as many as 76 percent The state, for its part, is stuck deciding how best to spend of South Dakota students graduate with an average of more a fairly limited pool of money. As much as 37 percent of the See TUITION • A4

For student loan, scholarship and international stories, see A4-A5 ILLUSTRATION BY EMMA DEJONG

Inside A3

Racial slurs still impacting Brown Hall SDSU has been making efforts to respond to racist graffiti directed at Native American students written in a first floor bathroom of Brown Hall. The graffiti touched off a firestorm in South Dakota’s Native community and has led to a number of changes in the Native American Living Learning Community. Residential Life has been making efforts to reach out to Native American students for ideas on how to improve their experience at the university SDSU has also been investigating the incident in an effort FILE PHOTO to find and possibly punish the person responsible for the graf- Brown Hall residents learned fiti. diversity through the hate crime.

Read the report on A6-A7

On Dec. 1 the Jacks football team lost to the NDSU Bison in Fargo, N.D. 28-3. The Bison held running back Zach Zenner to only 46 yards and move on to face Wofford in the third round of the FCS playoffs.

COLLEGIAN PHOTO BY NICK LOWREY

Colin Gaalswyk leads a tour of one of the newly built halls.

Four new residence halls are still under construction across campus. They are on track to be completed in time for the term of Fall 2013, adding over 800 new beds for freshmen and sophomore students. The buildings have varying accommodations ranging from single occupancy rooms to four and even eight person suite style living. The buildings will also house new Living Learning Communities including faith, personal fitness and performing arts. Get a look inside the new halls at sdsucollegian.com.

COLLEGIAN PHOTO BY AARON STONEBERGER

Bo Helm defends a pass to Zach Vraa in the Fargodome. The Jacks lost 28-3.

The Collegian • News

HAVE A SAFE, FUN WEEKEND

COLLEGIAN PHOTO BY STUART HUGHES

Elliot talks about ‘tics’

sdsucollegian.com

MCGOVERN REMEMBERED

HAPPY HOBO DAY

Marc Elliot, a noted speaker, visited SDSU Sept. 17 and explained his lessons on tolerance. Elliot, who has lived with Tourette’s syndrome for most of his life, passed on his stories about living with the disorder and how people around him react to it. He passed on a quotation from Plato that nearly encompassed his whole address: “Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.”

October 24, 2012

A10

Jacks fall in second round

New residence halls almost ready

Legendary SD senator dies at 90

See NEWS • A7

S O U T H DA K O TA S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y ’ S S T U D E N T - R U N I N D E P E N D E N T N E W S PA P E R S I N C E 1885

WEARY WIL

Behind the scenes of Hobo Day

IN THE FLESH

By NICK LOWREY Editor-in-Chief It all began last spring when Abby Settje was chosen to be the 2012 Hobo Day Grand Pooba. The significance of Hobo Day 2012 was anything but lost on her; it was, after all, the 100th anniversary of what has become the largest one-day event in the Dakotas. Settje assembled her committee in March with the help of Nick Wendell, the Director of Student Engagement and newly appointed Hobo Day adviser. Applications were sorted through, interviews were held and at least one member was chased down. “It was a combination of her harassing me and me wanting to do it,” said fifth semester nursing student and committee historian Maria DeCesare with a smile. The 2012 committee found themselves at the crest of what would become one of the biggest waves of change that Hobo Day had seen in nearly 20 years. For one thing, the committee was splitting away from the University Program Council, which in and of itself was a big undertaking. “You would never assume that putting on a parade would be that hard or that See SCENES • A8

COLLEGIAN PHOTO BY KELSEY CROUSE

Alex Kunz scratches his beard in the Hobo Day Shoppe. He drove to Sioux Falls a few weeks ago to get Weary Wil forever imprinted on his back. To Kunz the tattoo was about more than just the school mascot, it was also about the hobo mentality of hard work and perserverance.

Student takes ‘hobo by choice’ to a whole new level By JAKE DEKRAAI Reporter

PHOTO SUBMIT TED BY INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY

SDSU chops Sycamores

SDSU has emerged as a contender in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, and they’re angling for more. After a 24-10 win at Indiana State where the SDSU defense picked up six sacks and shut down the Sycamores’ All-American Shakir Bell, the Jacks are 3-1 and welcome winless Missouri State to Coughlin-Alumni Stadium Saturday for the Beef Bowl. And we didn’t mention Zach Zenner, who ran for a mere 237 yards and a score, increasing his season total to 895 yards in four games.

COLLEGIAN PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY STUART HUGHES

What does it take to have true school spirit? Most would say that dressing up in school colors, being involved with school activities, and supporting the given university would fall under the category. University Program Council President Alex Kunz surely agrees, but was willing to take it to the next level. Kunz recently had a tattoo done of Weary Wil, SDSU’s Hobo Day mascot, on his right shoulder blade.

There is nothing in the background, and there are no colors, just the black and white tattoo of the classic hobo’s famous depiction. Arriving to our interview with a sky blue Weary Wil t-shirt on, it’s clear this man is passionate about his tattooed character. About a month ago, Kunz said the idea for the art came into his head, but he had been contemplating the idea of a tattoo for about a year. With no particular piece in mind, Kunz was sure he needed something that meant something to him, and also pertained to many

aspects of life. Weary Wil was that something. “It’s the Philosophy of a hobo lifestyle that got to me. Although things may not always go the way you want them to, there is always a positive to life, and you need to keep on keepin’ on,” stated Kunz. “There is a book in the bookstore called the Hobo Handbook that better explains this philosophy.” With the 100th year of Hobo Day just around the corner, Kunz felt it the optimum time to receive this mark. See TATTOO • A6

Competition brings out top high school engineers By LEAH HAGLUND Reporter

COLLEGIAN PHOTO BY STUART HUGHES

Destiny Reomnitz competed with her teammates from Mitchell Christian High School. Her team took second place in the overall BEST category.

Fans sported T-shirts supporting their favorite teams and sat in anticipation of all the activities, cheering on team members with great excitement. On the court, hoops were surrounded with team members dunking balls for three points and racing to beat the clock. This wasn’t about basketball. Oct. 20 was the first annual Jackrabbit Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology Robotics Competition. BEST Robotics Competitions are an experience for middle through high school students who want to learn more about engineering and science related career fields. BEST has students working with

robotics and other science activities. BEST is a competition in designing and constructing robots. Students are given kits to use in building their robot. Kits include materials such as Velcro, bicycle brakes, PVC pipe, paper clips, piano wire, rubber bands and duct tape. These kits were provided by SDSU. “It’s completely free for the schools,” said Kim Prohaska, director of the Jackrabbit BEST program. Prohaska is an instructor of introductory programming courses in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at SDSU. She has been instrumental in making SDSU a “hub” location for BEST competitions. Once given kits from the “hub”, students

By NOAH BROWN News Editor

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hoods really hard and try to let the people who are throwing parties know to keep it small and keep it quiet so that we don’t have to pay you a visit,” said Miller. Miller estimates that as many as 50,000 people could be in Brookings this weekend to celebrate their Hobo pride, which means that Brookings Police will need some backup in their fight to keep the city safe. “We will have cooperation with the

South Dakota Highway Patrol and the Brookings County Sheriff ’s Office throughout the weekend,” said Miller. The Highway Patrol will be conducting saturation patrols this weekend to combat drunk driving. There is also a scheduled sobriety checkpoint on Thursday night. The location for that checkpoint is in Brookings County, according to Miller. Law enforcement around the area is prepared for the 100th anniversary of Hobo

Sanford takes over athletic training By KAILA VETSCH Reporter

Day, but it is impossible to know just how much work they will have to do. “[The amount of calls] could be a larger number this year, but we really don’t know,” said Miller. “Weather plays a really big factor, especially at night. If it is really cold then more people will want to stay inside.” Brookings Police will also play a large

This past August, Sanford Health made a huge contribution to SDSU’s Athletic program that has and will continue to have positive effects for the program. Sanford, the rapidly expanding non-profit organization, made a huge contribution to the South Dakota State Athletics, by donating $10 million towards the construction of a new indoor facility. According to SDSU University Relations, Sanford has contributed the second largest donation to the school. The first largest donation was from Avera with $15 million in 2007 for the creation of the Avera Health and Science Complex. Sanford will now be the sports medicine provider for the Jacks

See POLICE • A9

See TRAINERS • A8

See ROBOTICS • A9

Police brace for Hobo Day, call in reinforcements It is no secret that Hobo Day is famous for the parties it inspires. Every year, thousands of students and alumni arrive in Brookings to celebrate the largest oneday event in the Dakotas. That fact is not lost on Brookings Police Chief Jeff Miller. “Every Hobo Day weekend we have every officer working, we hit the neighbor-

COLLEGIAN PHOTO BY NICK GOSWICK

Athletic trainer Kaori Okamoto helps athletes stay hydrated.

Great Plains Student Newspaper of the Year, Finalist Publication: The Journal — Webster University

Women’s soccer, men’s soccer and volleyball teams prepare for their respective NCAA Division III tournaments. Pages 4 and 5. The Student News Source For Webster University

The Student News Source For Webster University

THE JOURNAL Nov. 7-Nov. 13, 2012

Volume 66 Issue 11

‘FORWARD’

websterjournal.com

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA WINS RE-ELECTION By Collin Reischman

Staff Writer

resident Barack Obama won a second presidential term during the late-night hours of Tuesday, Nov. 6 by a 303-206 vote — as of 3 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 7 — in the Electoral College after one of the closest presidential races in history. The historic campaign was the most expensive in U.S. history. The presidential candidates’ combined fundraising exceeded the $1 billion mark. The Associated Press declared Obama the winner at approximately 11:38 p.m. eastern time. Other statewide races trended toward Democrats as well, with the party retaining control of the Senate. The states of Colorado and Washington voted to decriminalize marijuana for the first time in their history. Maine and Maryland, two democratic strongholds, also passed laws legalizing gay marriage. Webster University students were welcomed into the University Center (UC) for an election night watch party hosted by Bob Holden, former Missouri governor and Webster adjunct professor. The event, attended by more than 300 students, lasted until midnight. Holden hosted the event as the final part of his election series. It brought students together on a weekly basis every Tuesday to watch elections and hear expert speakers discuss the campaign. “I got into politics in college and it’s important that Webster students get the chance to do the same,” Holden said. “We wanted to focus on the students, bring them in — in a nonpartisan way — and let them watch the democratic process unfold.” Students were given red, white and blue hats, food and beverages, as well as games to play. The event, which Holden coordinated with the UC staff, also featured cardboard cutouts of all the candidates for students to take photos next to. The standing-room-only crowd erupted with cheers when the swing state of New Hampshire was awarded to Obama. Paul Wilson, a Republican Party strategist and former advisor to Paul Ryan’s congressional campaigns, predicted the race would be tight. “It’s going to be a photo finish — the popular vote will be close,” Wilson said. “I don’t like what I see in Ohio, but Virginia is definitely making the Republican Party happy right now.” Wilson said Obama had an advantage, but Mitt Romney was still in the race. Less than 20 minutes later, CNN predicted Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill would win her re-election bid against Republican Todd Akin. “I think Akin’s loss will be significant,” Holden said. “Because I believe McCaskill and (Governor) Jay Nixon, both Democrats, will win here. But I believe the president will not win the state, and it’s interesting to see that kind of break in party lines.” Nixon would win re-election against Republican challenger David Spence for the governor’s mansion in Jefferson City. In Missouri, Proposition A, which took control of the St. Louis City Police Department out of Jefferson City, passed easily along with Proposition E, which prohibits health care exchanges without a popular vote. Proposition B, which sought to increase taxes on tobacco products, was narrowly defeated. Amendment 3, which would have altered the selection process of Missouri judges, was also defeated. Holden predicted a very late evening, but not everyone agreed. Adam Schneider, senior speech communications and political science double major, said he thought the presidential race would be decided well before midnight. “I doubt it’ll go later than 10:30,” Schneider said. “The way things are looking right now, it’s panning out to be an early night for the president.” Schneider predicted an Akin win, only to shrug happily minutes later when McCaskill was announced to a round of applause. Schneider said he still felt comfortable about his other predictions. “It’s not as close as people think,” Schneider said. “The popular vote maybe, but not the electoral. Election night is like the Super Bowl to me, and I never miss a chance to see (Governor) Holden. It’s going to be fun to watch.” The critical swing states broke overwhelmingly for the president. Ohio, Virginia, Colorado, Nevada and New Hampshire all voted for Obama. Margins were close in several states. Final tallies were still being calculated at the time of publication, but initial results showed Obama winning both Ohio and Virginia by less than a million votes. Florida remains too close to call at the time of publication. The announcement of Obama’s victory was greeted with enthusiasm in the UC, as cheers rang throughout the halls and students embraced. Romney began his concession speech at approximately 12:50 a.m. eastern time from his headquarters in Boston. “I’ve just called President Obama and congratulated him on his victory,” Romney said. “I pray that the president will be successful.” Obama took the stage in Chicago at 1:35 a.m. eastern time to deliver his victory address. “Tonight, more than 200 years after a former colony earned the right to determine its own destiny, the task to perfect our union moves forward,” Obama said to the massive crowd. “It moves forward because of you, because you reaffirmed the spirit that has triumphed over war and depression. We are more than the sum of our individual ambitions. That’s what makes America great.” ILLUSTRATION BY VICTORIA COURTNEY

the journal By Collin Reischman Staff Writer

In a 5-1 vote, the Webster Groves City Council approved ordinance 8753 at its regular meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 4. Councilmember ken Burns was the only nay vote. Councilmember debi Salberg was unable to attend. The ordinance, which was delayed at three previous council meetings to gather information and gauge public response, outlines eden Theological Seminary’s 2012 master plan by granting a new Conditional Use Permit (CUP). This includes the sale or lease of 11.8 acres to as many as 10 vendors, including a substantial portion to Webster University. CUPs are common in city government and are used to allow properties like eden — which is located in a residential district — to operate as a non-residential entity. In order to sell or lease any of its property to an outside vendor, eden must acquire a CUP from the city. The ordinance places new restrictions on any sale or lease of eden property, including limiting vendor space on campus to less than 5,000 square feet and limiting vendor employees to 15 or less. “Why 5,000 square feet?” eden President david Greenhaw said. “That number just comes out of thin air. It’s arbitrary. It’s capricious. and therefore, it is inappropriate.” Before voting on the ordinance, coun-

cil heard from the public. Webster University President elizabeth Stroble began the evening with a prepared statement in which she criticized the ordinance as overreaching. “The bill is contradictory,” Stroble said. “It inhibits eden and Webster from being strong, collaborative partners.” Stroble said all parties wanted a “reasonable and amicable solution,” but that 8753 placed unfair restrictions on eden and made the partnership with Webster University harder to execute. “Webster and eden have been sharing facilities and resources for many years,” Stroble said. “We believe this partnership is in the best interest of the Webster Groves community.” Webster organized a petition-signing campaign among students, local residents and alumni urging council members to vote against the ordinance. More than a dozen local residents addressed council and spoke against the passage of 8753. “We’ve got more than 155,000 alumni worldwide,” associate Vice President and Chief Communications officer Barbara o’Malley said after the meeting. “We placed an ad in the Webster-kirkwood Times and placed a letter in Webster Worldwide (magazine) to get the information out there. We’ve got friends everywhere.” City attorney helmut Starr said the See Ordinance

Page 3

daN dUNCaN / The Journal

John Reed, a Webster Groves resident, urged the Webster Groves City Council to vote “no” on Ordinance 8753 at the Webster Groves City Council meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 4. Reed said he has an interest in the issue concerning 8753 because of his longtime interest in education. He added he is anxious to see Webster Groves grow, and that an agreement could be reached that would best serve all. He also addressed the green space dispute. “I’ve been on school boards ... And, when you’re not growing, there’s degradation for the school and the community,” Reed said. “We will not have any gardens. There will not be any gardens and you’ll find brown grass.”

The STakeholderS

Ordinance 8753 limits university’s growth, Stroble says

Seminaries see changes after enrollment drops nationwide

By Dan Bauman

By Brittany Ruess

For Webster University, the passage of ordinance 8753 will limit future collaborative efforts between eden Theological Seminary and the university. If Webster is unable to purchase or lease property from eden, the university’s capacity to improve its “programs, relationships and services to students” — along with the utilization and construction of facilities — will be negatively impacted, President elizabeth Stroble and Provost Julian Schuster said in an interview on aug. 31. at a Webster Groves City Council meeting on aug. 21, ordinance 8753 amendments placed restrictions on eden regarding whom it may sell or lease its property to. any lessee or tenet would be prohibited from employing more than 15 individuals on the property. also, future tenets or lessees would not be able to occupy more than 5,000 square feet. any entity seeking more than 5,000 square feet would be required to get city approval for expansion. The ordinance outlined Webster’s agreement with eden for the sale or lease of 4.3 acres of eden’s property. eden also wishes to sell 7.5 acres of green space located at the corner of Bompart and lockwood avenues. Webster reserves the right of first refusal from eden on the land. This means eden is obligated to offer the land for sale or lease to Webster before offering it to other buyers. Webster University would like to increase its undergraduate population to 5,000 students in 10 to 15 years. approximately

When eden Theological Seminary President david Greenhaw created eden’s 2012 master plan, he said he was trying to keep life on campus. Greenhaw first explained his vision to sustain eden’s campus at a June 5 Webster Groves public hearing. eden has seen an enrollment decrease over the years. at the June 5 meeting, Greenhaw said eden has six buildings no longer in use by the seminary. To help keep “life” on eden’s campus, as Greenhaw described it, the school created a three-phase master plan — Phase III would sell or lease part of the eden campus to help bring in revenue. The decrease in seminary student population has become more common across the U.S. Greenhaw pointed this out when he presented eden’s 2012 master plan on June 5. eden’s decrease is less drastic compared to seminaries across the country, which are either out of business or, like Bangor Seminary in Portland, Maine, reevaluating its business model. “enrollment is down but it is still solid,” Greenhaw said. Bangor has felt effects of decreased enrollment. In fall 2013, the seminary will no longer offer a graduate degree. robert GroveMarkwood, Bangor’s president and interim president of the United Church of Christ, said Bangor’s enrollment has dropped 15 percent per year over the past three to four years.

Campus News Editor

See Webster University

Page 3

See Eden

Virginia

13 electoral votes

Colorado

9 electoral votes

Iowa

6 electoral votes

Florida

By Megan Favignano ordinance 8753, which Webster Groves City Council passed on Tuesday, Sept. 4, outlined eden Theological Seminary’s master plan in three phases. Phase III called for the sale or lease of 11.8 acres of “underutilized” land to 10 vendors, including a significant portion to Webster University. “Webster University crossing lockwood (avenue) is the big issue,” said Councilmember anne Tolan at the June 19 City Council meeting. “I think there are residents who would say it is no problem. I think there are residents who would say it is a big problem. What I want — and I think what most people on Council want — is for all this to be out in the open and not to be done piecemeal.” Tolan said she thinks eden’s master plan should be presented to the city and community but not approved by the city. She said eden’s master plan and Conditional Use Permits (CUP) should be separate. City Council postponed the reading of the ordinance and closing of the public hearing three times during the summer. City Council completed successful first and second readings at the regular City Council meeting on aug. 21. Since the June 5 public hearing, the ordinance has been amended to accept Phases I and II of eden’s master plan while adding restrictions to Phase III. residents attended each public hearing and voiced concerns about how Webster University’s potential

Page 3

See Webster Groves

Page 3

YOUR VOTE

2012

READ THE JOURNAL’S POLITICAL COVERAGE ON PAGES 8 AND 9 The Student News Source For Webster University

the journal Oct. 31-Nov. 6, 2012

Volume 66 Issue 10

Webster provides free Metro passes to faculty, staff, students

websterjournal.com

Former D-I athlete powers women’s soccer team By Josh Sellmeyer

Copy Chief & Layout Editor

By Haley Luke City News Editor

Steward Stiles III lives in north St. Louis County and travels to south St. Louis County to attend Webster University. He doesn’t own a car, so he takes public transportation each day. Stiles rides two buses and two trains to and from school. He said the time of day he boards determines how long his travel takes. “During morning rush hour or later rush hour, it (the buses and trains) connects better,” said Stiles, junior music education major. “In the morning, I would say it takes about 40 minutes to an hour. During midday or late at night, which I take a lot of times because I’m doing things here at school, I’m getting home late at night. I take the bus that comes here around 10:30 p.m. and I wouldn’t get home until about 1 a.m.” In a new contract Webster set up with Metro Transit, the frequency of buses to the university will be increased. The contract will now include more stops in the mornings and evenings at the bus stop in front of Webster Hall. The changes are said to start in mid-November. “Two additional MetroBus trips in the morning will leave the MetroLink station at 7:26 a.m. and 8:14 a.m., ensuring that faculty, staff and students will be on campus by 8:30 a.m.,” said a press release from Webster University. “In the evening, two additional MetroBus trips leave Webster Hall at 9:44 p.m. and 10:16 p.m.” In addition, all currently-enrolled students, faculty and staff will be provided free Metro passes. Greg Gunderson, Webster vice president and chief financial officer, said the passes are available to be picked up at the Bursar’s Office in Webster Hall with a student or employee ID. Previously, students could purchase Metro passes at a discounted Page 3

BRITTANY RUESS / The Journal

Webster University junior center midfielder Ally Nikolaus shoots during a Monday, Oct. 29 practice at St. Louis Soccer Park. Nikolaus played one season of Division-I soccer at the University of Mississippi before transferring to Webster last year. This season, Nikolaus has scored 10 goals and assisted on 10 others to compile a team-best 30 points.

As a Division-I soccer player at the University of Mississippi, Ally Nikolaus was living out her lifelong dream. She and her teammates traveled to Southeastern Conference campuses like Alabama, Florida and South Carolina to play against some of the best soccer squads in the nation. Nikolaus started three games and played in 18 total contests her freshman year, despite not being one of Ole Miss’ scholarship players. Her role on the Rebels figured to only expand as she spent more time in the program. She loved the campus as well as the city it was located in. Life was good. Except that it wasn’t. As much as Nikolaus didn’t want to admit it, she disliked playing at Ole Miss. “I tried my hardest to make it work there, but I think I knew deep down it just wasn’t for me,” Nikolaus said. “I stayed an entire year. I took summer school down there. I just wanted to want to be there, but I didn’t. My family and I went on vacation, and I came home for a little bit in the beginning of August (2011). I just didn’t want to leave. So I didn’t go Ally Nikolaus back there.” And she hasn’t looked back since. Shortly after electing not to return to Ole Miss, Nikolaus, who was born and raised in St. Louis, decided on a whim to attend Webster University. She’s not entirely sure why she settled on Webster, but she’s glad she did — as is her coach at Webster, Luigi Scire. “What I like about her is that if no one asked, no one would really know that she played Division I her freshman year,” Scire said. “It’s never been, ‘I was a Division-I player and look at me.’ She’s humble, first and foremost. And with that, when it comes to the work rate and the way she approaches the game itself, she will never allow anyone to outwork her on the practice field or in a game.” In just her second year in the Webster women’s soccer program, Nikolaus, a junior center midfielder, has already made her mark. Last year, Nikolaus started all 19 of the Gorloks’ games and led the team to a 12-6-1 overall record (7-1 conference). She recorded seven goals and two assists for 16 points, which ranked her third on the team. For her efforts, Nikolaus was an All-Conference firstteam selection in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. She was then named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-Central Region third team. This year, Nikolaus has taken her game to new heights. She has captained Webster to a 14-5 overall record and a 7-1 See Nikolaus

Page 14

Administration reacts to top-5 issues from Delegates’ Agenda Administration’s tone at Delegates’ Agenda Response frustrates student By Gabe Burns

Assistant Multimedia Editor

= Barack Obama

Ohio

Residents express concern for community as Webster University seeks expansion Managing Editor

Editor-in-Chief

Key:

18 electoral votes

websterjournal.com

City council passes Ordinance 8753

See Metro Passes

HOW THE SWING STATES SWUNG

Sept. 5-Sept. 11, 2012

Volume 66 Issue 3

= Had not been called before publication

29 electoral votes MEGAN FAVIGNANO / The Journal

Michael Grosch, Student Government Association (SGA) president, asks Webster’s administration follow-up questions at the Delegates’ Agenda Response on Thursday, Oct. 25 in Sunnen Lounge. His questions included the topics of budget jobs, graduate test reimbursement and alumni-student mentorship.

Paul Carney, Webster University vice president of enrollment management and student affairs, recently advised students to get out from in front of the TV and apply for budget jobs if they want one. Carney’s comment has drawn ire from sophomore Stu Macki, who presented on budget jobs at Delegates’ Agenda on Oct. 2. Macki said he was fine with the administration’s response. However, he felt administration didn’t present its thoughts respectfully. “I just don’t like the way they presented it like, ‘I don’t mean to be a dad here, but you need to get off your butt and do it (get a budget job),’” Macki said, paraphrasing Carney. “Who says that to students that are frustrated about getting jobs? He’s not the one trying to get the jobs on campus.” Macki said he was upset by Carney’s advice because it overlooked how effectively students can live off budget jobs. Macki was unable to attend the administration’s response on Thursday, Oct. 25, but he heard about Carney’s presentation from his fellow Student Government Association (SGA) members. Both Carney’s and Macki’s presentations focused heavily on budget jobs for international students. International students cannot receive work-study jobs from the federal government

I just don’t like the way they “presented it like, ‘I don’t mean to be a dad here, but you need to get off your butt and do it (get a budget job).’ Who says that to students that are frustrated about getting jobs? Stu Macki

”

Delegates’ Agenda student presenter and cannot work off campus because of their visas. They rely on budget jobs on campus to make money. International students hold 16.5 percent of the budget jobs on campus while representing five percent of the student population. About 50 international students fill 76 positions, meaning several international students hold more than one budget job at a time. But Macki said the number of jobs isn’t reflective of the quality of the budget jobs program. Certain jobs provide just two to three hours of work a week. See Response

Page 4

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org / 139

Great Plains Student Newspaper of the Year, Finalist Publication: The Griffon News — Missouri Western State University

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

PERMIT NO. 32 St. JOSEPH, MO

Campus a capella group Western Appeal puts their own twist on popular songs.

Sports editor Kyle Inman selects athletic awards for the 2011-2012 season.

The Griffon News reviews the year in pictures.

See pages 6 and 7.

See page 5.

See page 12.

griffonnews.com

Vol 94 | Issue 24

April 26, 2012

Western debates value of ‘required’ texts Caitlin Cress | Managing Editor ccress1@missouriwestern.edu

Approximate cost of text books for English major: $1,811.26 Semester

ENG 112: $20.98 HON 195: $51.30 SPA 202: $180 THR 113: $90.50

Semester Semester

COM 104: $32.88 HIS 150: $58.88 PSY 101: $28.93 GOV 101: $60

BIO 101: $70 ENG 341: $58.99 HON 395: $16.96 HUM 205: $37.40 PED 101: $81.50

Semester

ENG 220: $51.73 ENG 232: $43.48 ENG 325: $57.45 ENG 340: $43.75 PHY 104: $15

Semester

JOU 200: $52.99 ETC 200: $53.99 ENG 333: $28.10 ENG 385: $71.95 ENG 357: $32.57

Semester

ENG 320: $58.21 ENG 352: $39.99 EPR 326: $18.99 ENG 330: $44.19

Semester

BIO 101: $70 ENG 341: $58.99 HON 395: $16.96 HUM 205: $37.40 PED 101: $81.50

dents complain about required textbooks that end up not being necessary in order to pass a class. Textbooks are a major investment, and sometimes that investment doesn’t pay off in class.

SEE BOOKS PAGE 3

Student sees repercussions Scott, Upton inagurated after Facebook post Dave Hon | Editor-in-Chief dhon1@missouriwestern.edu

instances of cheating reported

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

PERMIT NO. 32 St. JOSEPH, MO

Two art students are working with a novelist to adapt her book to a graphic novel.

Models stomped the runway Tuesday in Fulkerson Center.

See page 3.

Griffon football gets back to the gridiron.

See page 7.

See page 4.

griffonnews.com

Vol 94 | Issue 21

Student Senate passes new fee Dave Hon | Editor-in-Chief dhon1@missouriwestern.edu Student Senate passed new fees for students Monday night at their second to last Senate meeting. The Student Success Act, which spent weeks in committee before being brought to the Senate, implements a $75 fee on full-time students, a $50 fee on part-time students and a $25 fee on summer students. Sen. Amanda Johnson presented the Student Success Act, which faced several failed and successful amendments. Sen. Clifford Peterson offered an amendment to increase the fee to $125 and also add an end to the legislation after three years— also called a sunset clause. Petersen also suggested that the student body be allowed to vote on legislation within one year, giving administration time to adjust if the fee was struck down by the students. Petersen said that the amendments might have passed if they were separate. “I should have made a motion to unblock them,” Petersen said. “It just went a little fast, and I wasn’t ready.” Separate or together, Johnson said that she opposed both amendments. Johnson said that increasing the amount of money for the

Student Success Act would be “way too complicated.” “I feel like $75 is a significant amount,” Johnson said. “A lot of students are opposed to even the $75.” “I don’t ever see a reason why we don’t need the $75 fee,” Johnson said. “If we were to get some of the state appropriations back—we need that money. We want to grow.” Clifford’s amendments failed, but in a roll call vote, he voted in affirmation of the legislation. An amendment to increase the number of students that serve on the committee to four and decrease the number of administrators to two failed as well. The only amendment to pass was one that struck out a single sentence in the legislation that didn’t give the advisory committee the power to increase or decrease the fee. Still, any changes to the legislation must be passed through the student Senate. After deliberation on the amendments, Sen. Andrea Vaccaro delivered another speech in affirmation, citing Northwest Missouri State’s $500 fee that was passed by their student Senate. She said that, in comparison, the Student Success Act was a reasonable fee. While questioning Vaccaro, several senators questioned

Larry Gawatz

Eboni Lacey | News Editor elacey@missouriwestern.edu Author of the bill for a student fee, Sen. Amanda Johnson and Sen. Brian Shewell look over wording of the bill, which was approved by SGA April 2. Jason Brown | Photo Editor

the method of passage for the legislation. Senate will not allow the student body to vote on the legislation. “Because I think we have the students’ best interest at heart, and we have the voice to tell them,” Vaccarro said. Johnson also presented legislation for new SGA bylaws to supplement Article XI, the provision in the constitution that could let stu-

dents vote on the Student Success Act if they secure signatures from 10 percent of the student Body. The bylaw would require students to adhere to the university’s policies regarding petitions and limit students to a thirtyday time frame after the Senate’s passage of a bylaw for any petition they wish to file under Article XI of the SGA Constitution. There were

no speeches in negation nor were there any speeches in affirmation following Johnson’s authorship speech. The by-law passed the senate with a majority vote, but a single Senator voted against the bylaw.

SEE FEE PAGE 2

Budget cuts affect faculty and staff members Albert Shelby | Staff Writer shelbyalbertl@yahoo.com In this year alone, Western has 35 vacant jobs that will be hard to fill due to the university’s recent budget cuts. For the past three years, budget cuts have been the main cause of teaching positions that remain empty. President Vartabedian feels that due to budget cuts, certain teaching jobs that are open have become even harder to fill because of Western not being able to afford the type of salaries that some teachers may deserve. Some professors even have to fill in other positions that they normally do not teach just to keep things in order. “We’re doing the best we

Jacob Scott is sworn in as the new SGA President . Michelle Cordonnier | Staff Photographer

READ THE STORY ON PAGE 2

WAC spends big money for low turnout

(Left to right) Stacy Temple, Andrew Butcher and Alex Rowland dance during the WAC Formal Hollywood Exposed. Jason Brown | Photo Editor

Nebraska

- 0.9%

Iowa

- 2.6% Illinois

+12.1% Kansas

- 7.0%

Missouri

- 7.1%

- 14.5%

“Women” wearing fancy costumes performing on stage in bustiers, lace and fierce high heels will be coming to our campus for PRIDE’s annual drag show during PRIDE week April 17. PRIDE week is from April 16 to April 20.PRIDE alliance member Merriam Hayden said the drag show is a very popular event and

- 3.4%

- 15.0%

Arkansas

- 1.4%

State Appropriations to Higher Education Percent change from 2010-11 to 2011-12

can,” Vartabedian said. “But unfortunately given the budget crisis, we haven’t been able to fill the positions like we would normally want to.”

PRIDE to host annual drag show Natalie Spivey | Staff Writer nspivey@missouriwestern.edu

Kentucky Tennessee

Oklahoma

a lot of people like it The show is featuring talent such as Dirty Dorthy, Fenix and River Rains. The drag show, which has been an annual event for numerous years, is not just for Missouri Western students. Other guests may pay $3 for entry.

SEE FORMAL PAGE 3

140 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org

SEE PRIDE PAGE 2

April 5, 2012

Aramark employee charged with statutory sodomy

Adjunct professor Rosetta Ballew-Jennings recently voiced her opinion about the salaries of adjunct professors and how she feels that her salary is extremely low

compared to other teachers on campus. Vartabedian agreed with Jennings and stated that he wishes that they were able to pay adjunct professors more, but recent cuts from the school have also made that a problem. “It’s true,” Vartabedian said. “The adjunct faculty members are not compensated what they are worth. They are worth a lot more but it’s just a matter of finances.” Dean of Craig School of Business Phillip Nitse feels that the budget cuts cause problems to the business program because it keeps them from being able to fill certain positions. It has even become harder to give raises to professors that currently hold positions in the

There are folks that turn us down once they find out what we are paying.

Phillip Nitse Dean of Craig School program.“There are folks that turn us down once they find out what we are paying,” Nitse said.

SEE BUDGET PAGE 2

Missouri Western Aramark employee Larry Gawatz was charged with first-degree statutory sodomy of an adolescent child. Gawatz’s arraignment occurred Friday, March 30. According to the St. Joseph News Press article, Gawatz, who works in Western’s dining services at the food court, allegedly inappropriately touched the child’s genitals and exposed himself to the young victim. The article further stated that he allegedly sodomized the victim between early October 2009 and late February 2012. According to st.joechannel. com, the victim was under the age of 7. Assistant Food Services Director Kathy Dewalt refused to comment, stating that she had been authorized to speak only to authorities. Dewalt did confirm that she hired Gawatz and that his case is still under investigation. Aramark Director of Communications Karen Cutler also refused on comment on Aramark hiring policies and procedures. Student and frequent food court diner Adrian Cossyleom said that Gawatz was very friendly and was very dissappointed to hear about Gawatz’s arrest.

SEE ARREST PAGE 2

Edmisson hired as head Women’s Basketball coach Thomas Huitt-Johnson | Sports Editor thuittjohnson@missouriwestern.edu

Rob Edmisson hasn’t had a losing season -- ever. In 22 seasons as a basketball coach, that alone stood out as the 48-year-old was waiting to hear back from several schools about a job. When Western sought out to hire somebody, Edmisson was a man the Griffons envisioned. They snagged him off the market Thursday night. Edmisson was hired as the eighth Women’s Basketball coach in Western’s history

after being announced at the Griffon’s press conference Friday afternoon, and will take over for Lynn Plett, who was let go after five seasons at the helm. During the search, Western Athletic Director Kurt McGuffin said a winning coach mattered, as well as a Midwest guy and somebody who could build a program. Edmisson fit that description according to McGuffin. “When we look for a basketball coach, we look for the right fit: someone to build a program,” McGuffin said. “I kept going back to coach Edmisson. When our job came

open, we talked early, and then I kind of went through his background, and I said ‘gosh, we know a lot of the same people.’ And I continued to call them and get their input on coach Edmisson. And I found what I thought we needed here.” The Director of Athletics spent 28 days searching through a list of over 200 applicants. He narrowed it down quickly, and with help from several people, McGuffin brought in two candidates for a visit. Edmisson made the cut to the final two.

SEE COACH PAGE 8

Coach Rob Edmisson formerly coached at Oklahoma City University. Jason Brown | Photo Editor

Great Plains Website of the Year Publication: thebakerorange.com (The Baker Orange) By: The Baker Orange staff Judges’ Comments: This is the all-around package. It looks like a site built for the Web and not just a repackaged print edition. Sections make sense. The use of videos, slideshows and graphics is proportional and appropriate. I liked the novel use of an audio glossary in the roller derby package. I liked the packaging of projects in general, especially the report on student debt. Using Twitter feeds for sports items on the home page is smart.

Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org / 141

Great Plains Website of the Year Finalist Publication: websterjournal.com (Webster Journal) By: Webster Journal staff

142 / Read the full stories and view winning photos at greatplainsawards.org