Stillwater Sports: Glencoe, Frontier face tests in area A9
NewsPress Stillwater, Oklahoma • www.stwnewspress.com
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Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Voters pass $61.5M bond • Administrators react
• Michael Dicks wins Position 1
By Silas Allen
sallen@stwnewspress.com
By Silas Allen
sallen@stwnewspress.com
Stillwater school district officials expressed relief Tuesday night after the overwhelming passage of two bond proposals totaling $61.5 million. Stillwater voters passed a $2.5 million bond issue, the smaller of the two proposals, with 73.74 percent of the vote. The larger proposal, totaling $59 million, passed with 73.6 percent of the vote. By law, both proposals needed more than 60 percent of the vote to pass. The centerpiece of the bond package is the construction of two new elementary school buildings to replace Highland Park Elementary and Will Rogers Elementary. The new Highland Park will be built on the eastern outskirts of Stillwater, at the corner of East Sixth Avenue and Drury Road. The new Will Rogers will be built on the existing site, adjacent to the existing building. District officials expect students to move into the new schools in December 2012. Stillwater Superintendent Ann Caine said the district took a chance by proposing such a large bond issue nearly double the $31 million bond issue passed in 2007. Silas Allen/photo@stwnewspress.com The fact that the bond passed by such a wide margin Stillwater High School Principal Uwe Gordon and demonstrates the high premium the community places Stillwater Superintendent Ann Caine look at elecon education, she said. tion returns Tuesday evening at a watch party at the high school. See ➤ Bond, page A3
Storm of the year II?
Although she lost Tuesday’s school board race by the narrowest of margins, school board candidate Casey Ashley said Tuesday night she wasn’t sure if she would ask for a recount. According to unofficial election returns, Ashley lost her bid for Stillwater Board of Education Position 1 to incumbent Michael Dicks by five votes Tuesday. Dicks garnered 2,276 votes to Ashley’s 2,271. Results do not become official until they are certified Friday. Ashley said she planned to take time to consider the option of requesting a recount. No matter the outcome of the election, Ashley said she still intends to
stay involved in the school district. Ashley is president of Highland Park Elementary PTA. “I’m not going to drop involvement just because I didn’t get this board position,” she said. “They’re going to see my face. They’re going to know who I am.” Dicks said he plans on getting back to work at the school board’s Feb. 15 meeting. Dicks said his highest priority is moving forward with a $61.5 million bond package Stillwater voters approved Tuesday. The bond issue would go to fund a number of projects around the district. Chief among those projects is the construction of two elementary schools to replace Highland Park Elementary and Will See ➤ Board, page A3
Thomas takes judge’s oath
By Anita Pere apere@stwnewspress.com
The second powerful winter storm to hit Stillwater in scarcely a week is bringing more blowing snow, high drifts and sub-zero temperatures. By morning, 5 inches of snow had fallen in Cushing, the nearest town that had reported snowfall to the National Weather Service in Norman, NWS meteorologist Forrest Mitchell said. A few more inches will fall before the snow stops this afternoon, he said. The snow started to fall at about 10 p.m. Tuesday, a few hours later than forecast. A bitter north wind blew at about 14 mph this morning, with gusts reaching up to 20 mph in the early morning hours. After the snowfall stops, Stillwater will still have blowing snow and an arctic Chase Rheam/photo@stwnewspress.com freeze. The anticipated temStillwater Water Utilities Crew Chief Thomas Novotny clears Main St. this morning as round two of winter hit the Stillwater area. See ➤ Storm, page A3
By Anita Pere apere@stwnewspress.com
Judge Kathy Thomas was sworn-in last week, but she took the judge’s oath again in front of a full court room Tuesday. She is the newest special district judge in Payne County. Thomas took the oath Jan. 31 before a massive snowstorm blew into Stillwater. She was scheduled to be sworn-in Feb.1, but last week’s blizzard closed the courthouse for two days. “Those were actually my first few days of being a judge. As I was sitting at home by a fire with my coffee, I thought, ‘ya know, I can do this,’” she said. All that changed Monday, “with 300 docket cases and five TV cameras,” she said. Thomas presided over several criminal dockets and dealt with media representatives who came to see Oklahoma State basketball player Darrell Williams appear in her courtroom on rape charges. Payne County’s other three judges have offered to help ease her transition, she said. See ➤ Thomas, page A3
Neighborhood Watch
Cushing chief: Officer justified in shooting CUSHING – A Cushing police officer who fired his weapon at a suspect was justified in shooting, Cushing police Chief Terry Brannon said. The incident happened at La-Ze L Motel at 1027 E. Main St. Police said a man ignored police orders to submit to arrest at a Cushing motel Friday, got into his car and drove at Officer Bill McCarty. Brannon said the officer was in
Weather:
imminent danger of being harmed or killed. McCarty fired his gun one time striking the driver in the hand. The man was able to elude officers on icy streets but was later nabbed in a backyard and treated at Cushing Regional Hospital. Marion Lynn Deal, 39, was arrested on complaints of assault with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm after a former felony conviction, possession of
Low -5º High 28º
Blizzard II: Return of the negative temperatures.
marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Police initially tried to arrest him on warrants for possession of marijuana, resisting an officer, escape from arrest, breaking and entering a residence, assault and battery on an officer and uttering a forged instrument. “I met with (Acting District Attorney Tom) Lee (Monday) afterSee ➤ Cushing, page A3
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Let Sparks Fly
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Anita Pere/photo@stwnewspress.com
Payne County's newest judge Kathy Thomas recites the judge's oath of office after District Judge Phillip Corley. Thomas was officially sworn-in Jan. 31, but a ceremony for her appointment was held Tuesday.
Funerals Ann Herring, Vernon Berger, Donald Watkins, Sally Vielma
Deaths, A3