The Oklahoman, July 14, 2011 by OPUBCO Communications Group

BACK-TO-SCHOOL

Potter fans await finale

Stores hope deals will draw in shoppers

OKC theaters hold events ahead of the premiere of the final “Harry Potter” film.

With many parents still worried about the economy, deals on supplies likely will be popular this back-to-school season.

NEWS, 2A

BUSINESS, 1B

INSIDE

THE OKLAHOMAN THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

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COVERING OKLAHOMA SINCE 1907

WORLD CUP

U.S. TEAM MAKES FINAL

Growing Hispanic population is more diverse, census finds BY PAUL MONIES Database Editor pmonies@opubco.com

The state’s fast-growing Hispanic population also grew more diverse in the last decade, with increases

in the number of people from Central and South America. The latest figures from the 2010 Census show those of Mexican descent continue to be the largest share of Hispanics in

Oklahoma. That portion of the Hispanic population doubled since 2000. About 267,000 of the state’s 332,000 Hispanics were of Mexican origin, according to the 2010 Census. That’s up from more

than 132,800 who claimed Mexican descent in 2000. Overall, Oklahoma’s Hispanic population grew to 8.9 percent last year. Hispanics made up 5.2 percent of the state’s population in 2000. Hispanics

can be of any race, according to census definitions. The share of Hispanics claiming Central American descent tripled in the last decade to reach 15,641. SEE CENSUS, PAGE 4A

OKC teenager held in fatal firebombing

The U.S. women’s soccer team beat France, 3-1, to make it to the World Cup final for the first time since 1999. Above, Alex Morgan is carried by Lauren Cheney in celebration. SPORTS, 5C

WEATHER

STORMS High: 104 Tonight’s low: 76 BUSINESS, 6B

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Addiction Need help to beat an addiction? KNOWIT.NEWSOK. COM/ADDICTIONOKLAHOMA

The bodies of Boyd Haynes, 87, and Doris Haynes, 86, were found inside their home at 7608 S Miller Ave. in Oklahoma City on Wednesday after a firebombing. PHOTOS BY PAUL B. SOUTHERLAND, THE OKLAHOMAN

CRIME | COUPLE IN THEIR 80S FOUND DEAD INSIDE HOME

DEBT TALKS CONTINUE

BY ROBERT MEDLEY AND TIFFANY GIBSON

On a fourth day of talks in Washington, lawmakers offered their own options for ending a stalemate over funding.

Staff Writers

A teenager was being held Wednesday on murder and arson complaints after the deaths of an Oklahoma City couple whose home was firebombed. Tristan Ryan Owen, 15, was arrested Wednesday in connection with the deaths of Boyd Haynes, 87, and Doris Haynes, 86. Owen, a neighbor of the Hayneses, is being held in the Oklahoma County jail without bail. The motive was unclear. Oklahoma City police Capt. Patrick Stewart said there are no other suspects in the case. Police questioned two other people but released them, Stewart said. Oklahoma City Fire Depart-

NATION, 6A

NEWSOK POLL

ment Deputy Chief Kellie Sawyers said when firefighters arrived at 7608 S Miller Ave. after 4 a.m.

ONLINE Watch a video from the scene and view a photo gallery. NEWSOK.COM

SEE COUPLE, PAGE 3A

BY CONNIE CASS AND STACY A. ANDERSON

Go to NewsOK.com to vote on the question: If you’re a baby boomer, do you consider yourself old?

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Baby boomers say wrinkles aren’t so bad, and they’re not that worried about dying. Just don’t call them “old.” The generation that once powered a youth

Oklahoma City police officials stand in the intersection of S Miller Avenue and SW 75 while investigating a firebombing at 7608 S Miller Ave.

Let us listen to words of the wise, but give us wisdom to reject others’ false teachings. Amen. 3D 1B 1E 6E

movement isn’t ready to symbolize the aging of America, even as its first members are becoming eligible for Medicare. A new poll finds threequarters of all baby boomers still consider themselves middle-aged or younger, and that includes most of the boomers who are ages 57-65.

Younger adults call 60 the start of old age, but baby boomers are pushing that number back, according to The Associated Press-LifeGoesStrong.com poll. The median age they cite is 70. And a quarter of boomers insist you’re not old until you’re 80. “In my 20s, I would have thought the 60s were bad,

but they’re not so bad at all,” says Lynn Brown, 64, a retired legal assistant and grandmother of 11 living near Phoenix in Apache Junction, Ariz. The 77 million boomers are celebrating their 47th through 65th birthdays this year.

Iowa Guardsmen are leaving Afghanistan, representing the start of the troop drawdown. WORLD, 10A

24-HOUR DEAL Visit www.wimgo deals.com to purchase today’s deal and receive an instant voucher via email. Today’s deal is $10 for $20 worth of food at La Salsa Grille Mexican Cafe. Wimgo is now offering more than one deal a day. Details on Page 2A.

SEE POLL, PAGE 4A

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Tristan Ryan Owen The 15-year-old was arrested Wednesday in connection with the deaths of Boyd and Doris Haynes.

Upbeat baby boomers say they’re not old

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Crossword Opinion Sports TV

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Fundraiser seeks to help cowgirl injured at IFYR A fundraiser sign is set up Tuesday in Shawnee. Kelly Blanton, an International Finals Youth Rodeo contestant from North Carolina, was thrown from her horse in the practice ring Monday night. She injured her spinal cord and has no feeling from the chest down. SPORTS, 1C PHOTO BY JIM BECKEL, THE OKLAHOMAN

THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

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A closer look at today’s stories.

BEST OF THE BLOGS

AMRAM TO PERFORM AT WOODYFEST

Potter fans watch, wait for series’ final premiere

Future Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Famer David Amram, shown at right, will return to the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival on Friday in Guthrie’s hometown of Okemah. It will be the eighth straight year for the acclaimed songwriter, composer, conductor and multi-instrumentalist to perform at WoodyFest. Also at WoodyFest, Amram will play Mary Jo’s Pancake Breakfast and provide musical accompaniment for the Woody Guthrie Poets on Saturday, play with any fellow performer who asks and jam in the parking lot until sunrise. This year, “Art of the Song: Creativity Radio,” an hourlong weekly radio show airing on more than 100 radio stations across the U.S. and Canada, will tape upcoming shows Thursday and Friday at WoodyFest. Sam Baker was scheduled to perform and record a segment with “Art of the Song” at WoodyFest, but Baker will be having eye surgery that has forced him to cancel his WoodyFest appearances this year. In Baker’s place, Amram will do Thursday’s “Art of the Song” segment, and Ronny Cox will record with the show on Friday. Maine songwriter Jude Johnstone, whose songs have been covered by Bonnie Raitt, Trisha Yearwood, Emmylou Harris, Johnny Cash, Bette Midler and others, will play in Baker’s place Friday at WoodyFest. For more information on WoodyFest, go to www.woodyguthrie.com. Amram will be inducted in the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in fall. Friday, he will join The Richie Pardo Quintet as they play a tribute to jazz bassist and cellist Oscar Pettiford for the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in Tulsa. Amram played with Pettiford from 1955 through 1957 and recorded three albums with him. For more information on the show, go to www.ok jazz.org. BRANDY MCDONNELL, BLOG.NEWSOK.COM/BAMSBLOG

Harry Potter fans attend the premiere of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” at Avery Fisher Hall on Monday in New York. AP PHOTO NEWSOK POLL BY ADAM KEMP Staff Writer akemp@opubco.com

Scrambling to a theater, Ralph Ball agrees to an interview on one condition. “As long as it’s quick,” Ball said Monday. “I’m trying to get good seats for my daughter and I.” Ball, 59, and his 34year-old daughter were trying to get in prime position for the opening of the Harry Potter Adventure, a marathon of the seven released Harry Potter films spread out over a four-day showing at AMC Theatres leading up to the midnight showing of the new and final installment: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.” “It’s probably going to be my last chance to see them on the big screen one more time and see them at bigger than life size,” Ball said. “I’m sad because it’s the end, but I’m just so excited from the trailers and sneak peeks, and it just looks like a wild ride.” Ball isn’t alone in his anticipation of the film. Kathryn Ponder, 27, said she wanted to see all the movies again because she didn’t get into the books and movies right away. “I never saw the first four movies in the theaters, so I had to come to them all because it’s a once in a lifetime thing,” Ponder said. “I got off work early, and my friends are coming up here with me, and we are all going to dress up,

and I’m going to be Hermione.” Ponder said she has a replica wand that cost $40 she plans on bringing with her to the premiere.

Results for the question: Is Mexico’s drug war a threat to the United States?

AT A GLANCE

Yes: 93 percent No: 7 percent Thursday’s question: Do you still refer to french fries as freedom fries? Vote at NewsOK.com.

Other Potter events Other theaters across Oklahoma City planned Potter events as well, such as Harkins Theater, which also had a four-day marathon, and the Warren Theatre in Moore, which crammed all the movies into two days starting Wednesday. With “Deathly Hallows: Part 2” included, Potter fans will watch 19 1⁄2 hours of Potter movies that have been breaking box office records for the past decade and grossed more than $6 billion in revenue, according to boxofficemojo.com Matt Mahler was one of the first into the theater to grab his seats for the marathon. Mahler said he was coaxed into being a Potter fan by his family, and now he can’t get enough. Mahler said he is excited to get to watch all the movies even though he knows he doesn’t like a few of them. “Worst movie is ‘Goblet of Fire’; they messed that movie up real bad,” Mahler said. “I love the ‘Prisoner of Azkaban’ because that was when Sirius Black was first in there, and I love Gary Oldman, and I thought he was perfect for that role.” Ball said he is sad the

VIDEO ON DEMAND GET THE MOST OUT OF FUELING UP Road trips are fun in the summer, but with high gas prices you might be thinking about staying home. We give you some tips to save gas money. Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe star in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.” PHOTO PROVIDED BY WARNER BROS. PICTURES

Top stories on NewsOK.com for the last 24 hours:

I Rating: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” is rated PG-13 for some sequences of intense action violence and frightening images. I Summary: The battle between the good and evil forces of the wizarding world escalates into an all-out war as Harry Potter draws closer to a climactic showdown with Lord Voldemort. I Cast: Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Emma Watson (Hermoine), Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort), Rupert Grint (Ron), Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix), Alan Rickman (Snape) I Credits: Directed by David Yates, written by Steve Kloves, based on the J.K. Rowling novel, produced by David Barron, David Heyman and J.K. Rowling. It is a Warner Brothers release. I Running time: 2 hours 10 minutes.

1. Edmond dentist dies in bulldozer accident 2. Couple known for making cookies and chairs killed in arson fire in south Oklahoma City; neighborhood teen arrested 3. Actress Mila Kunis says yes to Marine’s YouTube date request 4. El Reno police search for source of University of Oklahoma linebacker Austin Box’s drugs 5. The masses will determine if Google Plus is a social media winner 6. Berry Tramel: Steelers should cut James Harrison after comments 7. Food Dude: Mutts serves up gourmet hot dogs with a side of culture change 8. Ex-Skiatook superintendent pleads guilty to bribery charges 9. New features in “NCAA Football ’12” 10. Testimony resumes in trial of Oklahoma ex-warden’s wife Bobbi Parker

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movies are ending. “You get tied up in their lives, and you know it’s fantasy, but it’s escapism, too,” Ball said.

“You can identify, and you can start to feel and think and empathize with them; I’m going to miss them.”

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THURSDAY’S EXCLUSIVE DEALS You now have more opportunities to get in on great deals through wimgodeals.com. Our main deal today is for $10 for $20 worth of appetizers, food and drinks at La Salsa Grille Mexican Cafe in Oklahoma City. Some other deals you may purchase are: I For $90, get three hours of personal assistant service, organization, errand running and more from A Woman’s Agenda ($180 value). I For $30, get a yearlong membership in the Computer Club of OKC (a $60 value). For details on all offers or to place an order, go to www.wimgodeals.com.

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FROM PAGE 1A

THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

Far left: In an image made from a video, Tristan Ryan Owen is detained at the scene by Oklahoma City police Wednesday and was later arrested on a murder complaint. IMAGE BY ROBERT MEDLEY, THE OKLAHOMAN

Left: An Oklahoma City police crime scene unit is parked Wednesday behind tape next to 2700 SW 75 as officials investigate a firebombing at 7608 S Miller Ave. PHOTO BY PAUL B. SOUTHERLAND, THE OKLAHOMAN

Deaths: Molotov cocktail glass collected FROM PAGE 1A

Wednesday, the garage area of the house was engulfed in flames. Firefighters found two bodies inside. Sawyers would not say where in the house the bodies were. Neighbor Keven Davis, 26, said he returned home from work shortly before 4 a.m. Wednesday and noticed a teenager walking down the street before the house erupted in flames. He and another neighbor tried to get to the house, but the thick smoke and heat prevented them from getting close, Davis said. Soon the house was engulfed, he said. Police and fire investigators collected glass from a Molotov cocktail at the scene, Stewart said. A man who identified himself as Owen’s grandfather was reached by phone Wednesday but declined to comment. On his MySpace page, Owen makes several references to smoking marijuana and says he once was arrested for smoking the drug. He also talks about breaking up with a girl, getting into fistfights with people and enrolling at U.S. Grant High School in October.

Couple ‘were really super, nice people’ A woman who lives on S Miller said the man who lived at the house that was firebombed made white, wooden chairs that he sold in his front yard. She did not want to give her name. “A lot of older people live on this street,” she said. “I have not even seen too many young people. I have lived here a year, and I thought it was a pretty good place.” Laura Yount, 78, who lives south of the house, said she heard explosions about 4 a.m. “I heard a ‘boom, boom, boom,’ but I didn’t know what it was and went back to sleep,” Yount said. Her husband, Thad Yount, 80, said he had known the couple for years. “They were really super, nice people,” he said. “She made the best chocolate chip cookies going. And he made chairs.” Thad Yount said members of the local Meadow Cliff neighborhood association called Doris Haynes “the cookie lady.” She always sent cookies to their meetings, even when her health was failing and she couldn’t attend, he said. Another neighbor who was friends with Doris Haynes said the couple had been married for more than 65 years and moved into the house in the 1960s. “She was a really kind, sweet-hearted lady,” she said. CONTRIBUTING: STAFF WRITER MATT PATTERSON

THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

AP POLL

Boomers look at aging with optimism Boomers approach their golden years with a generally positive outlook. Many expect their own quality of life in their golden years to be better than their parents, and they expect to outlive previous generations. In general, at what age do you think a person becomes old? 0-50

51-65

Total 18%

66-70

71-79

80+

Boomers 8% 31

Refused: 1

Do any of the following words describe how you personally feel about getting older? Excited

Sad

Helpless

Confident

Refused: 1

Total 9%

Boomers 10%

Frustrated

Happy

Afraid

None of the above

NOTE: Percentages may not add to 100 because of rounding. SOURCE: AP-LIFEGOESSTRONG.COM POLL, CONDUCTED BY KNOWLEDGE NETWORKS

Poll: Boomers are excited about positives of aging FROM PAGE 1A

Overall, they’re upbeat about their futures. Americans born in the population explosion after World War II are more likely to be excited about the positive aspects of aging, such as retirement, than worried about the negatives, like declining health. A third of those polled feel confident about growing older, almost twice as many as find it frustrating or sad. Sixteen percent report they’re happy about aging, about equal to the number who say they’re afraid. Most expect to live longer than their parents. “I still think I’ve got years to go to do things,” says Robert Bechtel, 64, of Virginia Beach, Va. He retired last year after nearly four decades as a retail manager. Now Bechtel has less stress and more time to do what he pleases, including designing a bunk bed for his grandchildren, remodeling a bathroom and teaching Sunday school.

Wisdom seen as best thing about aging A strong majority of baby boomers are enthusiastic about some perks of aging — watching their children or grandchildren grow up, doing more with friends and family, and getting time for favorite activities. About half say they’re highly excited about retirement. Boomers most frequently offered the wisdom accumulated over their lives as the best thing about aging. “The older you get, the smarter you get,” says Glenn Farrand, 62, of Ankeny, Iowa. But, he adds, “The physical part of it is the pits.” Baby boomers most often brought up failing health or fading physical abilities when asked to name the worst thing about getting older. Among their top worries: physical ailments that would take away their independence (deeply worrisome to 45 percent), losing their memory (44 percent), and being unable to pay medical bills (43 percent). Many also fret about running out of money (41 percent). Only 18 percent say they worry about dying. Another 22 percent are “moderately” concerned about it. More than twothirds expect to live to at least age 76; 1 in 6 expects to make it into the 90s. About half predict a better quality of life for themselves than their parents experienced as they aged. “My own parents, by the time they were 65 to 70, were very, very inactive

THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM

FROM PAGE 1A

ABOUT THE POLL The AP-LifeGoesStrong.com poll was conducted from June 3-12 by Knowledge Networks of Menlo Park, Calif., and involved online interviews with 1,416 adults, including 1,078 baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964. The margin of sampling error for results from the full sample is plus or minus 4.4 percentage points; for the boomers, it is plus or minus 3.3 percentage points. Knowledge Networks used traditional telephone and mail sampling methods to randomly recruit respondents. People selected who had no Internet access were given it free.

and very much old in their minds,” says Brown. So they “sat around the house and didn’t go anywhere.” “I have no intentions of sitting around the house,” says Brown, whose hobbies include motorcycle rides with her husband. “I’m enjoying being a senior citizen more than my parents did.” But a minority of boomers — about a fourth — worry things will be harder for them than for the previous generation. “I think we’ll have less,” said Vicki Mooney, 62, of Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., who fears older people will be pinched by cuts to Social Security and Medicare and rising health care costs. “The main difference in the quality of life is wondering if we will have a safety net.” Baby boomers with higher incomes generally are more optimistic about aging than their poorer peers. Women tend to feel sunnier than men; college graduates are more positive than those without a degree.

Aging isn’t a problem; ‘it’s just nature’ A third of baby boomers say their health has declined in the last five years, and that group is more likely to express fear or frustration about aging. Still, most boomers rate themselves in good or even excellent health overall, with less than 1 in 10 doing poorly. Looking older is seriously bugging just 12 percent of baby boomers. The vast majority say they wouldn’t get plastic surgery. That includes Johanna Taisey, 61, of Chandler, Ariz., who says aging is “no problem at all … it’s just nature.” “Age with dignity,” Taisey advises. Among the 1 in 5 who have had or would consider cosmetic surgery, about half say they might improve their tummy or eyes. A sagging chin is the next biggest worry — nearly 40 percent would consider getting that fixed. Only 5 percent of baby boomers say they might use the chemical Botox to temporarily smooth away wrinkles; 17 percent would consider laser treatments to fix varicose veins.

Many take steps to look younger But boomers, especially women, are taking some steps to look younger. A majority of the women — 55 percent — regularly dye their hair, and they overwhelmingly say it’s to cover gray. Only 5 percent of the men admit using hair color. A quarter of the women have paid more than $25 for an anti-aging skin care product, such as a lotion or night cream. Just 5 percent of the men say they’ve bought skin care that expensive. Almost all baby boomers — 90 percent — have tried to eat better. Three-quarters say they’re motivated more by a desire to improve their health than their appearance. Most boomers — 57 percent — say in the past year they’ve taken up a regular program of exercise. About the same number do mental exercises, such as crossword puzzles or video games, to stay sharp. Loretta Davis, 64, of Salem, W.Va., reads and plays games on her computer and takes walks. Diabetes and hypertension keep her focused on her diet these days. “I wish I had been more conscious of what I was eating earlier in life,” said Davis, who worked in a grocery store, a factory and an ice cream shop before being disabled by polio in the 1980s. But Davis says getting older doesn’t bother her: “I’m just glad to still be here.” CONTRIBUTING: AP POLLING DIRECTOR TREVOR TOMPSON, DEPUTY POLLING DIRECTOR JENNIFER AGIESTA AND NEWS SURVEY SPECIALIST DENNIS JUNIUS

Census: State households continue to change, too FROM PAGE 1A

Much of that growth came from Guatemalans, who grew 333 percent to 7,960. Meanwhile, increases in Colombians, Peruvians and Venezuelans boosted the number of Hispanics from South America. Hispanics describing themselves as coming from that continent totaled 7,134 in 2010, up from 3,212 in 2000. Puerto Rican Hispanics also grew in Oklahoma over the last decade to 12,223, an increase of 50 percent.

Household changes Oklahoma households continue to change, too. Out of 1.46 million households in Oklahoma, 722,435 were husbandand-wife households in 2010. But the share of husband-and-wife households fell to 49.5 percent. That’s down from 53.5 percent in 2000. At 168,633, singleparent households grew by 18.7 percent since 2000. The majority of those households still are made up of single mothers, but single-father households jumped by 40 percent in the last decade. That compared to single-mother households, which grew by 12 percent. The number of households with unmarried partners increased to 86,694, or almost 6 percent of all households.

AT A GLANCE OTHER FINDINGS I The number of households made up of men living alone rose to 12.5 percent in 2010, up from 11.4 percent in 2000. Female-alone households fell slightly to 14.9 percent in 2010. I Among Native Americans who described their tribe, the number of people identifying themselves as “Cherokee alone” grew 17.7 percent to 114,533. Identification as “Choctaw alone” grew to 51,431, up from 43,620 in 2000. I Vietnamese remain Oklahoma’s largest group of Asian origin. Those describing themselves as “Vietnamese alone” increased 29 percent to 16,258 in 2010. I The ethnic Hmong population increased rapidly in the last decade. From just 549 in 2000, the number of people in Oklahoma describing themselves as Hmong on census forms rose to 3,180 in 2010. The Hmong are from Southeast Asia. Many came to the United States after fighting alongside U.S. forces during the Vietnam War.

ONLINE YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW Without state and federal open records laws, much of what you see every day in The Oklahoman and on NewsOK.com would not be there. These laws are critical not only to the media, but to government openness and oversight in general. Through this page, we’ll provide some of the internal databases we use for reporting, as well as links to other useful sites. NEWSOK.COM/RIGHT-TO-KNOW

That rose from 53,307 unmarried-partner households, or 4 percent, in 2000. Most of the unmarriedpartner households were male and female, but about 9,800 were samesex couples in 2010.

More than 79,580 children were living with a grandparent last year. The census did not ask that question in 2000. Earlier estimates from the Census’ American Community Survey put the figure at 75,000.

THE OKLAHOMAN

HEALTH

Study says obesity threatens life span BY HELEN CHAPPELL McClatchy News Service

RALEIGH, N.C. — For the first time in decades, young adults today might live shorter lives than previous generations, a new study suggests. In a collaboration among the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Utah State University and the University of Illinois-Chicago, researchers used new statistical tools to predict the number of deaths from obesity-related illnesses. The team found the new tools accurately predicted the increase in deaths from coronary heart disease observed in young men over the last decade. Over the same time period, older methods for predicting death rates continued to paint a sunny picture of improving health and longer lives for Americans of all ages. The problem with the old methods is they make predictions based entirely on generations who have

already died, said Dr. Yang Yang, an author of the study and professor of sociology at UNC-CH and the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Though the predictions are meant to be for the living, “their current health conditions are not taken into account,” Yang said. Obesity is among the health conditions that need to be accounted for, Yang argues. For example, in 2009, 29.3 percent of people in North Carolina were obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, up from less than 15 percent 20 years ago. This rise in obesity — and the corresponding surge in associated illnesses such as coronary heart disease and diabetes — is recent enough that predictions relying only on data from past generations can’t account for it. Yet these prediction methods are consistently used by official agencies, including North Carolina’s state Center for Health

Statistics, to forecast death rates and life expectancies. There are lots of theories as to which methods are best, said Don Akin, a statistician with the center. But in the end, “ours is fairly easy,” Akin said. When sifting through birth and death records, that’s a big advantage. Yang added that the newer, more accurate methods are less known by forecasting agencies outside of the scientific community. “Like all new inventions, it takes time to disseminate,” she said. But with this study demonstrating the accuracy of newer methods, she thinks the time is right for agencies to make the switch. Better predictions about the true impacts of health problems, such as obesity, can help us mount a better response, Yang said, “The only way that can happen,” she explained, “is if we have the right tools and metrics that allow us to see them.”

HIV drugs found to cut chances of transmission BY THOMAS H. MAUGH II Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGLES — In what is being hailed as a major advance in the battle against AIDS, two studies in Africa have shown that a daily pill containing either one or two anti-HIV drugs can reduce transmission of the virus by as much as threequarters among heterosexual couples. The results were so compelling that one of the studies was halted early and the drugs given to all the participants, researchers said Wednesday. The results suggest that this approach, termed preexposure prophylaxis, may represent the best hope for slowing or even halting the spread of the deadly plague. A study in gay men reported last November showed that one of the drugs in the new trial could reduce the spread of HIV by as much as 70 percent. But a study released earlier this year found that the drugs did not show a similar benefit among heterosexual women. The new findings suggest that the earlier study in women may have been flawed. “Our results provide clear evidence that this works in heterosexuals,” said Dr. Jared Baeten of the University of Washington, a leader of the new study. The results were to be released next week at the International AIDS Society

ALSO ... CHEAPER DRUGS TO BE AVAILABLE LONDON — Gilead Sciences Inc., one of the world’s biggest producers of AIDS drugs, will allow some of them to be made by generic manufacturers — potentially increasing their availability in poor countries, particularly in Africa, officials said this week. In the first deal of its kind, the Foster City, Calif.-based pharmaceutical company has agreed to allow four of its AIDS drugs to be made by generic drug companies at a cheaper cost in return for a small proportion of royalties, United Nations health officials said. Most of the 33 million people worldwide who have HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, live in Africa. One of the drugs will also be used to treat people with hepatitis. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Rome, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released them Wednesday when the results were leaked. One trial enrolled 4,758 couples in Kenya and Uganda in which one partner carried the virus and the second didn’t. A third of the uninfected participants received a daily pill containing tenofovir, a third received a daily pill containing tenofovir in combination with emtricitabine and a third received a placebo. The two drugs are marketed as Viread and Truvada, respectively, by Gilead Sciences Inc. of Foster City, Calif. They are available generically in many countries for as little as 25 cents per pill.

By the end of May, researchers had identified 18 new infections among the group receiving Viread, 13 among those receiving Truvada and 47 among those receiving placebo. That corresponds to a 62 percent reduction in transmission among those receiving Viread and a 73 percent reduction among those receiving Truvada. The second trial, sponsored by the CDC, enrolled 1,219 healthy, sexually active males and females in Botswana. Half received Truvada and half a placebo. Among the 601 participants who took Truvada, there were nine new infections, compared to 24 among the 599 who received placebo. That amounts to a 62.6 percent reduction in new infections. MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE INFORMATION SERVICES

Scanning tools might be employed in diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease BY SHARI ROAN Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — PET scans to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease will be available someday, according to accumulating research showing the scans can accurately diagnose the disease. In two studies published this week, researchers demonstrated advances in shaping the scanning tools for routine use someday. In one study, researchers from Banner Alzheimer’s Institute in Phoenix evaluated a PET tracer called florbetapir F 18. Tracers are radioactive substances that highlight particular areas of the brain affected by a disease. Researchers found differences in the brain up-

take of the tracer between three groups of people: 82 healthy people, 68 people with probable Alzheimer’s and 60 people with mild cognitive impairment (considered a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease). The scans showed differences large enough to distinguish between impaired and healthy brains. The authors proposed specific cutoff points that could be used to determine a positive test for brain plaques or a negative result. In a second study, researchers at Penn Memory Center in Philadelphia used a tracer known as fluorine 18-labeled flutemetamol on seven people who had undergone brain biopsies for a condition called normal pressure hydroce-

phalus. This is a disorder that causes dementia and can be difficult to distinguish from Alzheimer’s disease. The study showed the readings regarding plaques seen on the scans matched the visual evaluation of the biopsied tissue. The cutoff points that are ultimately used to determine a positive or negative result for an Alzheimer’s PET scan will be difficult to establish, suggests the author of a commentary accompanying the studies because different tracers may require their own set of cutoff points. Moreover, the interpretation of the person examining the scan may also be an issue. The papers appear in the Archives of Neurology.

THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM

NATION

Lawmakers offer options to end funding stalemate BY DAVID ESPO AND ANDREW TAYLOR

ALSO ...

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Failure

to raise the U.S. debt limit would probably ensure President Barack Obama’s re-election in 2012, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell warned fellow conservatives on Wednesday. McConnell spoke as Obama and congressional leaders met for a fourth straight day — struggling to avert an unprecedented government default threatened for Tuesday, Aug. 2. At the Capitol, rankand-file lawmakers advanced their own fallback measures in case the bipartisan compromise talks fail. One version, authored by Sen. Bill Nelson, DFla., was designed to make sure Social Security benefits are paid on time. An-

COBURN MAY REJOIN ‘GANG OF SIX’ WASHINGTON — Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, said he may rejoin the so-called Gang of Six, the bipartisan band of senators seeking to reach agreement on a big deficit-cutting deal that would blend spending cuts with a tax code overhaul. Coburn dropped out of the group two months ago saying Democrats weren’t willing to cut enough spending from programs like Medicare. He said he may rejoin the group depending on how it responds to ideas he’s sent over. The closely watched group has been working for months in hopes of a bipartisan deficit-cutting deal that might gain momentum despite the partisanship consuming Capitol Hill. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

other, unveiled by a trio of House conservatives, would give priority to paychecks for members of the armed forces. “Currently, there is not a single debt limit proposal that can pass the House of Representatives,” House Majority Leader Eric Can-

tor, R-Va., said in a written statement. He said efforts should focus on “what we can agree upon” rather than Democratic demands for raising taxes or GOP calls to repeal the year-old health care bill. Without an increase in

government borrowing authority by Aug. 2, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has warned, there could be a default posing a catastrophic risk to the economy, still recovering from the worst recession in decades. In a sobering reminder of the stakes, the Treasury Department announced that the federal deficit was on pace to exceed $1trillion for the third consecutive year, and was likely to top last year’s $1.29 trillion. McConnell, in a radio interview, said his first choice was to reach a good compromise with Obama. Short of that, “my second obligation is to my party … to prevent them from being sucked into a horrible position politically that would allow the president probably to get re-elected because we didn’t handle this difficult situation correctly,” McConnell said.

FORMER FIRST LADY’S LEGACY OF HELPING SUBSTANCE ABUSERS WILL LIVE FOREVER A military honor guard carries the casket bearing the body of former first lady Betty Ford on Wednesday as it arrives at Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Mich. The former first lady will be buried at the museum Thursday next to her husband, former President Gerald R. Ford. AP PHOTO

New York explosion is deadly Landlords David and Linda Baldwin embrace Wednesday amid the debris of their New Salem, N.Y., rental home after it exploded. The explosion leveled the two-family home blowing debris hundreds of feet and killing at least three people, police said. Eight others were injured, including a baby. The cause of the explosion was not immediately known. AP PHOTO

IN BRIEF COURT

COMPANION CALLED ‘SUBSERVIENT BOSTON — James “Whitey” Bulger’s longtime girl-

friend is a subservient, “simple woman” whose only offense is a “crime of passion” she committed when she fell in love with the former Boston crime boss, her attorney said Wednesday as he asked a federal judge to release her on bail. Catherine Greig’s lawyer painted a picture of a frightened or meek woman who knew little or nothing about Bulger’s crimes when she fled Boston with him in 1995.

INMATE GAINS ACCESS TO PORN TACOMA, Wash. — A legal loophole is allowing a

Washington state man accused of child sex crimes to view child pornography in jail. Weldon Marc Gilbert is acting as his own lawyer in the case, and that means he’s entitled to review the evidence, which includes more than 100 videos seized after his 2007 arrest. The materials normally would be contraband at the Pierce County Jail, but restricting Gilbert’s access to the videos could result in a mistrial, television station KOMO reported Wednesday. POLITICS

OBAMA RAISES CAMPAIGN FUNDS WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama collected

$86 million combined for his re-election campaign and the Democratic Party during the past three months, giving him a large fundraising advantage over the Republican field seeking to challenge him in 2012. Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said in a video posted early Wednesday that it raised more than $47 million and the Democratic National Committee brought in more than $38 million through the end of June, building a foundation for advertising and get-out-the-vote efforts in next year’s election. Obama’s team had set a public goal of $60 million combined. FROM WIRE SERVICES

2nd funeral, interment await Ford in Michigan BY JEFF WILSON AND JOHN ROGERS Associated Press

PALM DESERT, Calif. — Thousands of wellwishers from seniors to toddlers waved, saluted or held their hands over their hearts in a sometimes tearful tribute to Betty Ford, as a motorcade carrying her body zigzagged from a California desert church to Palm Springs airport for her final flight home to Michigan. The black Cadillac hearse was escorted by nearly a dozen California Highway Patrol cars and other vehicles during the 25-minute trip to the airport, where Ford’s mahogany casket, covered in flowers, was placed aboard

an Air Force jet used by Vice President Joe Biden. Shortly after noon CDT, the plane — also carrying Ford’s family — departed for Grand Rapids, Mich., and landed about 4 p.m. CDT, where the former first lady was to be laid to rest Thursday next to her late husband, President Gerald R. Ford, at his presidential museum.

Public pays its respect By the time the motorcade ended its slow journey to the museum, about 200 people already had gathered outside the building. The memorial service is private, but the public was allowed to file past Betty Ford’s body Wednesday evening for a public viewing.

“She really reached out to all the people who are struggling … with drugs and alcohol addiction,” said John Patrick Jr., 38, of Grand Rapids. “That legacy will last forever.” Patrick said he brought his 87-year-old grandmother to the museum Sunday to sign a condolences book. “She reminisced a lot about the Fords,” he said. In California, as the hearse carrying Ford’s body drove through Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage and other desert resort cities, people lined the streets and hoisted American flags to say goodbye to the beloved former first lady, who died Friday at age 93. Some wiped tears from their eyes.

Alabama churches take lead opposing immigration law CIVIL RIGHTS | OPPORTUNITY SEEN TO MAKE UP FOR 1950S-’60S BY JAY REEVES Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — For some believers and church leaders, opposing Alabama’s toughest-in-thenation law against illegal immigration is a chance for Bible Belt redemption. During the civil rights movement of the 1950s and ’60s, many churches didn’t join the fight to end racial segregation. Now that Alabama has what’s widely considered the nation’s most restric-

tive state law against illegal immigration, mainstream churches, faith-based organizations and individual members are leading opposition to the act. Some see their involvement as a way to avoid repeating mistakes of the past. Believers are doing more than praying, marching and protesting. Groups and individuals filed a federal lawsuit last week attempting to have the law declared unconstitutional. Some see the issue in faith terms when they

compare biblical instructions to welcome strangers and love others with the law’s ban on helping illegal immigrants secure a place to live, a job, health care other than for emergencies and even a ride to the store. Others worry it could criminalize mission work with illegal immigrants. “They wonder if this is the beginning of infringing on freedoms that the church has considered its bailiwick,” said Chriss H. Doss, attorney and ordained minister.

THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM

NATION

THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

Astronauts’ closing mission is a busy one BY MARCIA DUNN Associated Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The astronauts making NASA’s last shuttle flight turned into moving men and garbage haulers Wednesday with no time to dwell on their place in space history, after enjoying a special salute from the original “Rocket Man,” Elton John.

Mutilated Brooklyn 8-year-old discovered BY COLLEEN LONG Associated Press

NEW YORK — An 8-yearold Brooklyn boy who got lost while walking home alone from day camp in his Orthodox Jewish neighborhood was killed and dismembered by a stranger he had asked for directions, and his remains were found stuffed in a trash bin and the man’s refrigerator, police said Wednesday. The gruesome killing of Leiby Kletzy shocked the tight-knit Hasidic community in Borough Park, in part because it is one of the safest sections of the city and because the man under arrest is himself an Orthodox Jew. A day-and-a-half search for the boy ended with the discovery of his severed feet in a bloody freezer at the home of a man who was seen with the child on a surveillance video, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The rest of the remains were in the trash in another neighborhood. “It is every parent’s worst nightmare,” Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly. The 35-year-old suspect, Levi Aron, implicated himself in the killing, Kelly said. Police said there was no evidence the boy was sexually assaulted, but they would not otherwise shed any light on a motive except to say Aron told them he “panicked” when he saw photos of the missing boy on fliers in the neighborhood. Police were looking into whether Aron had a history of mental illness. Detectives were questioning him Wednesday afternoon, and no immediate charges were filed. It was not clear whether he had an attorney.

Group sues over Texas’ prayer day BY CHRIS TOMLINSON Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas — The Freedom from Religion Foundation has filed a federal lawsuit to stop the Texas governor’s day of prayer and fasting. The organization, which is made up of atheists and agnostics, argues that Gov. Rick Perry is violating the constitutional ban on the government establishing a religion. Perry has invited the Obama administration, the nation’s governors and Texas lawmakers to attend the prayer meeting in Houston on Aug. 6. The event is being sponsored by evangelical Christian groups and is explicitly a Christian event. The foundation said Perry should not have organized the event as governor. The suit was filed Wednesday at the federal courthouse in Houston. The governor’s office had no immediate comment.

In their first news interviews from orbit, Atlantis’ four astronauts said they were satisfied to go from Tuesday’s last spacewalk of the 30-year shuttle era to more mundane matters — unloading supplies and hauling trash. At least they didn’t have to deal with a loud and smelly toilet on the International Space Station; a station resident handled

that task. “We’ve got some great station hosts up here, and we’re just trying to get them all stocked up for the next year,” Atlantis’ pilot, Douglas Hurley said. “It keeps us so focused that we tend not to, I think, look at the big picture as much.” Atlantis delivered several tons of food, clothes and other household goods.

The space station is supposed to operate for another decade, and unmanned craft from multiple countries will keep up supply runs once NASA’s shuttle program ends. Flight director Chris Edelen smiled while quoting space station astronaut Michael Fossum on going from spacewalking to closet cleaning. “Just 24 hours ago, he

was doing the most amazing thing that a human being could possibly do … to float in the vacuum of space 240 miles above the Earth, and today, he’s basically rearranging a closet and his buddy is working on the toilet,” Edelen said at a news conference. “So yes, that’s all in the life of an astronaut.” In honor of this last shuttle flight, NASA

beamed up a prerecorded message by the British superstar Elton John, as well as a half-minute of his Apollo-era 1972 song “Rocket Man,” which was inspired by space exploration. Atlantis’ 13-day mission is the last ever for a space shuttle. After that, the three surviving shuttles will be transformed into museum displays.

THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM

MONOLOGUE

OPINION

A woman in Texas gave birth to a baby boy weighing in at 16 pounds, 1 ounce. When they did the sonogram, the doctor was like, ‘I’m not sure if it’s a boy or a girl, but it’s definitely an American.’”

OUR VIEWS | STRONG OPPOSITION TO ALBERTA EXPANSION EFFORTS

Hurdles make pipeline’s future much less certain HE Canadian province of Alberta has a natural resource it wants to sell, but buyers are balking. Oklahoma has a natural resource that buyers want to acquire, but the state is loath to let it go. Free markets typically operate through the exchange of goods between willing buyers and sellers. The process is skewed when provincialism and/or environmental concerns enter the mix. The products referenced above are valuable. Alberta’s oil and southeastern Oklahoma’s water would fill obvious needs. But Americans have developed a resistance to Canadian oil imports. And provincialism in Oklahoma has created a resistance to selling our water. A probable result of the first resistance is continued overreliance on oil imported from unstable regions. A certain result of the second resistance is the wasting of a resource that could be transferring Texas dollars to Oklahoma coffers. Canada’s oil won’t evaporate. It will either be sold now or later, either to the United States or to another buyer. Oklahoma’s excess water is wasted. Millions of gallons leave the state each day instead of being tapped and sold. This is a resource the state can’t get back: Once the water reaches the Red River, it’s undrinkable and unmarketable. Water, of course, is a renewable resource. Oil isn’t. Alberta’s valuable commodity, produced from oil sands, will eventually run out. This state’s water (we presume) will flow eternally. The question is whether it

will continue to go unsold. Expanding a pipeline to transport Alberta’s oil to Oklahoma (Cushing) has met stiff resistance from environmentalists. No matter what they say, the real reason they don’t like the project is an abhorrence of fossil fuels. But oil will come from other locations — just as coal will be in more demand at power plants if hydraulic fracturing used for natural gas production is restricted by environmental policies. Stopping the pipeline — or stopping hydraulic fracturing — would thus be a Pyrrhic victory. Want to burn more “dirty” coal? Restrict “clean” natural gas production. Want to be more vulnerable to oil and gasoline price spikes due to Mideast instability? Restrict oil imports from within North America. The water issue is harder to reckon. It’s not about environmentalism but petty provincialism and a rabid distaste for selling anything to Texans. If entitlements are the untouchable third rail for politicians at the federal level, our water is the bottomless third well for their Oklahoma counterparts. Alberta is enjoying a boom due to advanced recovery techniques for turning tar-like bitumen into oil, most of which is sent to the U.S. A lot more would be sent if the pipeline is expanded. Considering the hurdles the pipeline must clear, its future is uncertain. But its completion seems far more certain than the prospect of ever selling Oklahoma’s excess water to Texans.

CHIP BOK/CREATORS.COM

Tragic facts: Air battle: Verdict critics skew Inhofe’s tussle truth in robbery case will benefit pilots Jerome Ersland’s lawyer says his client’s murder conviction is a tragedy. The word is apt. The context isn’t. The May 2009 armed robbery attempt at the pharmacy where Ersland worked had many tragic aspects. It was tragic that two adults recruited two minors to do their dirty work. Tragic that the boys took them up on the offer. Tragic that one of them died. Tragic that Ersland executed him. For this a jury accepted the prosecutor’s argument that Ersland’s response exceeded what the law allows. For that verdict, the jury, the judge and even The Oklahoman’s lead reporter on the case have been vilified by people who don’t know the facts and who don’t seem to want to know them. We’ve even heard that the surviving perpetrators were kissed with kindness by a justice system that supposedly railroaded Ersland. Yet the prison sentences for the men who planned the robbery far exceeded Ersland’s sentence — even though they weren’t in the pharmacy. The young man who entered with a gun (alongside the unarmed youth Ersland killed) pleaded guilty to murder — even though he never fired a shot. This wasn’t a case of Ersland surviving in a blaze of glory. He was the only person shooting that day. His first shot was lawful — heroic even — and effectively ended the robbery attempt. But then he crossed a line. He made things worse by refusing to admit it, which likely would have meant a far more lenient sentence. Tragic? Yes. Unjust? No.

Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, has an ax to grind with the Federal Aviation Administration. But the bill he recently introduced to strengthen the position of pilots in contesting FAA disciplinary procedures has merits in getting the agency to open its records. The FAA ordered Inhofe to take remedial piloting lessons after he landed his small plane on a closed runway at a rural South Texas airport in October and sent workers on the ground scrambling. He was irritated by the agency’s lack of response as he prepared his defense for the case. “With any bureaucracy that has the power to take action against an individual, it’s our job in Congress to ensure there are appropriate safeguards in place to prevent agency overreach,” Inhofe said. Inhofe’s legislation requires pilots facing enforcement actions to be given all relevant evidence, including air traffic communication tapes, before action could proceed. It seems only fair that such information be made available to pilots facing disciplinary action. “When I tried to get the voice recording, it took me four months, and I’m a United States senator,” Inhofe said. It makes you wonder how long it would take an average citizen to get the evidence. Inhofe’s bill has the support of several private pilots groups. They include the powerful Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, which has about 400,000 members, and the Experimental Aircraft Association, which has about 170,000 members.

JIMMY FALLON “LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON”

Religion test for 2012 election? The Constitution is specific when it prohibits a “religious test” for “any office or public trust” — Article VI, Paragraph III. That doesn’t mean that voters are prohibited from taking a person’s faith (or lack thereof) into account when deciding for whom they will vote. No law could stop them. Past elections have been decided when some Catholics voted for a Catholic politician because of their shared religion and Protestants voted against a Catholic because they did not share that faith. Now come two Mormons (Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman) and two evangelical Christians (Tim Pawlenty and Michele Bachmann). There is confusion and division within once nearly solid evangelical ranks over what to do. Some evangelicals Cal say they wouldn’t Thomas vote for a Mormon for president, even though Romney and COMMENTARY Huntsman seem, on the surface, to fit with many of the political viewpoints of the majority of politically conservative Christians on social issues such as abortion and same-sex “marriage” (though Huntsman favors “civil unions” and Romney has been on both sides of this issue, as well as abortion, more than once). Does it really matter what faith a president or presidential candidate has, or should everyone, regardless of their religious background, focus on their competence to do the job? Shouldn’t the question answer itself? I would vote for a competent atheist who believed in issues I care about over the most conservative Christian or Orthodox Jew who lacks the experience, knowledge and vision to do a good job as president. Religion can and has been used as a distraction to dupe voters. Jimmy Carter made “born again” mainstream during the 1976 presidential campaign and many evangelicals voted for him on the basis of his declared faith. Yet Carter later revealed himself to be a standard liberal Democrat in virtually every category that mattered. What about Barack Obama’s self-declared Christian faith? He attended the Chicago church of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whose sermons frequently condemned America and contained what some took to be racial slurs. The president’s faith has not distinguished his positions on any issue that matters from that of a standard liberal Democratic secularist. If a candidate says faith is important, shouldn’t that faith take the person on a different path than what someone of little or no faith would propose? If not, what difference does faith make and why should it be of concern to voters?

Evangelicals loved Reagan Not every declared “believer” delivers on the expectations of evangelical voters. Even the “sainted” Ronald Reagan raised taxes, signed an amnesty measure and named two justices to the Supreme Court — Sandra Day O’Connor and Anthony Kennedy — who voted to preserve the abortion status quo. And yet to this day, most evangelicals believe Reagan was one of our greatest presidents, though he rarely attended church. Carter regularly attended church and even taught Sunday school, but came to be reviled by most conservative Christians. For evangelicals, the ideal presidential combination would be someone who has a deep faith and is willing to apply it to social, economic and defense issues. It shouldn’t matter whether Mormons believe in baptizing the dead, what undergarments they wear, or that they believe God was once a man like us. Neither should it matter that an evangelical Christian believes in Armageddon, unless, of course, he (or she) wants to advance that day by dropping a nuclear bomb on our enemies, as Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has threatened to do to the West. Now there is someone who combines his religion with political power, which should scare us all. The Bible, the guidebook for evangelicals, teaches that there are two kingdoms. Presidential candidates are running to head up a part of the earthly kingdom known as America. The job as head of the other Kingdom is taken. The duties and responsibilities of each should be kept separate. TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES

THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM

WORLD

Yemen protesters continue rally Anti-government protesters shout slogans Wednesday during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa, Yemen. Battles between supporters of rebels in northern Yemen and an Islamic group have killed 27 people over the past week, medical officials said Wednesday. AP PHOTO

IN BRIEF Railway Protection Force policemen with a sniffer dog check belongings of passengers at the railway station in Ahmadabad, India, after blasts Wednesday in Mumbai. Near-simultaneous bomb blasts rocked three busy neighborhoods during evening rush hour in India’s busy financial capital. AP PHOTO

3 rush-hour bombings kill 21 in Mumbai, India BY RAJESH SHAH AND MUNEEZA NAQVI Associated Press

MUMBAI, India — Three coordinated bombings tore through the heart of India’s busy financial capital during rush hour Wednesday, killing 21 people and wounding 141 in the worst terrorist attack in the country since the threeday 2008 Mumbai siege. Bloody bodies were strewn in the dirt of Mumbai’s crowded neighborhoods and markets. Doors were ripped off storefronts, motorcycles were charred and a bus stop was shredded. After the blasts in three separate neighborhoods, police on high alert set up checkpoints. The bombings came just months after peace talks

resumed between India and Pakistan. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the blasts and appealed to the people of Mumbai “to remain calm and show a united face.” There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

History with Pakistan Indian officials have accused Pakistan’s powerful spy agency of helping coordinate and fund earlier attacks, including the Mumbai siege, which killed 166 people over three days. Peace talks between the countries were suspended after the siege and resumed only recently. Pakistan’s government expressed distress about the loss of lives and injuries soon after Wednes-

day’s blasts were reported. U.S. President Barack Obama also condemned the “outrageous attacks.” “The American people will stand with the Indian people in times of trial, and we will offer support to India’s efforts to bring the perpetrators of these terrible crimes to justice,” he said in a statement. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she will go ahead with her plans to visit India next week despite the bombings. Standing with India “is more important than ever,” she said.

Just minutes apart The bombings began with an explosion that ripped through the famed Jhaveri Bazaar jewelry market at 6:54 p.m. A

minute later, a blast hit the busy business district of Opera House, several miles away in southern Mumbai. At 7:05 p.m., the third bomb exploded in the crowded neighborhood of Dadar in central Mumbai. Because of the close timing, “we infer that this was a coordinated attack by terrorists,” Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said. The government said the blasts killed 21 people and wounded 141 others. The blasts marked the first major attack on Mumbai since 10 militants laid siege to the city for 60 hours in November 2008, targeting two luxury hotels, a Jewish center and a train station. The city has been on edge since the 2008 attack.

Brazilian plane crash kills 16

AFRICA

EGYPT FIRES 600 POLICE OFFICERS CAIRO — Egypt fired more than 600 high-ranking police officers Wednesday in a purge aimed at appeasing thousands of anti-government protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. The move came on the same day the military council said parliamentary elections planned for September would be delayed until October or November. The postponement will help new political parties challenge the more experienced Muslim Brotherhood, which was expected to win at least 25 percent of the seats in parliament.

REBELS ACCUSED OF LOOTING TRIPOLI, Libya — Libyan rebels fighting to oust Moammar Gadhafi have looted shops and clinics and torched the homes of suspected regime supporters in some of the towns they seized in the country’s western mountains, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday. The findings come as the rebels have enlarged the area under their control in the west and inched closer to a key supply route to Tripoli.

ASIA

HUMAN RIGHTS PLAN EYED BEIJING — China is drawing up a four-year plan to improve the country’s human rights record, state media reported Wednesday, but it will likely focus on improving living standards rather than granting greater freedoms. The new plan comes after a widespread crackdown on dissidents, lawyers and other activists earlier this year.

SEARCH CONTINUES FOR AMERICANS MANILA, Philippines — Philippine officials said Wednesday they have received no word from the abductors of a naturalized American woman, her teenage son and Filipino nephew a day after they were seized by suspected Muslim militants. More than a dozen gunmen seized Gerfa Yeatts Lunsmann, her 14-year-old son and 19-year-old nephew from the relatives’ house they were visiting on an island village near southern Zamboanga city.

EUROPE

DISASTER | AIRCRAFT LANDED HARD, EXPLODED SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF BY BRADLEY BROOKS Associated Press

SAO PAULO — A regional airliner crashed in a northeastern city in Brazil on Wednesday, killing all 16 people on board, the nation’s air force said. Witnesses said at least one of the passengers was pleading for help after the plane made a hard landing, gesturing through a window to onlookers, but the aircraft burst into flames before aid could arrive. The crew of the twinturboprop aircraft belonging to Noar Airlines reported problems shortly after taking off about 7 a.m. from the city of Recife en route to the city of Natal. Investigators said the plane’s flight data and

voice recorders were located, which they hoped would help answer why the plane went down. All of the names on a list of victims released by the airline appeared to be Brazilian, though the list did not list nationalities. The air force did not indicate what the problems were or what caused the crash, but said it is investigating. Weather did not seem to be a factor. About five minutes after taking off, the pilot tried to make an emergency landing on the outskirts of the city’s center. But witnesses said the aircraft went down hard and burst into flames shortly afterward. Recife Fire Chief Valdyr Oliveira told Estado radio that the fire was controlled

COPTER PILOTS ARE CLEARED LONDON — An official report released Wednesday on a helicopter crash that killed 29 senior British military, intelligence and law enforcement officials cleared the pilots who were initially blamed for the accident. The Chinook helicopter came down in thick fog as it carried officials from Northern Ireland to a security conference in Scotland in June 1994. The initial Royal Air Force report accused the pilots of “gross negligence,” but relatives of the deceased and some lawmakers have long insisted equipment failure was to blame.

PROTESTERS ARE BEATEN AT RALLY MINSK, Belarus — Police in Belarus on Wednesday

Workers inspect a burned out plane Wednesday in Recife, Brazil. The regional airliner crashed Monday, killing all 16 people on board, the nation’s air force said. The crew of the twin-turboprop aircraft belonging to Noar Airlines reported problems shortly after taking off en route to the city of Natal. AP PHOTO

quickly and that investigators are working at the scene for clues as to why the plane went down. The air force said the

plane was a L-410, built by LET Aircraft Industries in the Czech Republic. It had a capacity for 19 passengers, and a crew of two.

U.S., Russia agree on adoption rules BY BRADLEY KLAPPER Associated Press

The United States and Russia ended an ugly dispute over the abuse of adopted Russian children Wednesday, with Washington agreeing to investigate reports of maltreatment and increase oversight of adopting families. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov signed the accord in a ceremony in Washington. It is a response to the furor created last year when an adoptive mother from Tennessee sent her 7year-old boy unaccompanied on a plane back to

Moscow because she didn’t want to be his mother anymore. “We take very seriously the safety and security of children that are adopted by American parents,” Clinton said. “This agreement provides new important safeguards to protect them. It also increases transparency for all parties involved in the adoption process.” The deal stipulates that agencies can operate in Russia only with the authorization of the country’s government, except in cases where a child is being adopted by relatives. Better information also will be provided to prospective parents about the

children’s history. Russia demanded the agreement after the uproar sparked when Artyom Savelyev was sent back from his adoptive home in Tennessee in April 2010. Savelyev’s adoptive mother refused to allow a social worker into the house less than a month before the boy was returned with a note saying she no longer wanted to be his mother because the child had psychological problems, according to authorities. The incident outraged Russia, for years one of the biggest sources of adopted children for Americans. But adoptions have fallen steadily from Russia after a string of abuse cases

prompted Russian officials to demand tighter control or warn of a complete suspension. They dropped by more than 500 last year to 1,082, leaving Russians behind Chinese and Ethiopian children as third most adopted. Some international adoption proceedings in Russia were slowed in response, but there was no complete halt to adoptions by Americans. That caused some concern the tighter regulations might cause potential adoptive parents to look toward other countries and leave more Russian children at the mercy of underfunded and overcrowded orphanages.

beat up and arrested dozens of anti-government protesters during a banned rally in the capital of the authoritarian former Soviet nation calling for the ouster of President Alexander Lukashenko. It was the sixth rally in a series called “Revolution by Social Networks,” a grass-roots movement that claims thousands of supporters nationwide. AMERICAS

SEARCH SUSPENDED FOR FISHERMEN MEXICO CITY — The Mexican navy on Wednesday

suspended its search for seven U.S. men missing since a charter fishing boat capsized and sank in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez on July 3. The announcement came a day after the U.S. Coast Guard ended aerial searches, in which a C-130 Hercules aircrew had covered an 803-square-mile area off the Baja California coast.

POLICE ARREST SUSPECTED HITMAN MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s federal police have caught the top hit man for the Knights Templar drug gang in the western state of Michoacan, authorities said Wednesday. Federal police allege that suspect Javier Beltran Arco oversaw murders for the meth-trafficking gang. Beltran Arco is known by the nickname “El Chivo,” or The Goat.

PRISON UPRISING COMES TO AN END CARACAS, Venezuela — A 27-day prison uprising

ended without bloodshed on Wednesday as hundreds of inmates emerged from the embattled Rodeo II prison after negotiations with authorities.

ARGENTINE LEADER GETS NEW ROLE BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Argentine President Cristina Fernandez is tweeting that she will soon be a grandmother. Fernandez says her son Maximo’s partner Maria Rocio Garcia is pregnant. FROM WIRE SERVICES

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THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

Departing Iowa Guardsmen represent start of pullback BY HEIDI VOGT Associated Press

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan — The first troops

to leave Afghanistan as part of the U.S. drawdown handed over their slice of battlefield Wednesday to a unit less than half their size and started packing for home. When the 650 members of the Iowa National Guard’s 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment arrived in Afghanistan in November 2010, bases didn’t have enough housing, translators were in short supply and chow halls were packed. Commanders were using a buildup of 33,000 extra troops for a major push that they said would turn the tide of the war against the Taliban insurgency. Nine months later, it’s still unclear if that push has succeeded, but the pullback has begun. Although major combat units are not expected to start leaving until late fall, two National Guard regiments comprising about 1,000 soldiers in all are withdrawing this month. U.S. President Barack Obama announced last month that he would pull out 10,000 of the extra troops in 2011 and the re-

Pakistan program prompts concerns BY SEBASTIAN ABBOT Associated Press

ISLAMABAD — Pakistani officials and international health organizations expressed concern Wednesday that a phony CIA vaccination program meant to obtain evidence in the hunt for Osama bin Laden could harm legitimate immunization programs. This fear is pronounced because of the rising problem of polio. Pakistan was the only country to record an increase in cases last year and now has the highest incidence of polio in the world. Vaccination programs in Pakistan already were hampered by fighting with militants that blocked access by health workers to certain areas, especially in the northwest. Some Taliban commanders have also declared vaccines as against Islam. The CIA recruited a Pakistani doctor to run a hepatitis B vaccination drive in the northwest town of Abbottabad in March in an attempt to get DNA from bin Laden’s children and confirm the al-Qaida chief was holed up there, the British Guardian newspaper first reported earlier this week. The Associated Press has confirmed details about the program from U.S. officials. The Guardian said it wasn’t clear if the alleged scheme helped confirm bin Laden’s presence but cited one source as suggesting the attempt failed. The U.S. went ahead with a covert Navy SEAL raid that killed the al-Qaida chief in Abbottabad on May 2. Neither the White House nor the CIA would speak about the program. A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the program remains secret, said the decision to use vaccinations as a cover was a rare move that reflected the seriousness of the hunt for bin Laden. Intelligence officials were under pressure to confirm bin Laden was in the compound before the president risked American lives.

THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM

IRAQ AND THE WAR ON TERRORISM IN BRIEF

FEMALE PILOTS MAKING HISTORY SAN ANTONIO — Four Afghan women training in Texas to become among their country’s first female military pilots say they hope to inspire other women back home. U.S. Col. Eric Axelbank on Wednesday said the women are “genuinely making history.” Axelbank is commander of the 37th Training Wing at Lackland Air Force Base, where the four women will begin mastering English for the next few months. There is currently only one female pilot in the Afghan Air Force.

FRENCH SOLDIERS DIE IN ATTACK KABUL — A suicide bombing killed five French

soldiers in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, representing one of France’s largest one-day losses of the war. The attack took place in the Tagab district of Kapisa province, said provincial spokesman Sabor Wafa. France has said it will begin a phased withdrawal of its troops in Afghanistan.

SUSPECTED MILITANTS ARE HELD ANKARA, Turkey — Police have detained 15 suspect-

U.S. soldiers roll the American flag after a transfer of authority ceremony.

maining 23,000 by the summer of 2012. Three hundred soldiers will take over from the 650 who oversaw security in Parwan. In a ceremony at Bagram marking the transfer, a speaker read out a list of the 113th’s accomplishments: 14 high-value targets killed or captured, the largest homemade explosives lab in Parwan discovered and dismantled, 52 consecutive days of keeping insurgent fire out of the Bagram base, 3,800 combat missions completed, 400 Afghan police officers trained and a coordination

AP PHOTO

OKLAHOMA TIES About 2,200 troops from the Oklahoma National Guard have arrived in Afghanistan and are replacing units of the Iowa National Guard, which deployed nearly 3,000 troops last fall. The Oklahoma guardsmen are scheduled to be in Afghanistan until next spring. About 800 Oklahoma National Guardsmen who had been scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan are being sent to Iraq instead.

center built. One soldier died when a team helicoptered into a firefight to aid a downed pilot. Some in the 113th said 650 soldiers were barely enough.

Outgoing soldiers said they needed all their numbers to do the type of intensive training and mentoring called for by a strategy focused on building up the Afghan forces.

ed al-Qaida militants who were allegedly planning to attack the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey’s capital, the state-run news agency said Wednesday. Turkey’s Interior Ministry confirmed the capture of suspected al-Qaida militants, but would provide no other details about the case. U.S. officials said they have contacted Turkish officials about the arrests, which came several days before U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is to visit Istanbul, Turkey.

U.S., PAKISTANI OFFICIALS MEET WASHINGTON — High-level U.S.-Pakistan visits unfolded Wednesday for the first time since Washington announced it was cutting more than one-third of its military aid to its terrorism-fighting partner. Marine Gen. James Mattis, the head of U.S. Central Command, met with Pakistan’s army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, and the joint chiefs chairman, Gen. Gen. Khalid Shameem Wynne, the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said. With tensions between the two countries already high, the Obama administration said Sunday it was suspending $800 million in aid to Pakistan. FROM WIRE SERVICES

HEALTH

EDUCATION

Warning removed

King speaks to students

A blue-green algae warning for Grand Lake has been lifted.

Students, who are part of the Four Star Debate program which was formed by retired Gen. Tommy Franks, gathered in Hobart and were surprised by a visit from the King of Jordan.

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METRO | STATE

FALLIN HEADS TO EVENT

THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM

THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

CONVICTED ROBBER WILL BE SENTENCED FORMALLY IN SERIES OF CRIMES MONDAY

Jury adds 100 years to life BY ANN KELLEY Staff Writer akelley@opubco.com

SHAWNEE — A jury recommended a California man spend the rest of his life in prison for a series of crimes that included a high-speed police chase through two counties and a pharmacy robbery at gunpoint. Jason Kenneth Dimaggio, 38, was found guilty Wednesday in

Pottawatomie County District Court of three counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, two counts of conspiracy to commit a felony, and one count each of assault with a deadly weapon, shooting with intent to kill, possession of a controlled substance and eluding a police officer. Among his punishments, the jury recommended he receive three life sentences and a 100-year sentence. His formal sentencing is

set for 9 a.m. Monday. “There are some cases and some men that never deserve to see the light of day, and he is one of these men,” District Attorney Richard Smothermon said. Dimaggio and Roberto Dale Cardenaz, 44, were arrested Sept. 7 in connection with the crime spree, which started in Seminole County near Konawa and ended in Tecumseh in Pottawatomie County. The two men had arrived in

Oklahoma six days earlier on a Greyhound bus. They stayed with a woman in Konawa, but ventured from her house in search of drugs, prosecutors allege.

Victims fought back Authorities said the crimes started in the parking lot of a health care clinic in Konawa. There, Ruben Brewer, 68, of SEE JURY, BACK PAGE

OSBI AGENT IS FIRST TO TESTIFY

LIFE SKILLS TAUGHT AS PART Parker’s OF BASKETBALL CAMP AT OCU attorney questions evidence BY TIM TALLEY Associated Press

MANGUM — A defense attorney attacked the prosecution’s evidence Wednesday in the case of a former Oklahoma warden’s wife accused of helping a convicted killer escape, alleging that crucial witnesses weren’t questioned by investigators and vital evidence wasn’t tested. Bobbi Parker is accused of helping Randolph Franklin Dial escape on Aug. 30, 1994, from the Oklahoma State Reformatory in Greer County where her husband, Randy Parker, was deputy warden. Prosecutors allege Bobbi Parker, 49, fell in love with Dial and became his mistress before helping him flee the prison and live in Texas for more than 10 years. They were found living in a mobile home at a chicken farm in Campti, Texas, in April 2005. Parker has pleaded not guilty to the felony charge and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Parker’s defense attorney, Garvin Isaacs, told the 12-member jury that she was drugged, kidnapped, beaten and repeatedly raped by Dial, whom he described as a manipulative sociopath. Isaacs tried to poke holes in the prosecution’s evidence while cross examining Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agent Robert Williams, the prosecution’s first witness, and questioning

Jonathan Triplett knows what it’s like to grow up in a tough situation. The only son of an alcoholic mother, Triplett said he endured a lot of tough times when he was young. He finally moved in with his grandmother and turned to sports to help keep him busy. Still, he said he was 30 years old before he realized he had no real life skills. “I played overseas basketball for years,” he said. “But I didn’t have a job or a degree and no life skills. All I had was basketball and my big athlete’s ego.” Triplett went to college, earned his degree and now has turned his passion toward helping the next generation. Triplett, the director of intramural and recreation-

SEE TRIAL, PAGE 12A

SEE CAMP, PAGE 12A

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin leaves Thursday for a meeting of the National Governors Association in Salt Lake City, where she is expected to be appointed to a full term on the group’s executive committee. PAGE 14A

IN BRIEF OKLAHOMA CITY

OKC BOMBING TALK PLANNED Survivors and others affected by the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building continue to share their stories during the weekly series “First Person: Stories of Hope.” This week’s speaker is Carla Wade, a family member. Talks start at 1:30 p.m. Fridays through August in the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum’s Center for Education and Outreach. The presentations are free with paid admission to the museum, which is $10 for adults and $8 for seniors, military members or students who show ID. Children 5 and younger are admitted free. For more information, go to www. oklahomacity nationalmemorial. org or call 235-3313. FROM STAFF REPORTS

BLAZE VICTIM IS IDENTIFIED The victim of a fatal fire Tuesday at the Raindance Apartments has been identified as Stefanie Hover, 23, Oklahoma City police said. The fire began about 4:10 p.m. at the complex, NW 122 and Pennsylvania Avenue. Investigators were trying Wednesday to determine a cause. Police said they do not believe foul play was involved.

Cantrell Owens, 13, of Oklahoma City, practices dribbling two basketballs Wednesday at Oklahoma City University. BY TRICIA PEMBERTON Staff Writer tpemberton@opubco.com

FROM STAFF REPORTS

ARDMORE

MAN IS SOUGHT IN SHOOTING

Oklahoma City firefighter Grant Roberts teaches students how to attach a defibrillator to a dummy during a CPR class Wednesday as part of the First Class Individual Life Skills and Basketball Camp at Oklahoma City University. PHOTOS BY PAUL B. SOUTHERLAND, THE OKLAHOMAN

Norman council to shift lobby funds to street sweeping BY JANE GLENN CANNON Staff Writer jcannon@opubco.com

fer $72,375 from the city’s Oklahoma Municipal League account into the public works department’s street-sweeping account. The money originally was earmarked to pay membership dues for this fiscal year. Voting against the action were Carol Dillingham, Dan Quinn and Jim Griffith. Mayor Cindy Rosenthal, who is vice president of the Municipal League’s board of directors, was absent. The resolution to deplete the Municipal League account and

put the money into street sweeping was one of several resolutions placed on the agenda late last week at the request of Councilman Tom Kovach. City Manager Steve Lewis said staff had no time to research any of the resolutions and therefore had no recommendations on whether they should be passed.

Methods questioned In an email, Rosenthal, who is on vacation, said Kovach’s method of getting the resolutions on

the agenda without prior public discussion or allowing staff time to analyze them was unprecedented in her seven years on council. “Typically, the agenda is set more than a week in advance, and agenda books are printed on Thursday. The staff expressed concern that some of the five resolutions raised conflict with the city charter. None of the items has been reviewed by staff or a council committee or received (prior) SEE COUNCIL, PAGE 13A

Ardmore police announced they are seeking felony charges against Kevin D. Reynolds, 50, of Ardmore, in connection with a shooting Friday that left a woman seriously injured, police said. Reynolds is still at large. He is black, about 5-feet-10 and weighs 170 pounds. He is believed to be in the Tulsa or Dallas area. Anyone with information can call (580) 223-1212. FROM STAFF REPORTS

ONLINE SHARE NEWS Post your metroarea news easily and immediately on NewsOK.com. To find out how, go to knowit.News OK.com and click on “Submit your news.”

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THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM

METRO | STATE

Trial: Prosecutor says defense effort is common tactic

Worker involved in controversial cases found dead BY ANN KELLEY Staff Writer akelley@opubco.com

OSBI agent Robert Williams testified Wednesday in the Bobbi Parker trial. PHOTOS BY PENNY OWEN, FOR THE OKLAHOMAN Bobbi Parker and Randy Parker are shown in Mangum on Wednesday. FROM PAGE 11A

ONLINE whether investigators were thorough enough to support the allegations made against Parker. Williams testified that investigators found packing tape with hair on it in the Parker family van found abandoned in Wichita Falls, Texas. Prosecutors allege Parker used the van to drive Dial from the prison. Isaacs, who has said the evidence supports his theory that Parker was kidnapped, asked Williams whether the hair was tested and whether investigators looked for fingerprints on the tape. Williams said neither the hair nor the tape was tested and authorities did not look for skin cells on the tape, possible evidence that it was attached to someone’s skin.

Questions unasked Williams said investigators also did not question many of Parker’s friends and family

Continuing coverage Follow the case on NewsOK.com by searching for “Bobbi Parker.”

members, including Randy Parker, while investigating the case and allegations that she had inappropriate relationships with inmates at other prisons her husband helped supervise. “Randy didn’t want to talk to us. He was reluctant to,” Williams said. During a break in testimony, Assistant District Attorney David Thomas, who repeatedly raised objections during Williams’ cross examination by Isaacs, described the defense attorney’s line of questioning as “a very common defense tactic.” “You always want to put

the police on trial. What you don’t want to do is put your client on trial,” said Thomas, who said the defense is responsible for testing evidence they think is favorable to their case. “I’m confident in the evidence the state has.” Isaacs said investigators have a duty to go into an investigation with an open mind. “Your first obligation as an officer is to protect the innocent. We don’t guess people into prison,” Isaacs said.

Crimes unreported Williams also testified that Parker never told investigators that she was raped and deprived of food and light while allegedly held captive, as Isaacs claims. “She never told us that she was raped,” Williams said, but also testified that investigators never asked her if she had been. Williams said Parker was asked about sex with Dial after a box of condoms and a vibrator were found during the search of the mobile home near Campti, Texas.

Stigler man, 18, faces charges in slaying BY SHEILA STOGSDILL State Correspondent

STIGLER — An 18-yearold man charged in the slaying of his stepfather told police he shot the man multiple times so he wouldn’t suffer, according to court documents filed Wednesday. Josua Alan Bowen, of Stigler, was charged Wednesday in Haskell County District Court with first-degree murder and with shooting with intent to kill, said Danita Williams, assistant district attorney. He remains in the Haskell County jail held without bail.

He is accused of killing Herbert Wayne Moore, 79, and of wounding Vickie Lynn Moore, 52, both of Stigler, with a .22-caliber pistol, according to court documents. Bowen told investigator Timothy Turner he shot Herbert Moore several times but shot his mother only once, according to an arrest affidavit. Vickie Moore was shot in the head. She told authorities while in a Haskell County Hospital ambulance that Bowen shot her, the affidavit states. Bowen said he was scared after shooting his stepfather and knew he

FIREFIGHTERS DONATE FANS TO HOPE CENTER Josua Alan Bowen

was in trouble, so he went to outside to the garden where his mother was and shot her once but “couldn’t finish her,” the affidavit states. Bowen said he “thought about shooting his mother one more time but just couldn’t do it,” the affidavit states After the shooting he went inside the home and returned the gun to a safe and put the safe key in his short’s pocket, the affidavit states.

Camp: Participants taught about manners, finances FROM PAGE 11A

al sports at Oklahoma City University, teaches the First Class Individual Life Skills and Basketball Camp each summer at OCU. This week, he’s out on the basketball floor teaching more than 50 boys and girls in fourth through 12th grades about the fundamentals of shooting, dribbling and running. He’s patient and encouraging. “That’s great energy you showed this morning,” he tells his campers after some warm-up drills. “Let’s give yourselves a round of applause. You showed up ready to work and ready to get better.” Just as important for Triplett, however, is the life skills portion of the camp. He said various community members come each day to teach drug and alcohol aware-

ness, money management, CPR, table etiquette and other life lessons. Triplett said he did not want to hold just another sports camp. He wanted to give young people something they could use forever. “We probably take the life skills more importantly than we do basketball,” Triplett said. “I know the life skills will outlast basketball.” Kayla Lena, 15, will play basketball as a freshman this year at El Reno High School. She said she’s learned a lot at the camp. “It’s actually pretty good,” she said. “The coaches help you with anything. If something’s wrong, they will fix it. It’s helping me prepare for college.” Danlion Belton, 9, will be a fourth-grader at Hilldale Elementary School. He said he hopes to play

“She answered that they never had sex,” Williams said. He said Parker told detectives she was not sure Dial was capable of having sex. Parker explained that the condoms were for use by either her or Dial with other people and that the vibrator was a gift from a friend, which “didn’t make any sense to me at all,” Williams testified. “I don’t know that what she’s telling me is the truth,” Williams said. “I don’t believe a lot of what she told me.” Dial was serving a life sentence for first-degree murder in the 1981 slaying of a karate instructor in Tulsa County. He managed to obtain minimum-security status at the prison and befriended Parker while she managed a prison pottery program. Dial pleaded guilty to escaping from prison and maintained until his death in 2007 at age 62 that he kidnapped Parker at knifepoint, forced her to drive him from the prison and held her hostage for more than a decade.

CHANDLER — A state child welfare worker who worked on controversial cases has taken his own life, authorities said. The body of Donald Wheeler, 64, of Chandler, was found by a friend Wednesday morning near the Chandler Baseball Camp. Police said they consider Wheeler’s death as a suicide. “We send our condolences to his family for their great loss,” said Sheree Powell, spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services. “The work we do impacts the lives of Oklahomans and we understand the pressures and demands that often accompany that work. When tragedy occurs, it not only affects immediate co-workers, but the entire agency.” Powell said the agency has counselors working with employees to help them deal with the loss, and to regain a healthy perspective on the work they do. Wheeler was a longtime DHS employee, working there since 1981. He worked in the Lincoln County office as a child welfare specialist, but was recently placed on administrative leave with pay along with three other child welfare workers involved in the Serenity Deal case. Serenity, 5, died June 4, about a month after DHS workers recommended she live with her father in Oklahoma City. Her father, Sean Devon Brooks, 31, is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the child’s death. Sources close to the case said Wheeler argued vehemently against the girl’s living with Brooks. He also worked on the highly publicized case of Kelsey Smith-Briggs, a 2-year-old who died of abuse while under the supervision of DHS. Her mother, Raye Dawn Smith, and stepfather, Michael Lee Porter, were convicted of enabling child abuse in connection with her death. It was never determined in court who killed Kelsey. In recent years, at least two other children who had cases handled by child welfare workers in the Lincoln County office have been killed. Melissa Ellison, 5, of Prague, was beaten to death in 2002 by her father and dumped near Meeker. Aja Johnson, 7, of Davenport, was kidnapped and killed in March 2010 by her stepfather. The Oklahoman has not found that Wheeler was directly involved in those two cases.

basketball there this year. He said his favorite part of the camp is the drills. “I’ve learned everything, crossovers, layups and other stuff,” Danlion said. “I’m getting better at shooting baskets.” The camp means everything to Triplett, he said. “I’m 40 years old. I’ve done it all,” he said. “I’ve had fun playing basketball, traveling to many countries overseas. My life is great. So this is the only thing for me to be doing right now, helping others, and why not kids.” Triplett said he remembers his own camp days as if they happened yesterday. He wants the children who attend his camp to have similar memories. “They’re the future,” he said. “They’ll be taking care of us some day, and I want them to remember these things they are learning.”

Maj. Bill Brown, vice president of the Edmond Firefighters Association; Martha Strecker, Hope Center board member; and David Smith, Lowe’s assistant store manger, hold fans the Edmond Firefighters Association purchased to help during hot weather. PHOTO BY PAUL B. SOUTHERLAND, THE OKLAHOMAN BY DIANA BALDWIN Staff Writer dbaldwin@opubco.com

EDMOND — The string of

100-degree days prompted the Edmond Firefighters Association to donate 35 fans to the Hope Center. The fans will be given to the center’s clients upon request, said Brenda Chambers, Hope Center financial coordinator. The firefighters association is made up of 120 Edmond firefighters who belong to the local union. “We thought this was a way to give back to the community,” said Maj. Bill Brown, association vice president. “It is a small token of how we can help before there is a heat-related incident — kind of a preemptive strike against high temperatures.” Firefighters teamed with

TO LEARN MORE For more information about receiving a fan, go to the Hope Center, 1251 N Broadway, or call 3481340.

ONLINE Severe weather For tips on beating the summer heat, go to NewsOK’s “know it: Severe weather” page. KNOWIT.NEWSOK.COM/SEVEREWEATHER-OKLAHOMA

Lowe’s Home Improvement, 2401N Kelly Ave., to donate the fans. Hope Center officials said 10 to 15 people a week request a fan when the weather is extremely hot. “We always run out of fans before the summer is over,” Chambers said. “We are glad to have the fans.

“Older people do not want to spend their money on utilities. The fan helps move the air.” People wanting a fan must live in Edmond. They are required to prove their residency with a piece of mail received in the past 30 days or a utility bill and photo identification.

THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM

THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

METRO | STATE

Reading program unfunded for first time in 13 years BY MEGAN ROLLAND Staff Writer mrolland@opubco.com

Literacy First began establishing roots in Oklahoma in 1998, but the program’s founders say this economic drought threatens the teacher training program. Jim Vercelli, a grant writer for East Central University, won a contract with the state 13 years ago to provide professional development to roughly 3,000 teachers a year. He’s won the competitive bid process ever since. About 28,000 teachers have gone through Literacy First training, and roughly 120 schools have gone through a three-year program to become model schools for the teaching method. This fiscal year, $3 million in state funding won’t

be available to help pay for teachers and schools to participate in the program. “It will be very detrimental,” Vercelli said. “Literacy First is ingrained into the state.” Literacy First is a Washington-based for-profit company that works in 10 states. Vercelli said he selected Literacy First as a subcontractor for the grant because of their outstanding track record in 1998, and he said their performance has continued to support their methods.

Funds go to districts The program’s funding is part of the Reading Sufficiency Act, a 1997 law aimed at promoting literacy among grade-school children. Today the Reading Sufficiency funding is changing. State schools Superin-

tendent Janet Barresi said her budget freed up $6 million in funds, including the $3 million from Reading Sufficiency, that will now be passed directly onto districts. Barresi said she is developing a teacher training program that will allow district administration to choose from a variety of options what is best for their students. The aim of the new program will be to have all students proficient in reading by the third grade. Under a new law, students who are first-graders this school year must meet state proficiency by the time they are in thirdgrade or they will be held back. “Reading sufficiency funds will be going out to all districts,” said Damon Gardenhire, spokesman for the Education Depart-

ment. “Under the Literacy First program it was just going out to a select number of schools.” Participation in Literacy First training has been optional for schools and districts, and some used the program more heavily than others.

Program has merit Diane Hensley, the longtime principal of Mark Twain Elementary School in Tulsa, said Literacy First was the foundation that enabled her to improve from literally the worst performing school in the Tulsa School District to the 2010-11 National Title I Distinguished School. “I really believe it was the core of improvement for us,” Hensley said. She said Literacy First taught her teachers how to diagnose a student’s needs and then how to fill those

needs through individualized instruction. It was the best program she’s ever come across, she said, and as new teachers joined the school, attending the state-provided Literacy First training was a requirement. “We’ll be able to continue our program only because the teachers are dedicated to it,” Hensley said. “The financial cost will be phenomenal in a large district like Tulsa.” She is now the director of Community Schools for Tulsa Public Schools, working to replicate the success she fostered at Mark Twain in schools across the district. Bill Blokker, president and CEO of Literacy First, said there is enough rainy day funding with the Oklahoma Commission on Teacher Preparation to keep schools already going

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ONLINE Blog Read more education news on NewsOK’s Education Station blog. BLOG.NEWSOK.COM/ EDUCATIONSTATION

through training for another year. He said they will start five new schools in the model school program compared to most years when they have 10 or 12 new schools start the process. Blokker, who was in Oklahoma City this week hosting a Literacy First conference for school leaders from across the nation, said he is confident his program has shown such great results in Oklahoma that it will be able to continue its work. “We have a tremendous amount of district level personnel who truly love Literacy First,” Blokker said. “We had hundreds if not thousands of letters and calls saying ‘fully fund Literacy First.’ ”

Charge dropped against Webbers Falls ex-mayor BY SUSAN HYLTON Tulsa World susan.hylton@tulsaworld.com

MUSKOGEE — A criminal charge has been dropped against Jewell Horne, the former Webbers Falls mayor who was accused of embezzling $229,460, and other town trustees. The charge alleged that the Oklahoma Constitution was violated when Horne and eight other for-

Gary Johnson, the now former Skiatook superintendent, is shown outside the Gary Johnson Activity Center. Johnson pleaded guilty Wednesday to accepting bribes from an Oklahoma City vendor. TULSA WORLD ARCHIVE PHOTO

Skiatook district’s ex-chief admits taking vendor’s bribe BY RHETT MORGAN Tulsa World rhett.morgan@tulsaworld.com

SKIATOOK — A Skiatook Public Schools patron who oversaw a grassroots effort to investigate Gary Johnson said the district’s former superintendent deserves imprisonment for crimes he admitted to Wednesday. Johnson, 56, of Tulsa, pleaded guilty to four charges of accepting cash bribes totaling $10,000 from an Oklahoma City vendor for district custodial supplies and security equipment. Also filed Wednesday were four counts of bribery of a public official/employee against the vendor, Rick Enos, 58, who is accused of bribing Johnson for the same amounts. “It disgusts me that a man who’s making over $160,000 or whatever a year sells out his public trust for a few thousand dollars and lets this guy take a half a million dollars from the kids who had trusted him,” said Rob Ridenour, an attorney and Skiatook school patron who spearheaded a Tulsa County grand jury petition against Johnson. “Taking money in envelopes while you’re at the school administration office is craven, disgusting behavior. He deserves to go to prison for it. And Enos does, too. That ought to put him under the jail.” Johnson, in a written statement released after his plea in Tulsa County District Court, said his actions “represent a breach of the trust that had been placed in me by the students, parents, teachers and officials in Skiatook.” Grand jury indictments unsealed in June 2010 accused Johnson, who re-

signed last summer, of embezzlement and bribery of a public official in connection with a state audit that found overspending by the school district for supplies and equipment. The indictments were returned four months after a state audit found that the school district paid Enos — through his Oklahoma City companies E&E Sales and Austin Security — $570,000 more than it would have paid for custodial supplies and security equipment had it bought them directly. According to the audit, the district paid an Enos company as much as $29.95 — a markup of 892 percent — for a dust-mop handle that could have been bought for $3.02.

Some charges dropped Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris said Wednesday that he was dismissing charges connected with the indictment in exchange for Johnson waiving his right to a preliminary hearing and pleading guilty to the new counts, which allege Johnson accepted bribes on four occasions, records show. Johnson, who remains free on bail, entered a blind plea, meaning no agreement has been reached regarding his punishment. Each count carries a prison sentence upon conviction of up to 10 years and fines of $5,000 per count. District Judge Tom Gillert, who withheld a finding of guilt, scheduled Johnson’s sentencing for Monday, Oct. 17. An arrest warrant was issued Wednesday for Enos. “I believe that Gary Johnson has accepted responsibility for his criminal activity,” Harris said.

“We want justice for the taxpayers. We want justice for the children that suffered because of his actions. He understands that. I understand that.” The face-to-face money exchanges, believed by Johnson to be as much as $28,800 in 2008, normally occurred at Johnson’s administrative office. However, other exchanges are believed to have occurred in Norman, Oklahoma City, Dallas and Seattle, according to an affidavit filed by Tulsa County sheriff’s office investigator Ronald Emmons, a certified public accountant and certified fraud investigator. It was understood the give-and-take was to be kept secret and that Johnson was to continue to recommend that the school district order janitorial supplies and security equipment from Enos, E&E Sales and Austin Security, the affidavit claims.

No bidding Johnson failed to check the prices of the supplies and didn’t encourage the district to bid out the supplies to ensure the lowest prices, documents show. Harris said Johnson is cooperating with state authorities and with a federal investigation that is looking into Johnson, Enos and the Skiatook school system. Johnson began doing business with E&E Sales about 13 years ago when he worked as a principal in Elmore City and the friendship continued when Johnson came to Skiatook a few years later. Johnson became Skiatook superintendent in July 2001. Enos couldn’t be reached immediately for comment.

mer and current town trustees — whose embezzlement charges were previously dismissed — received salary increases after their elections. “I do not believe the facts alleged constitute a criminal act. It was wrong, and there are a couple of remedies,” Muskogee County Judge Thomas Alford wrote. Those potential remedies would include a Web-

bers Falls resident or the town itself taking action to recover funds on behalf of the town. The Muskogee County district attorney’s office issued a news release Wednesday with the following advice: “If the town of Webbers Falls wants to recoup any monies that were illegally obtained, then they could follow Judge Alford’s recommendations.”

Edmond dentist dies in bulldozer accident BY DIANA BALDWIN Staff Writer dbaldwin@opubco.com

EDMOND — An Edmond dentist was killed Wednesday when he was thrown from a bulldozer and run over by the machine. Dr. Tracey Allen Vick, 54, was killed while working on his land at 10300 E Covell Road, where his family was planning to build a home, Edmond police spokeswoman Glynda Chu said. The bulldozer was de-

livered to Vick’s property about 8 a.m. Police were called at 8:41 a.m. Vick died at the scene. The accident was witnessed by Vick’s brother, Charles Vick, of Maryland, who was watching from a mobile home on the property, Chu said. “As he drove over a higher pile of dirt, the bulldozer threw him over the front of it, and he was crushed by the bulldozer,” Chu said. The brothers had just reunited after 30 years,

Dr. Tracey Allen Vick

Chu said. “Charles was planning to help his brother today,” Chu said. “Instead, he went to help his brother after the accident and called 911.” Tracey Vick worked at My Dentist, 1308 N Kelly Ave. He is survived by his wife and four children.

Council: Member labels transaction ‘nonsensical’ FROM PAGE 11A

public input,” she said. Other resolutions included one that clarified the city’s position on the state’s Open Meeting Act and one that set a policy on how council members could get items on an agenda. Kovach said he discussed the resolutions with three new council members before they took their oaths of office last week, “and they indicated they supported them. I asked the city manager to put them on the agenda. It’s not the way I like to get things on the agenda, but I felt like it was the only way.” Maintaining Lake Thunderbird’s water quality is critical, Kovach said, “and one of the things we can do and should do is more street sweeping.”

Effect unclear Dillingham said the council lacked any evidence that adding $72,375 to the street-sweeping budget would have an impact on the water quality of Lake Thunderbird. “It’s a nonsensical trade,” Dillingham said, noting that she received numerous emails from Ward 4 constituents urging that the city maintain its Municipal League membership. “Our staff does not have the time to review every piece of legislation introduced each year and analyze how it affects municipalities. OML does. OML has our back,” she said. Griffith said the lobbying organization earns money for the city annually through

its legislative efforts. “They are the watchdog. They are our lobbyists. Our participation in the organization is extremely critical to the state’s third-largest city,” he said. Griffith said the state has 393 cities, “and 390 of them belong to OML. That should tell you something.” “OML does some good. It fills in the gaps, but it is not like we are being cut out or the sky is falling,” Councilman Roger Gallagher said. Gallagher said the city can still use the organization as a resource without being a member, and spending more money on street sweeping seemed a better use of taxpayers’ money. “One street sweeper dumping three loads a day can remove 15 tons of debris from the streets. That’s a lot of debris,” he said. Resident Caroline Stager said the Municipal League was “an essential source of expertise and research. Towns and cities are not islands and should not act as if they were.” Withdrawing from the organization “is an isolationist move. This is an issue that goes to the heart of good government. I think it is an irresponsible move,” Stager said.

14A

THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

Students treated to King of Jordan visit BY BRANDON GOODWIN Staff Writer bgoodwin@opubco.com

Setzer, John A. “Buck,” 65, died Tuesday. Services 10 a.m. Friday, First Baptist Church (Crews, Apache).

BETHANY

Gen. Tommy Franks speaks Wednesday at the Four Star Debate program in Hobart. PHOTO BY DAVID MCDANIEL, THE OKLAHOMAN

honors, but with those accolades come opportunities to excel further. “Along with great opportunity comes great responsibility,” Franks said. “Those who step up to that responsibility gain reputations for being patriots, servants, leaders.” He continued by giving examples of his reactions during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He said he was in Greece at the time of the attack when his boss, Donald Rumsfeld, called and asked him a tough question. “He said, ‘What are you going to do about it?’ ” Franks said. Franks said as the students grow older and take leadership roles, they will be faced with harder and harder questions. “At some point, you, as a leader, are going to answer a question like that,” he said. The six-day program brings students to Oklahoma Christian University to speak with leaders from across the state and world and to hold a debate

at the end of the program. On Wednesday, the program took the students to Hobart to listen to the speakers and tour the General Tommy Franks Leadership Institute and Museum and the Kiowa County Historical Museum. Broken Arrow High School student Heath Rosenberger said the program gave him opportunities to meet leaders like Gov. Mary Fallin for the first time. The 16-year-old rising junior said meeting Franks was a special opportunity. “When I’ve talked to him, he feels like he’s your grandpa.” Cameron West, a 17-yearold from Mona, Utah, said he found out about the program from older students on his debate team. “I figured coming here that debate was going to help me with leadership,” West said. “But with all the speakers that have been speaking about character and teamwork, it’s exactly opposite.”

Gov. Mary Fallin

economic development and commerce committee, which Saturday will discuss international trade and investment’s role in domestic economic growth and job creation. The closing session Sunday will feature New York Times columnist and Pulitzer Prizewinning author Tom Friedman, who will discuss the global challenges facing America and the role education plays in U.S. competitiveness. Fallin’s husband, Wade Christensen, is accompanying the governor on the trip. “He doesn’t get to participate in a lot of spouse activities, but he does try to come and support me,” she said.

Alex Weintz said. “Photo shoots and press events at the mansion are generally cleared on a case-by-case basis by the governor’s press office. This one fell outside of the normal operating procedure.” A situation such as this photo shoot has never come up before, Weintz said, adding that a policy is not in place for members of the governor’s family who have access to the mansion. Asked whether the photo shoot would have been approved had the governor’s daughter sought permission, Weintz responded that “is water under the bridge at this point.” The photo shoot did not in-

Hicks-Strube, Tripp Cooper, 4, died Sunday. Services 10 a.m. Friday (Ford, Midwest City).

BRISTOW Adkins, Donald, 45, died Saturday. Services 2 p.m. Friday (Hutchins Maples, Bristow).

CARNEGIE Smith, Gary Wayne, 63, carpenter, died Tuesday. Graveside services 2 p.m. Friday, Fort Sill National Cemetery, Elgin (McNeil’s, Mustang). Topaum, Cyrus Jr., 74, died Wednesday. Wake 7 p.m. Friday, Ray and Martha’s Funeral Home. Services 10 a.m. Saturday, Red Buffalo Hall (Ray and Martha’s, Carnegie).

CHEYENNE Boyett, Dorsey Kay, 68, certified nurse’s assistant, died Tuesday. Services 10 a.m. Saturday, Cheyenne First Baptist Church (Rose Chapel, Cheyenne).

CHICKASHA Guy, Don I., 75, retired from Navy, died Tuesday. Services 10 a.m. Monday (McRay, Chickasha).

COALGATE Wood, Terry Del, 55, died Monday. Services 10 a.m. Thursday (Brown’s, Coalgate).

CUSHING Fair, Evelyn M., 78, homemaker, died Tuesday. Services 1 p.m. Saturday, Mount Olive Baptist Church (Palmer & Marler, Cushing).

DEL CITY Howard, Deborah Lynn, 53, homemaker, died Saturday. Services 2 p.m. Thursday (Ford, Midwest City). Turner, Derry Ray, 55, building maintenance worker, died Tuesday. Services 10 a.m. Saturday, Sunnylane Family Church (Ford, Midwest City).

State plane to be used

DUNCAN

The state airplane will be used for the meeting; the state is paying for the trip because Fallin is attending in her official capacity as governor, said Alex Weintz, Fallin’s communications director. The state, as required by law, is paying for Fallin’s security detail. Fallin said she is sure the governors also will talk about budget discussions between the president and Republican congressional leaders. “It’s certainly a concern to all of us in our nation — what is Congress going to do to balance the budget and work with the debt ceiling that we’re coming up against?” she said. “All of us are very concerned that there is some talk about raising taxes. I don’t think we should be raising taxes. I think we need to try to live within our means with the money that we have, and I hope that President Obama will abandon his call to raise taxes and work together with everyone on a plan that would make reductions in spending and to bring together a balanced budget.”

McClennen, Earl Jack, 72, racehorse owner, died Wednesday. Services 10 a.m. Saturday, Fair Baptist Church (Comanche, Comanche).

Photo session with Fallin’s daughter at Governor’s Mansion wasn’t OK’d Gov. Mary Fallin did not give advance approval for a photo shoot involving her adult daughter, Christina Fallin, at the Governor’s Mansion, her office said Tuesday. A video of the photo shoot, showing Christina Fallin, 24, in fashionable attire, was posted online but was removed Tuesday. “The governor was not at the mansion during the photo shoot, nor was she or any member of her staff asked to approve the photo shoot on mansion grounds or informed of the details,” spokesman

APACHE

Brazell, Charlene, 84, homemaker, died Tuesday. Services 10 a.m. Monday (NeekampLuginbuel, Bartlesville). Dodd, Charles Jr. “Charlie,” 82, car wash attendant, died July 11. Services 11 a.m. Monday, Greater First Baptist Church (Walker-Brown, Bartlesville).

Capitol Bureau mmcnutt@opubco.com

Tulsa World barbara.hoberock@tulsaworld.com

Clark, Carlton Phillip “Phil,” 62, retired carpenter, died Tuesday. Graveside services 10 a.m. Saturday, Rosedale Cemetery (Criswell, Ada).

BARTLESVILLE

BY MICHAEL MCNUTT

BY BARBARA HOBEROCK

ADA

Guthary, Bobby Gene “Bob,” 83, retired from Bureau of Indian Affairs, died Monday. Services 3 p.m. Saturday, First United Methodist Church (Harvey-Douglas, Ardmore). Mixon, Michael C., 52, car salesman, died Monday. Services 11 a.m. Saturday, Harrah First Baptist Church (Smith-Parks, Harrah).

Fallin expects appointment to U.S. governors’ association Gov. Mary Fallin leaves Thursday for a meeting of the National Governors Association, where she is expected to be appointed to a full term on the group’s executive committee. Shortly after she took office in January, Fallin was named to fill out the remainder of a term on the executive committee. Members of the ninemember executive committee are elected annually and supervise the association’s operations. It has general authority over all policy issues and primary jurisdiction over issues involving federalism, homeland security, the federal budget and federal tax policy. Fallin said Wednesday the reappointment would be a great honor and opportunity to represent Oklahoma. The meeting, in Salt Lake City, will kick off Thursday with a state luncheon at the Governor’s Mansion. Business sessions get under way Friday. Fallin serves on the group’s

Deaths

ARDMORE

HOBART — Students from all

across the United States and Jordan gathered in Hobart on Wednesday for a leadership session and were surprised by a visit from the King of Jordan. King Abdullah II made the unofficial trip to speak with the students who are part of the Four Star Debate program, formed by retired Gen. Tommy Franks, a close friend of the king. In brief remarks, the king spoke about the importance of education as a key to produce positive change. In particular, the king cited examples of the “Arab Spring,” the democratic movement driven by youth leadership that is sweeping through the Middle East. The movement toppled regimes in Egypt and Tunisia. Noor Masannat, a Jordanian student from Amman, said she was a fan of the king. “Everyone in Jordan loves him,” Masannat said. She said while many other Middle Eastern countries were going through revolutions, nothing severe happened in Jordan. Masannat, a student at King’s Academy, said Abdullah visits her school frequently and gives speeches to the students about improving themselves through academics. The king also remarked about the importance of leadership, something Franks focused on in his speech to the group earlier that day. Franks, a four-star general and former commander of the U.S. Central Command, said that all 44 students in the audience had received great

THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM

METRO | STATE

cur any state costs, he said. Christina Fallin, who married Matt Bacon last month, does not live at the mansion but is free to come and go, Weintz said. A former lobbyist, Christina Fallin is now an event planner, he said. The video was recorded for an online publication. Christina Fallin declined a request for an interview, but issued a statement through the governor’s office. “I am thrilled to have been chosen as the August girl for Twenty Something Magazine,” she said. A representative of the publication declined a request for a telephone interview.

EAKLY LaFever, Cleburn Joe, 82, farmer, died Wednesday. Services 10 a.m. Friday (Lockstone, Weatherford).

EDMOND Rudkin, Bob, 80, attorney and former Edmond mayor, died Wednesday. Services pending (Crawford, Edmond).

ENID Porter, Robert, 74, hospital maintenance worker, died Monday. Graveside services 10 a.m. Friday, Memorial Park Cemetery (Ladusau-Evans, Enid).

FAIRFAX Whittaker, Roy “Skeet,” 92, rancher, died Monday. Graveside services 11 a.m. Friday, Fairfax Memorial Cemetery (Poteet, Pawnee).

FILLMORE James, Mary, 95, homemaker, died Wednesday. Wake 7 p.m. Friday. Services 10 a.m. Saturday (Clark, Tishomingo).

GOLDSBY Nelson, Barbara E., 71, retired cashier, died Tuesday. Services 10 a.m. Friday, Goldsby Baptist Church (Wilson Little, Purcell).

HEAVENER McKay, Grace L., 88, died Tuesday. Services 10 a.m. Friday (Dowden’s, Heavener).

HOLLIS Stokesberry, Robert Ray, 82, aircraft mechanic, died Saturday. Services 2 p.m. Friday

Records Editor’s note: The Oklahoman will publish free birth and adoption announcements as space permits. Include full names of parents, sex of child, and hospital or county of adoption. You can mail the information to The Oklahoman, P.O. Box 25125, Oklahoma City, OK 73125. The Oklahoman has discontinued publishing birth announcements from hospitals that do not provide full names of parents.

BIRTHS DEACONESS Bivian Villalobos and Dominique Herrera, a girl.

MARRIAGE LICENSES David William Affentranger, 31, and Melynda Kaye Ahl, 27. David Earl Platt, 53, and Ramona Hudson, 52. Robert Maurice Schollenbarger, 31, and Mari Lea Simpson, 24. Mark Bradley Newton, 28, and Laura Gayle Larpenteur, 30.

(Harmon County, Hollis).

KINGFISHER Blehm, Eldon Samuel, 93, died Tuesday. Services 9:30 a.m. Friday, Church of the Nazarene (Sanders, Kingfisher).

KONAWA Brogdon, Lenore Geraldine, 81, homemaker, died Wednesday. No services (Affordable Cremation, Oklahoma).

LINDSAY Womack, Daniel Roy, 59, died Tuesday. Services pending (B.G. Boydston, Lindsay).

MARBLE CITY Frye, Debra, 51, home health care worker, died Tuesday. Services 10 a.m. Saturday, Flute Springs Church (MalloryMartin, Sallisaw).

MARIETTA Douglass, Eva, 49, cookie factory line employee, died July 8. Services 11 a.m. Friday, First Baptist Church (Flanagan-Watts, Marietta).

MARLOW Mann, B.R., 86, refinery inspector, died Tuesday. Services 10 a.m. Thursday, Eastside Baptist Church (CallawaySmith-Cobb, Marlow).

MEDICINE PARK Morefield, Larry D., 62, died Tuesday. Services 10 a.m. Saturday, Minco Church of Christ (Huber-Reynolds, Minco).

MEEKER Brown, Curtis Eugene Jr. “Chip,” 49, Wolverine Tube Inc. worker, died Monday. Graveside services 10 a.m. Tuesday, New Hope Cemetery (Parks Brothers, Prague).

MIDWEST CITY Lippert, Nancy, 79, died Tuesday. Services 2 p.m. July 23 (Memorial Park, Oklahoma City).

MOORE Eddy, Jim R., 59, died Saturday. Services 10:30 a.m. Friday, First Friends Church, Oklahoma City (John M. Ireland, Moore). Traffanstedt, Shauna Grace, 31, homemaker, died Sunday. Services pending (John M. Ireland, Moore).

NORMAN Cox, Dora, 84, homemaker, died Tuesday. Services 10 a.m. Friday (Primrose, Norman). Littledeer, Nate James, 3, died July 8. Services 2 p.m. Thursday (Roberts/Reed-Culver, Stilwell) and 2 p.m. Friday (Hudson-Phillips, Holdenville). Walter, Betty Evelyn, 91, artist, died Sunday. Services 2 p.m. Saturday, Harmony Christian Church, Choctaw (Primrose, Norman).

NOWATA Parsons, Leona, 88, waitress, died Monday. Graveside services 2 p.m. Thursday, Memorial Park Cemetery (Benjamin, Nowata). Todd, Timothy Shane, 47, truck driver, died Tuesday. Services 10 a.m. Friday (Benjamin, Nowata).

OKLAHOMA CITY Aguilar, Sarita Maria, 27, homemaker, died Sunday. Private services (Affordable Cremation, Oklahoma). Blanks, Clifton D., 81, lawyer, died Wednesday. Services pending (Cremation Society, Oklahoma City). Buckner, Billy Joe Jr., 51, died Sunday. Services 11 a.m. Saturday, Bethlehem Star Baptist Church (Temple and Sons, Oklahoma City). Byrd, Elveda, 91, died Tuesday. Services pending (Rolfe, Oklahoma City). Cheatwood, Victor Alan, 62, oil scout, died Tuesday. Services 1:30 p.m. Friday, First Baptist Church (Billings, Woodward). Edwards, Anita F., 58, died Wednesday. Services pending (Rolfe, Oklahoma City). Harris, Betty Jane, 96, died Tuesday. Services 10 a.m. Friday (Baggerley, Edmond). Jones, Kevin, 47, died Saturday. Services 11 a.m. Friday (Temple and Sons, Oklahoma City). Martin, Jerry Lynn, 49, pipe fitter, died Sunday. No services (OK Cremation, Oklahoma City). Martinez-Rodriguez, Martin, 44, auto mechanic, died Monday. Rosary 7 p.m. Thursday and Mass 10 a.m. Friday, Sacred Heart Catholic Church (Advantage, Oklahoma City). McCauley, Martha L., 87, died Wednesday. Services pending (Hahn-Cook/Street & Draper, Oklahoma City). Nguyen, Thanh Ngoc, 67, machine operator, died Tuesday. Prayer service 7:15 p.m. Thursday, Mercer-Adams Funeral Service. Mass 10 a.m. Saturday, Our Lady’s Cathedral (Mercer-Adams, Bethany). Njoh, Ruth Eni, 61, homemaker, died Thursday. Services pending (Buchanan, Oklahoma City). Provo-Upshaw, Diane E., 69,

Kit Cragen Stephenson, 27, and Lindsey P. Neher, 22. Aki Muhammad James Madison, 27, and Jessica Kendrale Smith, 22. Thomas Shamont McDonald, 35, and Judith Rachelle Lunsford, 30. Grant Ellis Kincannon, 24, and Elisabeth Laurel Winter, 24. James L. Anderson, 60, and Cara Lou McCoy, 59. Daniel Whitlow, 36, and Amanda Sue Wheeler, 31. Zechariah Maurice Johnson, 31, and Brandi Renee Bruner, 31. Jacob Luke Wayland, 20, and Kara Elizabeth Ruff, 19. Qasim Nazir Warraich, 21, and Elonka Rae Voros, 20. Michael Don McLeod Jr., 21, and Miriam Raquel Reyes Rubio, 21. John Stanley Hamman, 19, and Sandra Virginia Yescas, 17. Jorge Alejandro Vielmas Garcia, 24, and Araceli Avitia, 36. Mason Scott Landreth, 25, and Haley Ann Hazlewood, 24. Alan Benton Kimberlin, 17, and Kylie Rae Donnell Hickey, 16. Robert Logan Mills, 23, and Jordan Nicole Ledbetter, 22.

died Monday. Services 11 a.m. Saturday, Fairview Baptist Church (Rolfe, Oklahoma City). Sauer, Dola Jean, 71, Sears receiving clerk, died Sunday. Services 3 p.m. Saturday (Vondel Smith Mortuary at South Lakes, Oklahoma City). Stone, Rosie, 82, retired from Chromalloy, died Wednesday. Graveside services 10 a.m. Saturday, Sunny Lane Cemetery (Bill Eisenhour, Del City). Todd, Paul E., 91, auto repair garage owner, died Monday. Services 1 p.m. Friday, Crestwood Baptist Church (Sunny Lane, Del City). Vickers, Jerrold Wade, 76, died Tuesday. Services pending (Wilson Little, Purcell). Whitley, Orville Jr., 47, died Tuesday. Services pending (Temple and Sons, Oklahoma City). Williams, Diontrae Lamar, 23, died Monday. Services 11 a.m. Saturday (Temple and Sons, Oklahoma City). Yates, Carlyle, 86, minister, died Tuesday. Services 11 a.m. Monday, New Covenant Christian Church (Vondel Smith Mortuary North, Oklahoma City).

OKMULGEE Foster, Nadier L., 86, retired Frisco Railroad foreman, died Tuesday. Services pending (Keith D. Biglow, Okmulgee).

PAOLI Purser, Wilmas Raymond, 91, died Tuesday. Services 10 a.m. Friday (Wooster, Pauls Valley).

QUINTON Rice, Tommy Edgar, 55, gas pumper, died Wednesday. Services 10 a.m. Friday, Oak Leaf Room (Hunn Black & Merritt, Eufaula).

RIPLEY Elledge, Carolyn Frances, 75, secretary, died Tuesday. Services 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Mehan Union Church (Strode, Stillwater).

SEILING Hill, Theodora Gail, 34, farmhand, died Monday. Wake 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Services 11 a.m. Friday, Seiling-Fonda Community Center (Redinger, Seiling).

SHAWNEE Miller, Harold V., 78, veterinarian, died July 12. Services 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church (Walker, Shawnee).

STIGLER Kelley, Jesse “Jess-Shorty,” 92, retired businessman, developer and rancher, died Tuesday. Services 10 a.m. Saturday (Mallory-Martin, Stigler).

STILLWATER Ledbetter, Wilma Lee, 75, died Sunday. Graveside services 10 a.m. Friday, Sunset Memorial Gardens (John M. Ireland, Moore). McCubbin, Glen, 89, body shop owner, died Wednesday. Graveside services 4 p.m. Friday, Sunset Memorial Gardens (Strode, Stillwater).

STONEWALL LaCrone, Jr., Ralph, 85, retired pumper, died Wednesday. Graveside services 10 a.m. Friday, Highland Cemetery (Criswell, Ada).

TULSA Brown, Roberta A., 87, homemaker, died Monday. Services 2 p.m. Thursday, Red Fork Baptist Church (Mark Griffith Memorial, Tulsa). Clifton, Nancy LaVonne, 64, Community Bank and Trust officer, died Monday. Graveside services 10 a.m. Friday, Floral Haven Memorial Gardens, Broken Arrow (Mark Griffith Memorial, Tulsa). Jackson, Kanisha Sanae, 27, teacher’s aide, died Saturday. Services pending (Keith D. Biglow, Tulsa). Linney, Freeda Marie, 86, died Sunday. Services 10 a.m. Friday (Hahn-Cook/Street & Draper, Oklahoma City).

WEBBERS FALLS Graves, Robert Lee, 79, building contractor, died Thursday. Services 10 a.m. Friday (Eisenhour, Blanchard).

WEWOKA McKnight, Lavetta Kay, 56, died July 9. Services 1 p.m. Saturday, Love Chapel Church of God in Christ (Myers, Wewoka).

WILSON Williams, Barbara Ann, 53, customer service employee, died Tuesday. Graveside services 10 a.m. Friday (Alexander, Wilson).

WOODWARD Hammans, Mary Jane, 70, school cafeteria cook, died Tuesday. Services 10:30 a.m. Friday (Billings, Woodward).

YALE Minney, Janice, 62, died Sunday. Services 2 p.m. Monday, Assembly of God (Palmer & Marler, Cushing). Organ donor

DIVORCES ASKED Ballas, Dana A. v. Thomas G. Jr. Beal, Maryann v. Stockton, Robert Kenneth Bolin, Robin Lynn v. Delbert Elvin Jr. Cory, Tara Dawn v. Bigby, Thomas J. Duncan, Alisha Janelle Baldwin v. Gary Leland Hall, Alisa K. v. Leland, Charles A. Hodgin, Darla Gaye v. Kirk, Johnny Ray Lee, Joseph Gray v. Parker-Lee, Shellie Lynn Miller, Margaret v. Mathis, Brad Mithell, Shawnta Lavonne v. Hunt, Brandon Scott Phillips, Whitney Lisabeth v. Wayne Nathaniel Powers, Christopher Brain v. Angela Dawn Ramirez, Judy v. Delgado, Ricardo Mejia Robbins, Michela Lowbyane v. Anthony Willis Scott, Yoman Jr v. Simpson, Sherri Lynn Smith, Tori v. Unchurch, Leslie R. Sturtz, Brian Paul v. Jessica Lynn Wilson, Tammy Denise v. Robert Alexander III

THE OKLAHOMAN

THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

NEWSOK.COM

Betty Jane Harris May 27, 1915 - July 12, 2011

OKLAHOMA CITY Betty Jane Harris, who was an inspiration to so many, passed away July 12, 2011. She was born in OKC on May 27, 1915. She would say her greatest achievement was raising her six children, including a daughter with cerebral palsy. More than anything, Jane loved her family. She will be missed by her children, Jan Harris, Judy Tipton (Leonard), Jerry Harris (Marleen), and the twins, Jack Harris and Jill Hull (Mike), 7 grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren and 2 nieces. She was predeceased by her husband, Jay T. Harris, and daughter, Nancy Jean Harris. A celebration of Jane’s life will be held 10 AM, Friday, July 15, 2011, at Baggerley Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, contributions to United Cerebral Palsy OK are appreciated. For more information go to www.baggerley.com

Elba Lee Clark Dec. 23, 1923 - Jul. 11, 2011

EDMOND Elba Lee Clark went to be with his Lord on July 11, 2011. He was born to Edgar and Pearl Clark on December 23, 1923, in Jennings, Oklahoma. He was a graduate of St. Louis High School. Elba served overseas with the U.S. Army during World War II with duty in New Guinea and Luzon. Upon his return from overseas he married his sweetheart, Margaret Smith, and was employed in the Directorate of Supply at Tinker Field, retiring after 35 years. Elba was a longtime member and Deacon of Millwood Baptist Church and more recently of Lone Star Baptist Church. He loved softball, Thunder basketball, working puzzles and playing cards. He was a wonderful father to his four children and a loving grandpa to his seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. He will be greatly missed by all of his family and friends. Elba was preceded in death by his parents Edgar and Pearl Clark, a brother Burl Clark, and a sister Dorothy Kemper. He is survived by his wife of 65 years Margaret, son David Clark and wife Jacque, son Steven Clark and wife Cindy, son Dennis Clark and wife Carla, daughter Donna Murrah and husband David, grandchildren Lorri Kamphaus, Brian Clark, Sharon Clark, Jonathan Murrah, Kaitlyn Murrah, Michael Watt, Matthew Watt, six great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and a host of other family and friends. Services will be 2:00 p.m. Friday, July 15, 2011, at Lone Star Baptist Church with interment to follow at Memorial Park Cemetery. Services under the direction of Matthews Funeral Home Edmond, OK.

James R. Jay

Bettyann E. Ford

Velma C. Dotson

September 19, 1938 - July 11, 2011

June 4, 1935 - July 11, 2011

Aug. 23, 1939 - July 11, 2011

OKLAHOMA CITY James R. Jay, age 72, went home to be with his Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ on July 11, 2011. All who knew James would describe him as a loving, generous, devoted, and exceedingly selfless man of God. He was a servant to all those who encountered him. He particularly devoted his love, time, and talents to his families, friends, and church homes. James was born in Elk City, OK and raised in Merritt, OK. He attended Sayre Jr. College and went on to receive his Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry from Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, OK. He was an Analytical Chemist for Kerr-McGee Corporation for 33 years. He was an active member at St. John’s United Methodist Church, St Mark’s United Methodist Church, and most recently Quail Springs Baptist Church. He had a particular love for gardening and landscaping. Each summer, he provided everyone he knew with his famous tomatoes. He took pride in his own lawn, landscaping, and roses and cared for others’ lawns as his own while running his own landscaping business. James had an incredible work ethic and others were recipients of his kind heart and deeds. James married Louise on August 20, 1960 in Elk City, OK. Married for 36 years, James and Louise were blessed with two daughters, Paula and Jennifer. James devoted his life to his children. He was an active father, playing and coaching basketball and softball and a great role model for selfless devotion. James and Louise made their home in Bethany, OK, but had a sincere love for Elk City, OK where both their parents resided. Louise lost a courageous battle with cancer in early 1997. On September 22, 1998, James and Gwen Sheid were married. Both being widowed, finding one another was a blessing to each of them. They enjoyed their grandchildren, friends, traveling, and OU sports. Married for 12 years, James couldn’t have anticipated that, in Gwen, he found an undying care-giver prior to and during his very difficult days with Alzheimer’s. Gwen’s family embraced him as a father and pa-pa. James will be best remembered, simply, as the kindest man anyone could ever meet. His actions and deeds spoke louder than, but were supported by, his words and amazing heart of gold. James was preceded in death by his first wife Louise Jay; parents Clyde and Edith Jay; nephew Randy Logan; brotherin-law Lewis Ray Lowrance; and niece Lou Ann Webb. James is survived by his grateful family: daughter Paula Chavez (Dan) and their children Connor, Carly, and Coleman; daughter Jennifer Jay; sister Delvenia Lowrance; brother and sister-in-law Bill and Valeria Jay; wife Gwen of the home and her daughters Sue Lyn (Trey) and their children Tyler, Justin, and Treyce; JoAnn (Paul) and their children William and Sydney; Charla (Allen) and their children Grace, Elise, Charleigh, and Alex; many nieces, nephews, and dear friends. Special thanks to Autumn Bridge Hospice and Bellevue Nursing Center for their consistent love and care. Services will be Thursday, July 14, 10:00am, at Quail Springs Baptist Church with interment in Bethany Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations to: The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation/Alzheimer’s, 825 N.E. 13th St., OKC, OK 73104 are accepted. To share a memory or condolence, visit: www.mercer-adams.com

OKLAHOMA CITY Bettyann E. Ford was born June 4, 1935, in Webster County, Nebraska, to parents Ben & Ella (Reiss) Rose and passed away July 11, 2011. A visitation will be 10am, Friday, July 15, 2011, at Guardian Funeral Home with a graveside service to follow at Resthaven Memory Gardens.

HARRAH Velma Coleen Dotson, age 71, passed from our earthly world and flew into the arms of our Lord on Monday, July 11, 2011. Velma was born August 23, 1939 in Elmore City, Oklahoma to Robert & Jewel Brogdon. She grew up in the Elmore City area until moving to Oklahoma City as a child. Velma married Carroll Harris in 1956 and they had three children. In 1977, Velma married Joseph R Dotson and for the past 34 years has been his constant companion. Velma and Joe resided most of their marriage in the Durant & Kingston area and were active members in Victory Life Church where they have numerous friends, which Velma referred to as family. In 2010, Velma and Joe moved to Harrah to be closer to their children. Velma was preceded in death by her parents and one brother, Tommy Brogdon and three great-grandchildren. Velma is survived by her husband Joe of the home; brother H.L. Brogdon of Atlanta, GA: daughters Cathy Charish and partner Courtney of Harrah, Kelle Williams and husband Alan of Moore, Kari Bredahl and husband Carl of Oklahoma City: sons Robert C. Harris, Cary D. Harris and partner Lisa and Joe Dotson Jr., all of Moore. Velma has 10 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. Velma decided many years ago that when the Lord was ready to bring her soul home, she wanted to leave her body to science to assist the next generation of doctors, and with that wish, her body has been donated to the OU Medical Center “Willed Body Program”. A “Celebration of Life” will be held on Friday, July 15, at 2:00 pm at Victory Life Church, 3412 W. University, Durant, OK.

Edwin "Eddie" Soward, Jr. June 27, 1953 - July 10, 2011

WATAUGA, TX Edwin "Eddie" Soward, Jr., 58, a loving husband, father, brother and grandfather passed away Sunday in Grapevine. Funeral service 2:00 p.m. Sunday at Bluebonnet Hills Funeral Chapel. Interment 10:00 a.m. Monday at Bluebonnet Hills Memorial Park. Visitation-Family will receive friends on Friday from 6-8:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Mr. Soward will also be available for viewing on Saturday from 12-6:00 p.m. Survivors wife, April Soward; daughter, Amber Bradshaw and husband Larry; son, Jeff Soward and wife Dawn; son, Jason Soward; parents, Eddie and Betty Soward; sister, Jan Breshears and husband Roy; sister, Debbie Morris; brother, Ferris Soward and wife Teresa; grandchildren, Daelen, Carson and Ian; in-laws, Bob and Vicki Wharton. Eddie is also survived by many other loving family members, friends and co-workers. Bluebonnet Hills Funeral Home Colleyville, 817-498-5894

Tressie Lee Sanders August 3, 1913 - July 10, 2011

OKLAHOMA CITY Tressie Lee Sanders, 97 year old resident of Oklahoma City, OK, passed away on July 10, 2011. Born August 3, 1913 in Forrest, MS she was the daughter of Henry and Stella Giles. Tressie lived in New Orleans, LA until 1992 until she moved to Oklahoma City. She was a loving mother and grandmother who loved cooking, sewing and fishing. She married Alonzo C. Sanders, II in 1934. Preceding her in death were her husband; two sisters, Georgie Tallies and Berta M. Brown; 1 son, Alonzo C. Sanders, III; daughter, Evelyn Wright; and 3 grandsons. Survivors include 3 children, Isia Jackson, Irma Sewell, and William Sanders, and a host of grandchildren and great grandchildren. Memorial services will be held at 9:00 a.m. Friday, July 15, 2011, at Bill Eisenhour Southeast Chapel, 5005 SE 29th St., Del City, OK, with Rev. James C. Coats officiating.

Robert "Ree" Thomas February 22, 1950 - July 8, 2011

OKLAHOMA CITY Robert Eugene "REE" Thomas, 61, passed away July 8, 2011. He was born February 22, 1950 in Borger, Texas to Roy Scott and Ruby Pauline Thomas. Ree is survived by his mother; son, RC Thomas and fiancé, Margo Thomas; granddaughter, Destiny Thomas; and brother, Jim Thomas. A memorial service will be held at 6:00pm, Thursday, July 14, 2011, at the American Legion Post #73 in Del City, Oklahoma. To share a memory or condolence, visit www.mercer-adams.com

Dana D. Leas March 22, 1931 - July 12, 2011

NORMAN Dana D. Leas, 80, passed away July 12, 2011 in Norman, Oklahoma. He was born on March 22, 1931 to Dana and Eva Leas in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Dana enjoyed stock cars at the fairgrounds, fishing in his younger years, and horse racing. Most of all he loved being with his family. Dana is survived by his wife, Janet Leas; daughter, Larrissa Vinge of Norman; stepchildren, Lew Hodge and wife Willeen of Moore, Angela Burns and husband Craig of Exeter, MO, Chris Hodge and wife Saleeah of Buffalo, MO; brothers, Charles Cox and Fred Tucker; sisters, Danelle Hall and Linda Coon; grandchildren, Marnie Vinge, Brandon, Brent & Bryant Hodge, Shannon, Darrell, & Clay Burns, Douglas, Jacob, Jessica, & Charlee Hodge, Gabby & Meghan Garay; great grandson, Trevor Appel, and host of other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife of 56 years, Mary Leas; and son-in-law, Lars Vinge. Visitation will be on Thursday, July 14, 2011, from 12:00 pm to 8:00pm and the family will be present to receive guests from 6:00 to 8:00. Funeral services will be held on Friday, July 15, 2011, at 2:00 PM at Southgate Baptist Church in Moore with interment following in Resthaven Memory Gardens. To share condolences, please visit: www.ResthavenOKC.com

John L. Neal April 8, 1940 - July 12, 2011

HARRAH John L. Neal, 71, passed away July 12, 2011 surrounded by his family. John was born April 8, 1940 in Shawnee, OK to Lewis and Gladys (Taylor) Neal. Papa John was a loving father, grandfather and great grandfather. His family meant the world to him. He enjoyed music, traveling, family and playing cards with friends. John is survived by 1 brother, Arthur Neal and wife Carol; 1 sister, Mary Cunningham and husband Ernest; 3 daughters, Carol Neal, Jana Hernandez and husband Edgar, Amy Kelley; 9 grandchildren; 1 great grandchild. Preceded in death by his parents, brother, Lewis, and granddaughter, Stephanie. Funeral services will be 10:00 AM, Friday, July 15, at First Baptist Church Choctaw. Burial will follow at 2:00 PM, at Fairlawn Cemetery, Chickasha, Oklahoma.

Colonel Langley Jerry Chavis March 29, 1931 - July 11, 2011

OKLAHOMA CITY Colonel Langley Jerry Chavis, war hero and entrepreneur, died in his home Monday morning, July 11, 2011, of neuro-endocrine cancer. He was 80 years old. Col. Chavis was born the second of three sons to Langley Taylor and Arlin Teresa Johnson Chavis in Rich Square, North Carolina, and raised on a farm in nearby Rocky Mount. Chavis went on to a 30-year career in the US Army and eventually started what was at one time the largest blackowned business in the state of Oklahoma. Chavis, a Veteran of the Korean and Vietnam Wars, enlisted in the Army after high school. Chavis went to Officer Candidate School in 1958, followed by flight school, at a time when few AfricanAmericans were accepted into those programs or allowed to graduate. During his military career he earned The Bronze Star Medal, The Distinguished Flying Cross Medal, The Air Medal, several Purple Hearts, and a number of other medals and awards. Army buddies called Chavis "Tiger" for his excellence as a soldier and his bravery as a helicopter pilot. He was often called to evacuate US troops under heavy fire in war. He received one of several Purple Hearts after he was shot in such an incident. In another, his helicopter was shot 37 times, and he still was able to fly his passengers to safety without any loss of life. Chavis retired from the US Army in 1982 and moved to Oklahoma to work as an accountant at Kerr-McGee. He was laid off in 1986, something he later called "one of the best things that ever happened to me." He started Southway Services, a government contracting business which grew to employ over 300 people in 7 states. Chavis closed Southway Services and retired in 2009 at the age of 78. Col. Chavis is survived by his wife of 48 years, Rose Merle Williams Chavis; three daughters, Shaun Alissa, Tara Rose, and Kris Lanelle Chavis; one granddaughter, Shayla Rose Chavis-Smith; “son” and family friend, Samuel D. Brooks; and many other family members and friends. A memorial service will be held at 10am on Tuesday, July 19, 2011, at the Chapel of HahnCook/Street and Draper Funeral Directors, 6600 Broadway Extension in Oklahoma City. For those who cannot attend, his daughters have created an “In Memory of Langley J. Chavis” photographic memorial page on Facebook. Col. Chavis' remains will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery.

Mae Kendall Hickam

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George Martin Binkley June 19, 1920 - July 11, 2011

OKLAHOMA CITY George Martin Binkley, 91, passed away July 11, 2011, in Oklahoma City. He was born June 19, 1920 in Corydon, Indiana to George Reed and Mary (Martin) Binkley. The family moved to Oklahoma City in 1928, where he graduated from Classen High School and received a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Oklahoma. After serving in World War II, he began a 40 year career with OG&E in Oklahoma City, Harrah and Muskogee, retiring in 1985. He served as a Deacon and Adult Sunday School Department Director at First Baptist Church, Muskogee and at Northwest Baptist Church, Oklahoma City. He was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Nelia (Templeton) Binkley and his sister, Anna (Binkley) Blumhof. He is survived by a daughter, Kathy Bloodworth, husband Herman Bloodworth and granddaughter Caroline Bloodworth, all of Oklahoma City; a son, Ken Binkley, wife Carla Binkley and grandchildren Bethany Binkley, Tim Bourgeois and Wendy Bourgeois, all of Bixby; and two nieces, Carolyn (Blumhof) Lombard of Fort Worth, TX and Nancy (Blumhof) Prestridge, of Lenexa, KS. Funeral services will be held at 2:00pm on Friday, July 15, 2011, at Northwest Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. Interment will be at Rose Hill Burial Park. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to: The Falls Creek Capital Campaign “For the Sake of the Call, 3800 N. May, Oklahoma City, OK 73112. To share a memory or condolence, visit: www.mercer-adams.com

Sept. 1, 1924 - July 12, 2011

OKLAHOMA CITY On July 12, 2011, Mae Kendall Hickam was welcomed into Heaven by the Saviour she so faithfully served. She was born September 1, 1924, in the tiny community of Pleasant Valley, Virginia to Thomas Lee and Nannie Ethel Kendall, the fourth of ten children. She married Kyle Fairfax Hickam in 1942, and traveled the country with him as he served in the Army Air Corps. From the birth of her first child, her career was taking care of her three children, home, garden, and involvement in her church. After returning to school, she re-entered the workforce and retired in 1990 as assistant to Ken Klehm, then the Chief Financial Officer of American Fidelity Assurance. She thoroughly enjoyed retirement until the ravages of Parkinsons Disease began. She was preceded in death by her husband of 33 years, Kyle Fairfax Hickam, and 4 brothers, Murry, Milton, Melvin, and Marvin Kendall. She is survived by 3 sisters, Mildred Wall of Greensboro, NC, Mary Joanne Yeatts and husband Ira of Chatham, Virginia, and Mona Clark of Richmond, Virginia, and two brothers, Marshall Kendall and wife Barbara of Blairs, Virginia, and Max Kendall and wife Rachel of Axton, Virginia. Also her three devoted daughters and sonsin-love, Carolyn Stewart and husband Alan of Dallas, Texas, Denise White and husband David of Goshen, Kentucky, and Lee Sabolich and husband John of Oklahoma City; five grandchildren, Scott Sabolich and wife Devin, Kim Stewart and husband Justin, Brian Sabolich and wife Maike, Laura Sabolich, and Addison White, as well as 6 greatgrandchildren. A special thanks to those who cared for Mom in her later years at the Baptist Village, Bellevue Health Center, Mercy Hospice, especially Suzanne, Rowe, and caregiver, Tammy Newport.. Services will be held Friday, at 2 p.m., at Crossing Community Church, OKC, OK 73162. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to: The Adams Care Fund, Baptist Village, 9700 Mashburn Blvd., OKC, OK 73162, to help the elderly who cannot afford care and housing, or the charity of your choice. Proverbs 31:30 - Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.

Dola Jean Sauer May 18, 1940 - July 10, 2011

OKLAHOMA CITY Dola Jean Sauer went to be with the Lord on Sunday, July 10, 2011, at the age of 71. She leaves behind her loving husband, Allaire and 3 children, Charlotte, Randy and Cindy, and her 7 grandchildren. Services will be held Saturday, July 16, at 3pm at the Vondel Smith Mortuary at South Lakes.

Carl D. Sawyer July 23, 1932 - July 10, 2011

MIDWEST CITY Carl was born July 23, 1932 in San Angelo, TX and died at home July 10, 2011. He is survived by the love of his life, his wife of 56 years, Kathleen. He is also survived by his 4 children, 7 grandchildren, 1 great-grandson, many other family members and friends, and his beloved dog, Winston. Dad was a decorated Vietnam Vet who served over 20 years in the military. After leaving the military he worked at the Post Office for 20 years. He also earned a degree from OU during this time. Dad was also a diehard St. Louis Cardinals fan. GO CARDS! He was a wonderful man who will be greatly missed by all who knew him. He leaves behind a legacy of love, laughter, and social justice. Dad's ashes will be scattered at his childhood home in Bingham, NM.

Always Loved Never Forgotten Stacie Suzanne Arrington Boswell July 14, 1977 - April 6, 2007 Memories of you still linger, but now they are sweet memories. You left this world a better place because of your kindness, and you will always live in the hearts of those you touched.

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THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

METRO | STATE

THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM

Grand Lake’s warning for toxic algae lifted BY RANDY KREHBIEL AND SUSAN HYLTON

DID YOU KNOW?

Tulsa World

CHANDLER — A blue-green algae

warning for Grand Lake was lifted Wednesday even as tests confirmed the presence of the toxic bacteria at lakes Keystone and Fort Gibson. The chief environmental officer for the Grand River Dam Authority, which operates Grand Lake, said the outbreak appears to have peaked there on July 3 and has since died off gradually. The slow decline, said Ecosystems Manager Darrell Townsend, saved the lake from the toxin spike and oxygen depletion that would have accompanied sudden decomposition. Townsend said the algae could return at any time, given prevailing weather conditions. The Army Corps of Engineers, which operates most of the state’s other large lakes, said the algae on lakes Keystone and Fort Gibson poses low to high risks for adverse health affects. Test results from Lake Tenkiller are expected Thursday. “The good news today is that the GRDA proposes to withdraw its warning against direct contact with the lake waters,” Townsend said during a presentation at a GRDA directors meeting in Chandler. “Based on the latest results, … the main part of the lake is totally negative” for the toxins, Townsend said.

Still waters run blue-green Blue-green algae occurs naturally in most bodies of water but reproduces uncontrollably in warm, still, nutrient-rich waters such as those present this summer in Grand and other Oklahoma lakes. Some species of the algae produce toxins that are capable of causing ill-

RISKS FOR TOXIC BLUE-GREEN ALGAE

Keystone Lake I High risk: Cedar Creek cove and Old Mannford. Access areas closed. I Moderate risk: Feyodi Creek State Park in Cleveland. I Low risk: Washington Irving Park beach, Walnut Creek State Park, Prairie View ramp and the New Mannford Park/ ramp Fort Gibson Lake I Low risk: Rocky Point beach, Big Hollow Creek, Taylor Ferry North beach, Sequoyah State Park at the Sequoyah Bay area beach and Ranger Creek. (All parks remain open except Taylor Ferry North beach.) Grand Lake Warning against direct contact with water has been lifted. Lake Tenkiller Tests are pending.

ness and, in extreme cases, tumors and nerve disorders. Nate Herring, a corps spokesman, said an area near Cedar Cove and Old Mannford on Lake Keystone is one

high-risk area. Access points in these areas have been closed until further notice. “That section of the lake has a big (algae) bloom,” Herring said. Lake visitors are not required to stay out of the water in low- and moderate-risk areas but are urged to exercise caution and watch out for scum, foam or discoloration on the water. Visitors should stay out of water that looks suspicious and report it to the lake office, Herring said. Since it is impossible to test all areas of a lake, Herring said visitors should be cautious when swimming or boating. At Fort Gibson, low-risk areas were pinpointed at Rocky Point beach, Big Hollow Creek, Taylor Ferry North beach, Sequoyah State Park at the Sequoyah Bay area beach and Ranger Creek. Taylor Ferry North is the only beach that was closed as a precaution despite having just a low risk. Herring said that’s mainly because swimming is the sole activity there. Taylor Ferry South is open because it doesn’t have a beach. “We just want people to be aware,” Herring said. “The No. 1 priority is making sure everyone’s safe.” Herring said the corps has received no reports of algae-related illness, which can include skin rashes, nausea, eye irritations, and respiratory illness. The risk-level assessments are based on recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he said. Avoiding direct contact with the water is urged only in high-risk areas, which typically are closed. People can decide for themselves whether to have direct contact with the water in low- to moderate-risk areas, Herring said.

Above, blue-green algae is shown July 1 at Grand Lake. Left, a warning sign is posted July 9 at Keystone Lake. TULSA WORLD PHOTOS

Chief named for Grand River Dam Authority BY RANDY KHRIEBEL Tulsa World randy.khriebel@tulsaworld.com

CHANDLER — Chief Operating Officer Michael Kiefner was named interim chief executive of the Grand River Dam Authority on Wednesday. The appointment was made during a GRDA meeting in Chandler at the offices of director Brent LaGere’s National American Insurance Co. LaGere, who is heading the search to succeed former CEO Kevin Easley, said about 90 applications for the job have been received. He said he expects

the list to be narrowed and candidate interviews to begin within two months. “On paper, we have some very good candidates,” LaGere said. “This time we have a much better list of candidates than last time.” Despite persistent rumors to the contrary, both LaGere and U.S. Rep Dan Boren said Boren is not a candidate for the position. The Muskogee Democrat announced last month that he will not seek re-election. Kiefner, too, said he will not be a candidate for the CEO job on a full-time basis.

Man who set his estranged wife on fire sentenced to life in prison BY NOLAN CLAY Staff Writer nclay@opubco.com

Holding a copy of the charges filed against him, defendant Jason Kenneth Dimaggio is taken in handcuffs back to jail after making a court appearance in Seminole County. PHOTO BY JIM BECKEL, THE OKLAHOMAN

Jury: Prosecutor delighted by how victims resisted FROM PAGE 11A

Two shots were fired but no one was injured before the two men ran. Samantha Crow, an employee at Ralph’s Pharmacy, pretended to lock the door when one of the men ordered it locked. She was thinking ahead about police getting into the building, Smothermon said. There was also Alice Christopher, of Tecumseh, who refused to surrender the keys to her van when threatened by two robbers outside Trinity Baptist Church. Christopher testified she was angry rather than frightened, but eventually gave up her keys at the pleas of two friends.

Webb argued that his client was innocent of at least two of the charges, mainly because he wasn’t behind of the wheel of the car that led police on a high-speed chase. Sheriff’s office investigator Travis Palmer testified that Dimaggio and his partner engaged him in a deadly game of chicken on a county road. Every time he changed lanes, the suspects’ car would speed into the same lane, traveling 100 mph toward his patrol car until he was forced off the road, he said. The suspects also nearly ran over an officer brandishing a rifle at them at a roadblock, Smothermon said. Cardenaz will be tried separately in Pottawatomie County District Court, but no date has been set. Charges in Seminole County against both have been dismissed. Smothermon said Dimaggio is wanted by authorities in California in connection with a similar crime rampage there.

A New Mexico man was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for setting his estranged wife on fire outside her Oklahoma City home last year. “It was worth it. I’d do it all over again,” George M. Rodriguez, 35, yelled to TV news cameramen as Oklahoma County sheriff’s deputies took him to a jail elevator. “She deserved it.” The victim, Laura Miller, survived but has scars on both arms, her face, neck and upper body. She told the judge Rodriguez doused her with gasoline from a pop bottle and used a lighter to ignite the fuel. “Whoosh, I went up in flames,” she said. Their three daughters witnessed the March 9, 2010, attack. After being caught, he admitted lighting the fire and said, “Hope she burns in hell,” according to testimony at his preliminary hearing. Rodriguez also was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in prison for burning

the victim’s clothes and 11 years in prison for breaking into her house. He pleaded guilty to the arson case in June. He was ordered to spend a year in jail for kicking out a police car’s window and another year in jail for contempt of court.

Consecutive sentences District Judge Jerry Bass ordered that the time be served consecutively, saying his intent was Rodriguez never be free again. “I can’t think of many more acts … that are so cruel,” the judge said to Rodriguez. The judge said to the victim, “Don’t you ever forget you’re beautiful inside.” The victim told the judge she moved to Oklahoma City with her children in 2009 to get away from Rodriguez because he drank and was violent. She said he threatened before the at-

tack to kill her and the children because she wouldn’t agree to reconcile. For a presentence report, Rodriguez wrote he had been up for nine days on methamphetamine and traveled to Oklahoma only to burn the victim’s clothes. He wrote he blew a gasket when she showed up. “I was not in my right state of mind,” he wrote. His attorney asked the judge to give Rodriguez 40 years in prison. In court, Rodriguez apologized to “my ex-wife and to the girls for the horrible thing I did.” The judge added the year in jail for contempt of court after he told Rodriguez to stop looking over at the victim and Rodriguez replied, “I can look at her if I want.”

HEALTH

EDUCATION

Warning removed

King speaks to students

A blue-green algae warning for Grand Lake has been lifted.

Students, who are part of the Four Star Debate program which was formed by retired Gen. Tommy Franks, gathered in Hobart and were surprised by a visit from the King of Jordan.

BACK PAGE

PAGE 16A

IN BRIEF

METRO | STATE A 11

EAST

THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM

CONVICTED ROBBER WILL BE SENTENCED FORMALLY MONDAY IN SERIES OF CRIMES

Jury adds 100 years to term BY ANN KELLEY Staff Writer akelley@opubco.com

Oklahoma six days earlier on a Greyhound bus. They stayed with a woman in Konawa, but ventured from her house in search of drugs, prosecutors allege.

Victims fought back Authorities said the crimes started in the parking lot of a health care clinic in Konawa. There, Ruben Brewer, 68, of SEE JURY, BACK PAGE

OSBI AGENT IS FIRST TO TESTIFY

LIFE SKILLS TAUGHT AS PART Parker’s OF BASKETBALL CAMP AT OCU attorney questions evidence

OKLAHOMA CITY

BY TIM TALLEY Associated Press

SEE TRIAL, PAGE 12A

SEE CAMP, PAGE 12A

ARDMORE

MAN SOUGHT IN SHOOTING Ardmore police announced they are seeking felony charges against Kevin D. Reynolds, 50, of Ardmore, in connection with a shooting Friday that left a woman seriously injured, police said. Reynolds is still at large. He is black, about 5-feet-10 and weighs 170 pounds. He is believed to be in the Tulsa or Dallas area. Anyone with information can call (580) 223-1212.

Cantrell Owens, 13, of Oklahoma City, practices dribbling two basketballs Wednesday at Oklahoma City University. BY TRICIA PEMBERTON Staff Writer tpemberton@opubco.com

FROM STAFF REPORTS

ONLINE SHARE NEWS

Post news on NewsOK. com by emailing mid-del@ NewsOK.com or okc@NewsOK.com. For details, go to knowit.NewsOK.com/ oklahoma-city or knowit.NewsOK.com/ midwest-city.

12A

THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

METRO | STATE

Trial: Prosecutor says defense effort is common tactic

THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM

Worker involved in controversial cases found dead BY ANN KELLEY Staff Writer akelley@opubco.com

OSBI agent Robert Williams testified Wednesday in the Bobbi Parker trial. PHOTOS BY PENNY OWEN, FOR THE OKLAHOMAN Bobbi Parker and Randy Parker are shown in Mangum on Wednesday. FROM PAGE 11A

Questions unasked Williams said investigators also did not question many of Parker’s friends and family

Continuing coverage Follow the case on NewsOK.com by searching for “Bobbi Parker.”

Stigler man, 18, faces charges in slaying BY SHEILA STOGSDILL State Correspondent

Josua Alan Bowen

was in trouble, so he went outside to the garden where his mother was and shot her once but “couldn’t finish her,” the affidavit states. Bowen said he “thought about shooting his mother one more time but just couldn’t do it,” the affidavit states. After the shooting he went inside the home and returned the gun to a safe and put the safe key in his short’s pocket, the affidavit states.

Camp: Participants taught about manners, finances FROM PAGE 11A

CHANDLER — A state child welfare worker who worked on controversial cases has taken his own life, authorities said. The body of Donald Wheeler, 64, of Chandler, was found by a friend Wednesday morning near the Chandler Baseball Camp. Police said they consider Wheeler’s death as a suicide. “We send our condolences to his family for their great loss,” said Sheree Powell, spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services. “The work we do impacts the lives of Oklahomans and we understand the pressures and demands that often accompany that work. When tragedy occurs, it not only affects immediate co-workers, but the entire agency.” Powell said the agency has counselors working with employees to help them deal with the loss, and to regain a healthy perspective on the work they do. Wheeler was a longtime DHS employee, working there since 1981. He worked in the Lincoln County office as a child welfare specialist, but was recently placed on administrative leave with pay along with three other child welfare workers involved in the Serenity Deal case. Serenity, 5, died June 4, about a month after DHS workers recommended she live with her father in Oklahoma City. Her father, Sean Devon Brooks, 31, is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the child’s death. Sources close to the case said Wheeler argued vehemently against the girl’s living with Brooks. He also worked on the highly publicized case of Kelsey Smith-Briggs, a 2-year-old who died of abuse while under the supervision of DHS. Her mother, Raye Dawn Smith, and stepfather, Michael Lee Porter, were convicted of enabling child abuse in connection with her death. It was never determined in court who killed Kelsey. In recent years, at least two other children who had cases handled by child welfare workers in the Lincoln County office have been killed. Melissa Ellison, 5, of Prague, was beaten to death in 2002 by her father and dumped near Meeker. Aja Johnson, 7, who once lived in Davenport, was kidnapped and killed in early 2010 by her stepfather. The Oklahoman has not found that Wheeler was directly involved in those two cases.

THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM

METRO | STATE

THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

13A

Edmond firefighters give fans to charity BY DIANA BALDWIN Staff Writer dbaldwin@opubco.com

EDMOND — The string of 100-degree days prompted the Edmond Firefighters Association to donate 35 fans to the Hope Center. The fans will be given to the center’s clients upon request, said Brenda Chambers, Hope Center financial coordinator. The firefighters association is made up of 120 Edmond firefighters who belong to the local union. “We thought this was a way to give back to the community,” said Maj. Bill Brown, association vice president. “It is a small token of how we can help before there is a heat-related incident — kind of a preemptive strike against high temperatures.” Firefighters teamed with Lowe’s Home Improvement, 2401N Kelly Ave., to donate the fans. Hope Center officials said 10 to 15 people a week

request a fan when the weather is extremely hot. “We always run out of fans before the summer is over,” Chambers said. “We are glad to have the fans. “Older people do not want to spend their money on utilities. The fan helps move the air.” People wanting a fan must live in Edmond. They are required to prove their residency with a piece of mail received in the past 30 days or a utility bill and photo identification. For more information, go to the Hope Center, 1251 N Broadway, or call 348-1340. Maj. Bill Brown, vice president of the Edmond Firefighters Association; Martha Strecker, Hope Center board member; and David Smith, Lowe’s assistant store manger, hold fans the Edmond Firefighters Association purchased to help during hot weather. PHOTO BY PAUL B. SOUTHERLAND, THE OKLAHOMAN

Bacteria tests to continue at Arcadia Lake RECREATION | TWO SWIMMING BEACHES WERE TEMPORARILY CLOSED OVER E. COLI DIANA BALDWIN Staff Writer dbaldwin@opubco.com

Members of the Edmond Memorial High School Color Guard wash cars in a parking lot at 33rd Street and Boulevard to raise funds for their group. PHOTOS BY PAUL HELLSTERN, THE OKLAHOMAN

EDMOND HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS WASH CARS FOR COLOR GUARD

Carolyn Kronenberger scrubs a car.

Jesika Plum dries off a sport utility vehicle.

Abby Jones, left, and Callie Osmus hose down a car, as members of the Edmond Memorial High School Color Guard wash cars.

SENIORS OKLAHOMA COUNTY SENIOR MENUS For July 18-22 Monday — Chicken-fried steak, gravy, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, wheat bread, orange, milk. Tuesday — Ham, scalloped potatoes, broccoli, wheat bread, cake, milk. Wednesday — Tuna salad, tomato soup, corn salad, wheat bread, pineapple gelatin, milk.

Thursday — Beans, rice and sausage, steamed cabbage, Harvard beets, cornbread, applesauce, milk. Friday — Baked chicken salad, sweet potatoes, green beans, wheat bread, mixed fruit, milk. Menus are subject to change without notice. For more information, call 949-2709.

NUTRITION SITES The Oklahoma County Senior Nutrition Program operates 17

dining sites, open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. To find a site, call 949-2709.

ACTIVITIES Senior activities are available daily at Will Rogers Senior Activity Center, 3501 Pat Murphy Drive, and at Woodson Park Senior Activity Center, 3401 S May Ave. For a schedule, call Will Rogers at 942-4339 or Woodson Park at 681-3266.

EDMOND — Weekly tests of Arcadia Lake’s water will be conducted for the rest of the summer following recent bacteria contamination, city officials said. Two swimming beaches at the lake were shut down Friday after a test showed higher-than-acceptable levels of E. coli in the water. The beaches were reopened Monday after a subsequent test showed acceptable levels of bacteria. Officials said a large number of geese at the lake this summer may have contributed to the high level of bacteria. The dry, hot weather, still waters and lack of rain are other factors. Edmond Parks Director Jim Bowlin said, “The water superintendent called the situation ‘a perfect storm.’ ” Jim Harris, an environmental biologist with the Tulsa District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said E. coli is found in animal and human waste. The corps is working to determine the source of

Officials said a large number of geese at the lake this summer may have contributed to the high level of bacteria. The dry, hot weather, still waters and lack of rain are other factors.

the waste, but it’s most likely from the large population of geese, Harris said. City officials said they plan to keep testing the water weekly throughout the summer. The tests are done Wednesdays. Friday’s closure was the first time beaches at the lake have been closed because of contamination, said Earl London, superintendent of park operations for the city. Last year, the beaches were closed because of flooding. CONTRIBUTING: STAFF WRITER TRICIA PEMBERTON

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THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM

METRO | STATE

Norman opts out of cities league GOVERNMENT | OFFICIALS CHOOSE STREET SWEEPING INSTEAD BY JANE GLENN CANNON Staff Writer jcannon@opubco.com

NORMAN — City council members have chosen to put money into a street sweeping program rather than pay dues to belong to the Oklahoma Municipal League. A divided council debated hours Tuesday before voting to end the city’s participation in the state’s largest municipal government lobbying organization. The council voted 5-3 to transfer $72,375 from the city’s Oklahoma Municipal League account into the public works department’s street-sweeping account. The money originally was earmarked to pay membership dues for this fiscal year. Voting against the action were Carol Dillingham, Dan Quinn and Jim Griffith. Mayor Cindy Rosenthal, who is vice president of the Municipal League’s board of directors, was absent. The resolution to deplete the Municipal League account and put the money into street sweeping was one of several resolutions placed on the agenda late last week at the request of Councilman Tom Kovach. City Manager Steve Lewis said staff had no time to research any of the resolutions and therefore had no recommendations on whether they should be passed.

Methods questioned

Cool shelter from the summer rain Tonya Keene is prepared for rain Tuesday as she walks under an umbrella into a grocery store at 12th Avenue NE and Alameda Street in Norman. PHOTO BY STEVE SISNEY, THE OKLAHOMAN

Norman council spars over new resolutions BY JANE GLENN CANNON Staff Writer jcannon@opubco.com

NORMAN — Councilman Tom Kovach said difficulty in getting items on an agenda for public discussion prompted him to introduce a resolution setting guidelines for the process. Kovach on Tuesday also introduced an ordinance identical to the resolution, which he said would “codify” the resolution. It states an item would be placed on an agenda if three council members requested it. The resolution and proposed ordinance sparked an acrimonious debate in which Kovach accused Councilwoman Carol Dillingham of stonewalling in an effort to delay a vote. Dillingham countered that Kovach was pushing it through without allowing staff to research it for legalities. “I’m offended to the core that you would accuse me of stonewalling,” Dillingham said. As written, she said, “I believe it conflicts with our charter … and I’m baffled as to why we would need both an ordinance and a

resolution that are identical.” Kovach also introduced an ethics ordinance, a resolution clarifying the council’s position on the state’s Open Meeting Act and a resolution that diverted money earmarked for Oklahoma Municipal League dues to the public works department to be used for street sweeping. All the measures passed with a 5-3 vote, with Dillingham, James Griffith and Dan Quinn voting against them. The proposed ordinances on agenda items and ethics were voted on twice, failing on the first go-round when Councilwoman Linda Lockett voted with Dillingham, Griffith and Quinn on a motion to table the matters until Aug. 9. After a recess, Lockett moved to reconsider the items because she wanted to change her vote. The ordinances will come up for a final vote at the next regular council meeting, scheduled for July 26.

Questions linger Resident Ben Alpers raised a question as to the legality of how the resolutions and proposed ordi-

nances got on Tuesday’s agenda. In a follow-up email Wednesday to the council, he asked Kovach, Lockett and Councilmen Roger Gallagher, Hal Ezzell and Dave Spaulding to make public a record of the discussions they had that led to the items being put on Tuesday’s agenda. “This rather unusual process has shielded the method through which this legislation was actually drafted from the public eye,” Alpers wrote. “I am in the process of determining how much of this legislative history is in fact discoverable under the Open Meetings and Records Act.” Alpers said he wants to know “the times, dates and places” of any meetings to discuss the items. Kovach has said he discussed the items with three city council candidates before they were seated. Alpers said he wants to know why staff members were not consulted in the drafting of the proposed resolutions and how it was determined that the Oklahoma Municipal League membership dues should go to street sweeping.

In an email, Rosenthal, who is on vacation, said Kovach’s method of getting the resolutions on the agenda without prior public discussion or allowing staff time to analyze them was unprecedented in her seven years on council. “Typically, the agenda is set more than a week in advance and agenda books are printed on Thursday. The staff expressed concern that some of the five resolutions raised conflict with the city charter. None of the items has been reviewed by staff or a council committee or received (prior) public input,” she said. Other resolutions included one that clarified the city’s position on the state’s Open Meeting Act and one that set a policy on how council members could get items on an agenda. Kovach said he discussed the resolutions with three new council members before they took their oaths of office last week, “and they indicated they supported them. I asked the city manager to put them on the agenda. It’s not the way I like to get things on the agenda, but I felt like it was the only way.” Maintaining Lake Thunderbird’s water quality is critical, Kovach said, “and one of the things we can do and should do is more street sweeping.”

Effect unclear Dillingham said the council lacked any evidence that adding $72,375 to the street-sweeping budget would have an

Typically, the agenda is set more than a week in advance and agenda books are printed on Thursday. The staff expressed concern that some of the five resolutions raised conflict with the city charter. None of the items has been reviewed by staff or a council committee or received (prior) public input.” MAYOR CINDY ROSENTHAL

impact on the water quality of Lake Thunderbird. “It’s a nonsensical trade,” she said, noting that she received numerous emails from Ward 4 constituents urging that the city maintain its Municipal League membership. “Our staff does not have the time to review every piece of legislation introduced each year and analyze how it affects municipalities. OML does. OML has our back,” she said. Griffith said the lobbying organization earns money for the city annually through its legislative efforts. “They are the watchdog. They are our lobbyists. Our participation in the organization is extremely critical to the state’s third-largest city,” he said. Griffith said the state has 393 cities, “and 390 of them belong to OML. That should tell you something.” “OML does some good. It fills in the gaps, but it is not like we are being cut out, or the sky is falling,” Councilman Roger Gallagher said. Gallagher said the city can still use the organization as a resource without being a member and that spending more money on street sweeping seemed a better use of taxpayers’ money. “One street sweeper dumping three loads a day can remove 15 tons of debris from the streets. That’s a lot of debris,” he said. Resident Caroline Stager said the Municipal League was “an essential source of expertise and research. Towns and cities are not islands and should not act as if they were.” Withdrawing from the organization “is an isolationist move. This is an issue that goes to the heart of good government. I think it is an irresponsible move,” Stager said.

Norman program for female inmates sets fundraiser dinner FROM STAFF REPORTS

NORMAN — Those inter-

ested in supporting a program that helps rehabilitate female jail inmates are invited to a potluck dinner at 6 p.m. Thursday at McFarlin Memorial United Methodist Church, University Boulevard and Apache Street. The Second Chance Act Program, also known as SCAP, gives nonviolent offenders a chance to re-acclimate into society by helping them with housing, food, counseling and employment. Cleveland County Sher-

MORE INFORMATION For more information, call Beth Jones at 3103684.

iff Joe Lester introduced the program in 2009. It is sponsored by the sheriff’s office and funded through a Second Chance Act grant administered by the U.S. Justice Department. Director Rock Richardson and coordinator Beth Jones visit jail inmates several times a week, enrolling them in the program and working with those scheduled to be released,

Lester said. According to the state Corrections Department, 3,000 women were arrested in Cleveland County in 2010. Thirty were sentenced to prison. Jones said the program’s goal is to divert women from jail and reintroduce them to the community. About 140 women are enrolled in S-CAP, Jones said.

Norman art center features faculty work FROM STAFF REPORTS

NORMAN — Faculty art-

ists at the Firehouse Art Center will be honored at a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at the center, 444 S Flood Ave. Works by the faculty are on exhibit through Aug. 1.

INFORMATION For information, call 329-4523.

The gallery is open to the public from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays

through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Artists from each medium taught at the Firehouse Art Center are represented in the exhibit, including painting, fiber, stone carving, jewelry and sculpture. The reception is free and open to the public.

CALENDAR THURSDAY

SATURDAY

Scrabble Club, 4 p.m., Game HQ, 1620 SW 89, 691-0509.

Oklahoma State UniversityOklahoma City Farmers Market, 8 a.m., 400 N Portland Ave.

Railroad underpass construction closes westbound lane

FRIDAY

Work continues on construction of a railroad underpass on Robinson Street. The westbound outside traffic lane on Robinson is closed this week through Friday. City officials say the underpass is on target for a January completion date.

State Health Department Wellness Farmers Market, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1000 NE 10, 271-9444, ext. 56433.

PHOTO BY STEVE SISNEY, THE OKLAHOMAN

MONDAY Del City Council, 6 p.m., city hall, 4517 SE 29.

THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM

THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

METRO | STATE

Reading program unfunded for first time in 13 years BY MEGAN ROLLAND Staff Writer mrolland@opubco.com

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ONLINE Blog Read more education news on NewsOK’s Education Station blog. BLOG.NEWSOK.COM/ EDUCATIONSTATION

Skiatook district’s ex-chief Charge dropped against ex-mayor admits taking vendor’s bribe BY SUSAN HYLTON

Tulsa World susan.hylton@tulsaworld.com

BY RHETT MORGAN Tulsa World rhett.morgan@tulsaworld.com

SKIATOOK — A Skiatook Public Schools patron who oversaw a grassroots effort to investigate Gary Johnson said the district’s former superintendent deserves imprisonment for crimes he admitted to Wednesday. Johnson, 56, of Tulsa, pleaded guilty to four charges of accepting cash bribes totaling $10,000 from an Oklahoma City vendor for district custodial supplies and security equipment. Also filed Wednesday were four counts of bribery of a public official/ employee against the vendor, Rick Enos, 58, who is accused of bribing Johnson for the same amounts. “It disgusts me that a man who’s making over $160,000 or whatever a year sells out his public trust for a few thousand dollars and lets this guy take a half a million dollars from the kids who had trusted him,” said Rob Ridenour, an attorney and Skiatook school patron who spearheaded a Tulsa County grand jury petition against Johnson. “Taking money in envelopes while you’re at the school administration office is craven, disgusting behavior. He deserves to go to prison for it. And Enos does, too. That ought to put him under the jail.” Johnson, in a written statement released after his plea in Tulsa County District Court, said his actions “represent a breach of the trust that had been placed in me by the students, parents, teachers and officials in Skiatook.” Grand jury indictments unsealed in June 2010 accused Johnson, who resigned last summer, of embezzlement and bribery of a public official in connection with a state audit

Gary Johnson

that found overspending by the school district for supplies and equipment. The indictments were returned four months after a state audit found that the school district paid Enos — through his Oklahoma City companies E&E Sales and Austin Security — $570,000 more than it would have paid for custodial supplies and security equipment had it bought them directly. According to the audit, the district paid an Enos company as much as $29.95 — a markup of 892 percent — for a dust-mop handle that could have been bought for $3.02.

issued Wednesday for Enos. “I believe that Gary Johnson has accepted responsibility for his criminal activity,” Harris said. “We want justice for the taxpayers. We want justice for the children that suffered because of his actions. He understands that. I understand that.” The face-to-face money exchanges, believed by Johnson to be as much as $28,800 in 2008, normally occurred at Johnson’s administrative office. However, other exchanges are believed to have occurred in Norman, Oklahoma City, Dallas and Seattle, according to an affidavit filed by Tulsa County sheriff’s office investigator Ronald Emmons, a certified public accountant and certified fraud investigator. It was understood the give-and-take was to be kept secret and that Johnson was to continue to recommend that the school district order janitorial supplies and security equipment from Enos, E&E Sales and Austin Security, the affidavit claims.

Edmond dentist dies in bulldozer accident BY DIANA BALDWIN Staff Writer dbaldwin@opubco.com

Dr. Tracey Allen Vick

Non-Discriminatory Notices 774 APPLICATION # 1200210041 NOTICE OF PUBLICATION Rule 3:113 (c) BEFORE THE CORPORATION COMMMISSION OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the applicant, Sheridan Production Company, LLC, 9 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1300, Houston, Texas 77046 has heretofore filed an application with the UIC Department at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to inject fluids into the LEASE AND WELL: FITTS WEST UNIT 29-14 LOCATION: NW-NW-SW SEC 25-T2N-R6E, PONTOTOC COUNTY The applicant submits the following information: Type: Enhanced Recovery Injection Well; INJECTION ZONE AND DEPTH: CHIMNEY HILL, VIOLA, BROMIDE, & MCLISH between 36704396; INJECTION PRESSURE AND RATE: ANTICIPATE MAXIMUM 5000 B-D @ 1835 PSI NOTICE is further given that all interested persons may inquire for information concerning this matter by contacting: Sheridan Production Company, LLC Attn: Niki Grover, Engineer 9 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1300 Houston, Texas 77046 713-548-1000 APPLICATION # 1200210040 NOTICE OF PUBLICATION Rule 3:113 (c) BEFORE THE CORPORATION COMMMISSION OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the applicant, Sheridan Production Company, LLC, 9 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1300, Houston, Texas 77046 has heretofore filed an application with the UIC Department at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to inject fluids into the LEASE AND WELL: FITTS WEST UNIT 37-17 LOCATION: C-N2-NW SEC 31-T2N-R7E, PONTOTOC COUNTY The applicant submits the following information: Type: Enhanced Recovery Injection Well; INJECTION ZONE AND DEPTH: VIOLA between 3643-3894; INJECTION PRESSURE AND RATE: ANTICIPATE MAXIMUM 5000 B-D @ 1821 PSI NOTICE is further given that all interested persons may inquire for information concerning this matter by contacting: Sheridan Production Company, LLC Attn: Niki Grover, Engineer 9 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1300 Houston, Texas 77046 713-548-1000

Non-Discriminatory Notices 774 The Moore Public School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, age or disability in admission to its programs, services, or activities, in access to them, in treatment of individuals, or in any aspect of their operations. The Moore Public School District also does not discriminate in its hiring or employment prac-

tices. Vocational programs offered by the Moore Public School District include: Agricultural Education, Business and Information Technology Education, Family and Consumer Science Education, Marketing Education, and Technology Engineering. Questions, complaints, or requests for additional information regarding this policy may be forwarded to the designated compliance coordinator. Mr. Robert Romines, Assistant Superintendent 1500 SE. 4th St., Moore, Oklahoma 73160 (405) 735-4200 Days/Hours Available: Monday through Friday/8:00 - 4:30 p.m. This notice is available from the compliance coordinator in large print, on audiotape, in Braille, and computer bulletin boards.

NOTICE OF SALE OF PERSONAL PROPERTY OF DEFAULTED TENANTS IN STORAGE UNITS AT PREFERRED SELF-STORAGE, 2250 N. DOUGLAS BLVD., MIDWEST CITY, OK. 73141 ON Friday July 22nd, 2011 at 12:00 PM. Contents of each unit will be sold as unit to the highest bidder. Unit E22 Asa Gray 8618 NE 34th Place Spencer, Ok. 73084 NOTICE OF PUBLICATION Notice of Public Sale July 22, 2011 10:00 A.M. RitePlace Storage 8706 S. Shields Blvd. Oklahoma City, OK 73149 Phone # 634-6008 ADVERTISEMENT OF WAREHOUSEMAN’S SALE: Notice is hereby given, pursuant to Section 196 of Oklahoma Statutes. Title 42, the undersigned warehouseman claims lien upon the goods stored, held for the account as set forth below, to-wit: Michael Richardson, P.O. BOX 95364, Oklahoma City, OK 73143 Sectional sofa, bookcase, chair, night stand, basket, headboard, and lots of other miscellaneous items Jame Vallejo, 805 Parkview Circle, Moore, OK 73170 Baby changing table, baby walker, Christmas items, table, boxes, totes, and other miscellaneous items Marie Griffin, 2613 Queensbury Rd., Moore, OK 73160 Soda fountain machine, totes, boxes, and other miscellaneous items Vanessa Medrano, 1701 Tahoe Ln., Yukon, OK 73099 Toys, bicycle, generator, refrigerator and other miscellaneous items Deidra Tipton, 1008 N. Norman Ave., Moore, OK 73160 Sofa, round dining room table and chairs and miscellaneous items Tera Martinez, 911 N.W. 28th, Moore, OK 73160 Futon, headboards, dresser, night stand, mirror, and other miscellaneous items Blair Smith, 2516 S.W. 103rd , Oklahoma City, OK 73159 Stackable washer & dryer, refrigerator, Hairdresser Equipment (dryer chairs, shampoo bowl, accessories, etc.) wood cabinets, pictures, chairs and lots of other miscel-

NOTICE OF SALE OF PERSONAL PROPERTY OF DEFAULTED TENANTS IN STORAGE UNITS AT USTOR ROCKWELL, 5920 N. Rockwell, Bethany, OK, 73008, to begin on Thursday, July 28th, 2011 at 10:00 AM and additional auctions to be conducted consecutively and in the following order by location. Contents of units will be sold as a unit to the highest bidder for cash. Unit numbers, occupant name with last-known address and general description of personal property are: #390 Beverly Bills of 7022 NW 61st Terrace, Bethany, OK 73008 – 4 chairs, table, headboard, shelf, rocker, misc. items. U-STOR MERIDIAN 4100 N. MERIDIAN, OKC, OK 73112, #117 Steven G. Stein of 4328 N.W 39th, OKC, OK 73112 – 5 poker machines, steel table, 3 chairs. #314 Julie or Tim R Pletten of 5426A N. Meridian, OKC, OK 73112 – queen bed, 2 lamps, exercise equipment, guitar, 2 stereo & speakers, monitor, 2 space heater, bookcase, tv, floor jack, table & chairs, desk, misc. items. U-STOR NE 23rd, 8700 NE 23rd St, OKC, OK 73141, #2 Daneshia Allen of 8401 E. Reno Ave #5, OKC, Ok 73110 – washer, dryer, bbq grill, mattress, microwave, misc. items. #10 Robert Nighswonger of PO Box 1912, Choctaw, OK 73020 – dresser, recliner, chest, bike, saw, tent, baby crib, bed, mattress & box, boxes, misc. items. #16 Talia S. Miller of 1032 S. Holly Dr. MWC, OK 73110 – kids toys, boxes. #61 Serinity Outreach Recover of 824 E. Drive, OKC, OK 73105 – baby carrier, boxes. #65 Lesse Boone of 113 W. Rose Dr. MWC, Ok 73110 – mattress set, curio cabinet, sofa, misc. items. #66 Alfred Cornish of 10916 NE 59th, Spencer, OK 73084 – sofa, chair, shelf. #69 Ramona A. Kerford of 11800 E. Britton Rd. Jones, OK 73049 – sofa, bench, buffet, chair, stereo & speakers, end table, lamp, picture, clothes, misc. items. #113 Craig L. Jack of 9908 Fox Fair Hollow, MWC, OK 73130 – sofa, chair, end table, weight bench, space heater, microwave, misc. items. #188 Michael Jamison of 8652 Hillridge Drive, OKC, OK 73141 – books, records. #254 Sterling Wilson Jr. of 4220 N. Westminster, Spencer, OK 73084 – kids bike, vacuum, desk, dryer, entertainment center, misc. items. #363 Keelea M. Cavin of 11100 NE 50th, OkC, OK 73084 – sectional sofa, washer, youth bed, mattress, 2 lamps, baby play pen, coffee table, 2 end tables, misc. items. #365 Nathan D. Thompson Jr. of 5421 Broadway St. Spencer, OK 73084 – tv, mattress set, misc. items. #389/390 Andrew J. Baker of 1001 Locust Dr. MWC, OK 73110 – guitar, 2 bbq grills, rolling tool box, lawn mower, shelf, shop vac, boxes. #394 Carey Hooks of 1625 Melinda Ln, MWC, OK 73110 – washer, dryer, mattress set, fan, boxes. U-STOR RENO, 4802 E. Reno, Del City, OK 73117, #52 David J. Briggs of 535 E. Douglas, MWC, OK 73110 – curio cabinet, shelf, steel table, cart, desk, cabinet, misc. items. #70 Angela D. Johnson of 3017 Simmons Dr. Del City, OK 73115 – table, mattress, 5 chairs, clothes. #74 Vincent D. Massey of 201 Tyanne Blvd. OKC, OK 73117 – toys, dresser, end table, stereo & speakers, 2 night stands, bed frame, box springs, luggage, table, aquarium, chest, misc. items. #128 Sabrina A. Tettehfio of 3350 S. Bryant Apt 178, Del City, OK 73135 – rolling toolbox, dresser, shelf, drum set, kids toys. #130 Sabrina A. Tettehfio of 3350 S. Bryant, Del City, OK 73115 – stroller, 2 car seats, misc. items. U-STOR SE 44TH ST. 2925 SE 44th St. OKC, OK 73129, A-06 Tina K. East of 102 N W 7th, Tuttle, OK 73089 – tv, dresser, vacuum, mattresses, kids toys, misc. items. #A-15 Edward Aponte Jr. of 4737 S E 26th St. Del City, OK 73115 – tv, desk chair, sofa, lamp, table, bench, bar stools, microwave, luggage, boxes, misc. items. #G04 – James E. Jackson of 4209 S E 54th St. Apt 7D, OKC, OK 73135 – 2 suitcases, washer, boxes. #G05 Kimberly A. Slaton of 5700 S. Agnew Apt 61, OKC, OK 73119 – Stroller, kids toys, boxes. #G28 Gwendolyn N. Hall of PO Box 13091, OKC, OK 73114 – vacuum, suitcases, tv, table, boxes. #H-45 Clifford A. Wofford of 802 N W 12th #1, Moore, OK 73160 – dresser, nightstand, microwave, 2 chairs, stereo, lamp, misc. items.

laneous items Angela Prater, 10300 S. Western Ave. Apt #1207, Oklahoma City, OK 73139 Sofa, table, twin mattress, totes and other miscellaneous items UNIT I-27 RICKY SOSSAMON, 2145 S ROBINSON AVE, OKC OK 73170. MATTRESS, BOX SPRINGS, TOTES, BOXES. UNIT H-23 GLENN WILLIAMS, 2620 SE 7TH, MOORE OK 73160. CABINETS, ANTIQUE FURNITURE, TABLES, CLOTHING, BOXES. UNIT N-31 MICHAEL LYNN BELL, 4222 WILLOWWISP DR, NORMAN OK 73072. TV, BOOKSHELF, CHAIR, BOXES, , ELECTRONICS. UNIT K-21 NAOMI LEIGH PAGE, 2047 W LINDSAY, APT A, NORMAN OK 73069. FURNITURE, BEDS, CLOTHING, BOXES, TOTES AND ASSORTED GOODS. UNIT C-65 & C81 CONLEY SHOUMAKER, 1906 N BROADWAY ST APT #7A, MOORE OK

73160. DIRT BIKE, MATTRESSES, DESK, MISC. ITEMS & HOUSEHOLD GOODS. UNIT C-27 TAMMY ERDMAN, 3221 S.W. 50TH, OKC OK 73119. FURNITURE, CLOTHING, BOXES, TOTES AND ASSORTED GOODS. Will sell at Public Sale to Highest Bidder JULY 20th, 2011 at 12:00 NOON, CASH OR CREDIT CARD ONLY at 1001 SW 19th St. Moore, OK 73160. Pursuant to Title 42, Section 197 of the Oklahoma Statues, the abandoned goods stored under the listed names at A Storage for U located at 4416 SW 3rd ST. Oklahoma City OK 73108 will be sold to satisfy a landlord's lien. Sales will begin at 10am on July 29, 2011. Goods will be sold for cash to the highest bidder. Seller reserves the right to refuse any bid and or withdraw any item or items from the sale. Their names, unit numbers and last known ad-

dress are as follows: Unit #5 Sandra Hoffman 6305 N Harmon Dr. Warr Acres OK 73123 Unit #114 Joshua B. Cornelius 19300 Cornell Dr. Newalla OK 74857 Unit #146 Attica Michaels Lemon 2265 SW 49th St OKC OK 73119 Unit #212 Michelle Wise 7408 NW 23rd #119 Bethany OK 73208 Unit #290 Curtis Westbrook 512 NW 139th Edmond OK 73010 Unit #423 Chris Wise 7408 NW 23rd #119 Bethany OK 73208 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT ON THE 23rd DAY OF JULY , 2011 AT 10:00 A.M. A PUBLIC OR PRIVATE SALE WILL BE HELD FOR THE PURPOSE OF SATISFYING A LANDLORD’S LIEN ON THE CONTENTS OF DELINQUENT STORAGE ROOMS. THE SALE WILL BE HELD AT MIDAMERICA SELF STORAGE, 3900 S. BROADWAY, EDMOND, OK. 341-3962. MID-AMERICA DOES NOT NECESSARILY GUARANTEE THAT ANY OR ALL OF THE UNITS LISTED WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR SALE. CASH ONLY, $50.00 CLEAN-UP DEPOSIT REQUIRED. • E29 (10X10) ZERATE’S MEXICAN GRILL, 706 S. BROADWAY, EDM, OK 73034, RESTAURNT BOOTHS & TBLS, DOORS, RESTAURNT TRAYS • F14 (6X10) KFC, 2830 S. DOUGLAS, MWC, OK 73132, KFC COOKING OVENS, SMALL FRIDGE, MISC. ITEMS • G28 (10X10) BLAKE COCHRANE, 1800 NW 174TH, EDM, OK 73012, 3 LOVSEATS, CABINET, ENTRTMNT CTR, MISC. ITEMS • K22 (10X25) MELISSA KLAAS, 109 FOREST RETREAT RD., HENDRSNVIL, TN., 37075, DRESR, HAMMOCK, BX SPG, MATRESSES, FRT LD WASHER & DRYR & FRIDG. NOTICE OF SALE PODS Oklahoma City, hereby publishes notice, as required by Oklahoma Self-Service Storage Facility Lien Act (OK Stat. 191.7) of a public sale of the property listed below to satisfy a landlords lien. All sales are for cash to the highest bidder and are considered final. PODS Oklahoma City reserves the right to reject any bids, Auction is to Be located at: 6601 S. Air Depot Blvd. Suite A Oklahoma City 73135 and will be held at 3 PM on Friday July 29, 2011 CUSTOMER Container # Collier, Christopher M 343B74 Hankins, Dan 18A74 Robison, Jr 289B74 Woodard, Shell 8101B74 Contents include but not limited to: Household items, books, exercise equipment, stereo equipment and more.

Anyone with legal/financial interest in 1979 Yamaha XS11 VIN: 2H7028974 Call Charles 733-7680 Anyone with legal/financial interest in 1980 Honda CX500C VIN: PCO12115023 Call Charles 733-7680 Anyone having any legal interest in: 2001 Kia Vin: 2CNBJ13C316913003 or a Crestliner Mustang M8633 with an EVINRUDE LARK IX Outboard Motor CALL: 405-4761050.

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THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

Students treated to King of Jordan visit BY BRANDON GOODWIN Staff Writer bgoodwin@opubco.com

Setzer, John A. “Buck,” 65, died Tuesday. Services 10 a.m. Friday, First Baptist Church (Crews, Apache).

BETHANY

Gen. Tommy Franks speaks Wednesday at the Four Star Debate program in Hobart. PHOTO BY DAVID MCDANIEL, THE OKLAHOMAN

Gov. Mary Fallin

Hicks-Strube, Tripp Cooper, 4, died Sunday. Services 10 a.m. Friday (Ford, Midwest City).

BRISTOW Adkins, Donald, 45, died Saturday. Services 2 p.m. Friday (Hutchins Maples, Bristow).

CHEYENNE Boyett, Dorsey Kay, 68, certified nurse’s assistant, died Tuesday. Services 10 a.m. Saturday, Cheyenne First Baptist Church (Rose Chapel, Cheyenne).

CHICKASHA Guy, Don I., 75, retired from Navy, died Tuesday. Services 10 a.m. Monday (McRay, Chickasha).

COALGATE Wood, Terry Del, 55, died Monday. Services 10 a.m. Thursday (Brown’s, Coalgate).

CUSHING Fair, Evelyn M., 78, homemaker, died Tuesday. Services 1 p.m. Saturday, Mount Olive Baptist Church (Palmer & Marler, Cushing).

State plane to be used

DUNCAN

McClennen, Earl Jack, 72, racehorse owner, died Wednesday. Services 10 a.m. Saturday, Fair Baptist Church (Comanche, Comanche).

APACHE

Capitol Bureau mmcnutt@opubco.com

Tulsa World barbara.hoberock@tulsaworld.com

Clark, Carlton Phillip “Phil,” 62, retired carpenter, died Tuesday. Graveside services 10 a.m. Saturday, Rosedale Cemetery (Criswell, Ada).

BARTLESVILLE

BY MICHAEL MCNUTT

BY BARBARA HOBEROCK

ADA

Deaths

ARDMORE

HOBART — Students from