July 28

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Keeping Stillwater Healthy Kaleb Tadpole Staff Reporter With the new, more contagious, delta variant of COVID-19 surging across the nation, there is concern about a new rise in cases in Stillwater.

“It is absolutely more concerning. We are trying to keep hospitals from being overwhelmed.

In Stillwater last year we had a lot of cases in younger folks, with the delta variant we are seeing it affect younger people more strongly.”

Stillwater Mayor Will Joyce said.

After last year’s spike in cases, hospitals in Stillwater were able to operate at a higher rate and take in more people because of laws that were passed to help fight COVID-19 at the time. Now these orders are no longer in place, hospitals are not Mayor Will Joyce speaks during the Stillwater Utilities Authority meeting at the Stillwater Municipal Building on March 11, 2019.

Noah Southard/O’Colly

See Healthy on pg.2

John Brighenti/flickr

WASHINGTON — Four Capitol and Metropolitan Police Depart-

ment officers on Tuesday recounted their experience fighting off the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol during the first hearing of a new House committee investigating the attack.

“I recall thinking to myself,

this is how I’m going to die, defending this entrance,” Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell said. “I could have lost my life that day, not once, but many times.”

Dressed in uniforms, the officers struggled at times to deliver

the emotional testimony and graphic descriptions.

At one point during a video presentation, Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Fanone placed his See Capitol on pg.3

Page 2 Wednesday, July 28, 2021

News Healthy...

Continued from pg.1 able to function the way they were.

“With all the positive activity, we are seeing rises in cases and hospitalizations. Hospitals are not able to like they were, the hospital is dealing with a staffing problem, people are exhausted and fatigued after last year. With the concern of healthcare being able to treat people, we need to do what we can to keep people healthy.” Joyce Said.

Keeping everyone healthy is at the top of everyone’s mind heading into what should be the most normal school year at OSU since 2019. With full capacity at sporting events and a maskless school year, students are looking forward to the new year at OSU. But with normalcy comes realization. For things to continue to progress and get better, people need to get vaccinated. In a town like Stillwater, everyone and everything is and has been affected by this pandemic.

“If our football team has to forfeit a football game, it affects so many people, players, campus, stores, it’s a huge part of the community that gets affected. I hope people understand that.” Joyce said.

It is a domino effect for the small town of Stillwater, athletic events bring in more people, which also brings in more revenue for small businesses. If those athletic events get cancelled, the town takes a huge hit.

With the population of Stillwater being primarily younger people, vaccination efforts have been centered around getting younger people vaccinated and answering any questions or concerns people may have about the vaccine.

Right around the corner is a new school year for students at OSU but could we see a new mask mandate put in place this fall?

“I don’t, just from a practical standpoint. Because of the changes in laws, the university and the school district are prohibited from mandating unless a statewide emergency order.” Joyce said.

Instead of another mask mandate, Joyce says there is a clear solution when it comes to COVID. “Very clear solution, more people get vaccinated, it’s free and available, no reason folks shouldn’t be at least talking to their doctors about it,” Joyce said. news.ed@ocolly.com

ONLY ONE WAY TO GOD! Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father(God) except through me .” (Jn.14:6 NIV) Peter said, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 NIV) Paul said, “ For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men...” (1 Tim.2:56 NIV) The same essential message was declared by the major players in the New Testament Scriptures; Jesus, Peter and Paul. Jesus told his followers to go into all the world with this good news. God has made a way so mankind could be reconciled to their maker. The plan, hidden in God for centuries, now is made manifest. It is different in that it was a salvation that came from God and not man. God had done for man what was needed, but what man could not accomplish. Only God could do this..

“...God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing (charging) their trespasses unto them...” (2Co..5:19 KJV) “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly...God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Ro.5:6,8 NIV) God has done for us, what we could not do, and we are to tell everyone the good news. God freely offers you forgiveness and a new life.

It is offered free only through this one who died for us and rose again. Jesus Christ is the way. He declared it while still on the earth, and those disciples who followed made the same claim. There is only one way; there is only one savior. Many are proclaiming different ways; they will prove false. Those who open their hearts to Christ, come to him and trust him will find that what God promises is real. Prove it for yourself!

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Continued from pg.1 hand on Gonell’s shoulder and whispered in his ear. Others dabbed their eyes with tissues, cleared their throats repeatedly and paused to drink water throughout their testimony.

Gonell said he was more scared on Jan. 6 than he was during his Army tour of duty in Iraq. He said when he arrived home at 4 a.m. on Jan. 7, he could not even hug his wife because his uniform was so soaked in chemical irritants he had been sprayed with. He faces multiple surgeries from his injuries and at least a year of rehabilitation.

Tuesday’s hearing, which was meant to set the tone for what is expected to be a monthslong investigation, focused primarily on the officers and what they experienced fighting off the melee for several hours. Some Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, have sought to downplay the event as a largely peaceful protest that got out of control.

“Even though there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary, including hours and hours of video and photographic coverage, there is a

continuous and shocking attempt to ignore or try to destroy the truth of what truly happened that day and to whitewash the facts,” Gonell said.

Speaking for more than three hours, officers discussed seeing protesters carrying knives and metal batons, and breaking apart barricades to use the pieces as weapons. They recounted people in the crowd trying to gouge out their eyes and threatening to kill them with their own gun.

They recalled fighting the rioters despite concussions and broken bones, being shocked with cattle prods and sprayed with wasp and bear spray.

Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn said he received no warning of a threat from the chain of command when he took his post Jan. 6 “We expected any demonstrators to be peaceful expressions of 1st Amendment freedoms, just like the scores of demonstrations we had observed for many years,” Dunn said.

Hours later, after hearing repeated racial slurs from the mob, Dunn, who is Black, recalled performing CPR on one of the attackers, fighting to save her life in Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s office.

“More than six months later, Jan. 6 isn’t over for me,” he said.

The House created the committee to investigate the attack after Senate Republicans blocked the creation of a nonpartisan independent commission. House Republican

leaders declined to participate in the committee when Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., rejected two representatives picked by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

Pelosi said the two men — Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Jim Banks of Indiana — made past comments supporting Trump’s lie that the election was stolen and downplaying the riot. She said their participation would compromise the integrity of the investigation.

At a news conference before the hearing, Republicans accused Pelosi of blocking the two members because she feared they would ask tough questions, saying the investigation is a sham with a preset outcome.

“Nancy Pelosi bears responsibility as speaker of the House for the tragedy that occurred on January 6,” said the third-most powerful House Republican, Elise Stefanik of New York.

Pelosi named two Republicans to the committee, Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois.

Cheney said at the hearing Tuesday that not investigating the Jan. 6 attack would leave a cancer that would reappear every four years and threaten the peaceful transfer of power between presidents.

“Until Jan. 6 we were proof positive for the world that a na-

tion conceived in liberty could long endure. But now Jan. 6 threatens our most sacred legacy,” she said.

Cheney said the question for Congress and every American is: “Do we hate our political adversaries more than we love our country and revere our Constitution? I pray that is not the case.”

The melee sent lawmakers and former Vice President Mike Pence fleeing to safe rooms and briefly delayed the certification of President Joe Biden’s win in the Electoral College.

The committee has been instructed to examine what occurred before the attack, including if white supremacist groups coordinated the attack and what the Trump administration might have known in advance, how Trump’s repeated lies about the election may have inspired rioters, and what intelligence failures caused police to be underprepared and allowed attackers to take control of the country’s legislative seat of power for several hours.

At least 140 officers were injured — some permanently — and five people died either in the melee or in the hours after, including a police officer. Two officers died by suicide in the days after the attack.

Damage estimates exceed $1 million. news.ed@ocolly.com

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Page 4 Wednesday, July 28, 2021

sports ing the end of the Big 12 as we know it Dean Ruhl Sports Editor

Brian Bahr STILLWATER, OK - OCTOBER 31: Quarterback Sam Ehlinger #11 of the Texas Longhorns throws against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the second quarter at Boone Pickens Stadium on October 31, 2020 in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Even Vegas wouldn’t have taken your bet a week ago.

This past Monday, only a select few individuals in Texas and Oklahoma’s athletic departments and president’s offices knew this was going to happen. Now, the nation knows of its attempt to move to the SEC. Up to this point it was rumors, albeit from reliable sources. But Monday gave those rumors an air of officiality.

The Longhorns and Sooners released a joint statement Monday, informing the Big 12 they would not be renewing their grantof-rights in 2025.

“Providing notice to the Big 12 at this point is important in advance of the expiration of the conference’s current media rights agreement,” the statement read. “The universities intend to honor their existing grant of rights agreements.

However, both universities continue to monitor the rapidly evolving collegiate athletics landscape as they consider how best to position their athletics programs

for the future.”

The two schools, instrumental in forming the Big 12 in 1994, are the sole reasons the conference will likely crumble.

And if the Big 12 doesn’t disband, OU and UT’s departure will be the reason the conference is unrecognizable.

The abrupt news about the school’s expected departure continues - and will continue - to snowball. Less than a week into the news breaking, things are moving at an exponential pace.

In OU and UT’s statement, the school’s claim to remain in the conference until 2025. They leave the door open for an early departure too, but would have to burden themselves with a roughly $80 million buyout.

Regardless of when they leave, the unexpected news has thrown the remaining eight teams into a frenzy.

When the Big 12 absorbed only half of the now defunct Southwest Conference in 1994, it left SMU, Rice, TCU and Houston to fend for themselves.

It once again looks like eight more teams will be stranded in college football purgatory at the hand of the Sooners and Longhorns.

Now matter how you look at it, this is the end of the Big 12 as we know it. sports.ed@ocolly.com

sports

Realignment rumors OSU, the Big 10 and AAU membership Dean Ruhl Sports Editor Academics and athletics.

It is a ying and yang at any university. It draws stereotypes to mind on each side. Bu the truth is, when athletics is looking to join a new conference, like many Big 12 schools currently, academics has a huge impact.

Texas and Oklahoma are expected to formally inform the Big 12 their intention to leave Monday. The remaining eight Big 12 schools have already started to scramble to find a new home.

A school’s academics will be a determining factor, and could be the difference between a school joining the Big 10 versus the Pac-12 or ACC. A tradition in the Big 10 is each school must be a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), and classified as a “research I university” by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

66 universities are in the AAU, and 131 have Carnegie I classifications. Any school in the AAU also has a Carnegie I classification.

All 14 Big 10 schools have both designations, and it can be assumed any university wanting to join is going to need both.

Of current Big 12 teams, only three have both. Iowa State has been a member of the AAU since 1958, Kansas since 1909 and Texas since 1929.

Texas clearly isn’t looking for a spot in the Big 10, but ISU and

Rod Aydelotte Oklahoma State wide receiver Dillon Stoner, right, pulls down a touchdown pass over Baylor cornerback Raleigh Texada, left, in the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020, in Waco, Texas, in the first half.

Kansas are. Proximity and academics give those schools good odds of becoming members if the Big 12 collapses.

An exception might be made for Oklahoma State.

According to Dylan Buckingham of KFOR, the Cowboys have been proactive in searching for a new conference, with the Big 10 on their radar.

OSU has a Carnegie I classification, but isn’t a member of the AAU, but Buckingham said this could be overlooked.

I’m told the Big 10 has been receptive and is looking into how

a partnership could work,” Buckingham said on Twitter. “The AAU accreditation might not be a deal breaker.”

Buckingham continued, saying talks are just exploratory at this point. He said nothing is imminent, and OSU isn’t guaranteed membership.

For OSU to get an AAU membership, it would have to be via invite. AAU membership is offered periodically, based on research spending, the percentage of faculty who are members of the National Academies, faculty awards and citations.

The Cowboys would require a three fourths vote in favor of them joining by the other member schools to be accepted.

Somewhat ironic. As OU and UT need a three fourths vote to join the SEC, the Cowboys need a three fourths vote to possibly join a new conference.

If the Big 10 doesn’t work in favor of OSU, the Cowboys have other options to explore. The Pac-12 is the next realistic option for membership, and even the ACC could be viable. sports.ed@ocolly.com

Page 6 Wednesday, July 28, 2021

sports ‘OSU is dedicated to the state of Oklahoma’ Shrum sounds off in wake of OU and Texas statement to Big 12

Chris Becker Assistant Sports Editor On Monday, the next domino fell toward Oklahoma and Texas’ move to the SEC. The schools released a joint statement informing the Big 12 they would not renew their grant of media rights in 2025.

In the wake of the statement, the Oklahoma State’s new president, Dr. Kayse Shrum, released a strongly-worded statement condemning the actions OSU’s fellow in-state university.

“This action was strategic, deliberate and results from months of planning with the SEC,” Shrum said. “These conversations, which developed over a long period, are a clear breach of the Big 12 Conference bylaws and broke the decades-long bond of trust between our universities. It is difficult to understand how an Oklahoma institution of higher education would follow the University of Texas to the detriment of the state of Oklahoma.”

OSU’s next move is still in the works, and could be for some time. Shrum said she is looking for what is best for the university.

“Regardless of what comes next, OSU is dedicated to the state of Oklahoma,” Shrum said. “We remain confident OSU is in the strongest position ever, and I am excited about the future of Oklahoma State University, our landgrant mission, world-class faculty and top-notch athletic programs” Joshua Cleary

sports.ed@ocolly.com

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To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.

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Page 8 Wednesday, July 28, 2021