January
29, 2008
www. thevistaonline. corn The Student Voice of the University of Central Oklahoma Since
OKC BLAZERS LEND A HAND TO LOCAL CHARITY by Megan Lee Contributing Writer
The Pros met the Joes last Tuesday as the Oklahoma City Blazers took on the Oklahoma Blaze junior wheelchair basketball team for a competition benefiting the Blaze organization. The annual match has been held between the two teams for almost a decade and activities include a silent auction to benefit the Blaze team and its members. `Mighty' Marty Standish is no stranger to this game. This was the Blazers' star center's seventh time to participate in the match. "I think it's a fun promotion, and it really gives back to the community,� Standish said. "As athletes, participating in something like this shows us how truly lucky we are to be able to do what we do." The Blaze are members of the Greater Oklahoma Disabled Sports Association, which was organized in 1983 as a non-profit group. The GODSA's mission is to sponsor and promote recreational and competitive sports for youth who require the use of a wheelchair. Dana Cutter, president of the GODSA Parent Association, stresses that no tax-supported or public school athletic programs exist for these young people. Cutter said the average basketball wheelchair costs approximately $3,000, and the kids tend to outgrow them quickly. Margaret Kierl, one of the Blaze coaches, said that other than paying for them on their
by Vista photographer Chris Albers
Adam Saldana takes a shot against the Oklahoma City Blazers hockey team at the Oklahoma Blaze charity wheelchair basketball game Tuesday in Hamilton Field House. own, one of the only other options for these families is to apply for assistance through the Challenged Athlete' Foundation. "Even this can be tricky," Kierl said. "Because each family can only apply once every two years."
Blaze team members Colin Cutter and Adam Saldana each proved to be valuable commodities throughout the game. Both boys have played GODSA sports since age four, and now at age 16, the pair are well-seasoned athletes. "I've always played bas-
ketball, tennis, and track and field," said Saldana, who is also a member of the Putnam City High School swim team. "We have grown up around this, so it's just like the sports that anyone else would play," said Cutter, a sophomore at
Miss Hispanic to speak at Informational Tea cess and the amount of time that must be dedicated. "We help them develop their platform, work on their talents and interview skills. It's a complete process so they can shine and not worry about saying the wrong thing," Brown said. Contreras said her platform last year was "to encourage the Hispanic Community to keep their heritage alive through language." Her advice to future contestants is to stay in contact with the Hispanic Community. "There's a large population and there's so much to learn," Contreras said. Last year, Contreras won Most Photogenic and Most Talented along with a $1,600 tuition waiver and $100 in cash. The Miss Hispanic UCO Pageant will be April 19, in Constitution Hall, Brown said. For more information, contact Brown at (405) 9745946.
by Jana Davis Staff Writer The Miss Hispanic UCO Scholarship Pageant Informational Tea will be held Tuesday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. in the Cherokee Room on the second floor of the Nigh University Center. "This is the ninth year for [the Miss Hispanic UCO] pageant at UCO," said Meshawn Conley, director of Multicultural Student Services. It started with Veronica Alarcon, the president of the Spanish American Student Association, she said. "She saw there was a need to celebrate the culture and intelligence of these girls," Conley said. Miss Hispanic UCO 20072008, Cecilia Contreras, broadcast sophomore, will be speaking at the Informational Tea. She will be giving testimony to her experience as Miss Hispanic UCO and advice to the new contestants. Tiffany Brown, coordinator of the Multicultural Student Services, said attending the tea was not a commitment, but rather a meeting to discuss the application pro-
Photo Provided
Cecilia Contreras, Miss Hispanic UCO 2007. There will be an informational tea tonight concerning the Miss Hispanic UCO 2008 pagent.
I NTRAMU RALS
Page 4
Jana Davis can be reached at jdavis@thevistaonline.com .
"Kind words may be short... but their echoes are endless." -Mother Theresa
Piedmont High School. "It's just what we like and what we do," he said. Both Cutter and Saldana have made fantastic qualifying times in various events at meets across the state and country. They have both competed in the Endeavor Games,
held annually at the University of Central Oklahoma each summer. "I get really frustrated when people ask me how I did at the Special Olympics; they don't seem to under-
see OK BLAZE, page 3
Bush proposes stimulus package reporters. Also, Bush will announce that an annual hemispheric meeting involving the leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico will be held in New Orleans — a major Gulf Coast tourist attraction still struggling from the disastrous Hurricane Katrina. Gillespie said the move will "demonstrate how this great American city of New Orleans is rebounding." The North American sumPresident Bush on Monday mit will be held this year night will propose a $300 milfor the fourth year. It rotates lion initiative to help provide choices for children trapped between the three participatin struggling inner-city pub- ing countries, starting in 2005 lic schools, the White House near Bush's hometown in said, describing one of a few Waco, Texas. In recent years, new proposals in his State of it has been held in Cancun, Mexico, and Montebello, the Union address. "The president has some Canada. On spending, Bush plans to concerns about the declining number of faith-based and announce his desire to reduce parochial schools in inner cit- or eliminate some 150 fedies around the country and eral programs that Gillespie low-income neighborhoods, deemed "wasteful or bloatand is going to urge Congress ed." Bush's final budget proposto enact a program he calls al to Congress is due shortly, 'Pell Grants for Kids,' " said and lawmakers for the most Bush counselor Ed Gillespie. The money would "prb- part decide which programs vide alternatives for children are trimmed or scrapped. now trapped in struggling - From Associated Press public schools," Gillespie told
INDEX
Opinion Sports Classifieds
2 9-10 8