University of Central Oklahoma
THEVIsTA The Student Voice Since 1903
THURSDAY April 18, 1996
Art Building smoked for pottery class By Gayleen Langthorn Staff Writer Edmond Police and Fire Departments were dispatched to UCO at approximately 11:20 p.m. April 15 in response to smoke pouring from the Art Building. The smoke was caused by a kiln being used for raku, a Japanese style of pottery. Frank Simons, professor of visual art and design, fired up the kiln and then let it cool to 800 degrees and placed a piece of wood inside. The wood burns, reducing the oxygen in the chamber and leaving a rich pocket of carbon around the piece of pottery. This creates color changes in the pottery. Simons turned on the exhaust fan and left the kiln room door open.
"We've done this before and it filled the building with smoke, but I hadn't considered that it was drifting into a girls dorm," Simons said. He left the Art Building about 11 p.m. and when he got home at 11:25 p.m. the phone was ringing. It was the UCO police asking him about the kiln. One of those responding to the call was Battalion Chief Ben White, a former student of Simons. He knew what was happening and kept the crew from dousing the kiln with water, Simons said. "I'm sorry for the perception that there was a fire," Simons said. He explained he thought the kiln would contain the smoke. "I swear, I'll never fire the kiln that way again," Simons Dorm residents watch as fire trucks line the sidewalk behind the Art Building. (Staff photo by Laurette Graham) said.
UCO's assistant police chief describes duty on the front line By Mary Reinauer Staff Writer When UCO Assistant Police Chief Ted Jones felt the bomb's impact on April 19, 1995, he knew only that he had a job to do. It wasn't until he arrived at work at 10 a.m. that he learned the magnitude of that job. At 9:02 a.m. Jones was about 10 blocks east of the federal building on personal business. When the blast shook his car,
there were no radio reports to tell him what it was. "I thought an airplane had crashed," said Jones as he reflected on last year's tragedy. Undaunted, he continued on his way to work where he learned of the bombing. Other members of the UCO police force had already been dispatched to the scene. Jones was one of 13 officers from UCO to report to the command post at the Department of Public Safety.
Their job was to guard physical evidence for the FBI and secure what was left of the Regency Towers apartment complex across the street which sustained damage in the blast. When the officers heard of the children trapped in the rubble that housed the America's Kids day care center, "all we wanted to do was go," he said. Jones said years of discipline and practice in following orders kept him to his task at hand. "You're there to take orders
and do your job," he said. We were on point for anyone who wanted information." Around 1 p.m. Jones and UCO Police Sergeant Christy Siler were sent to the northwest corner of the federal building. "When we walked around the corner, both of us just kind of stopped," said Siler. In describing the devastation and chaos they spoke at once, sometimes pausing for the other to complete a word image. "Black." "Deep." "The air
smelled." "Serious broken glass," they said. Jones said, "(We were) in a state of mind where you just have to step back and look at it." Siler recalled, "It was like seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time. You look at it, but it's so big, so overwhelming that it doesn't seem real." Jones said he and Siler often reported to the federal building on routine police visits. "The building was gone. We V See JONES, Page 5
INSIDE TODAY INDEX Editorial 2 Sports 6, 7, 8, 9 Entertainment . 10, 11 Around Campus ... 15 Campus Crime 15 Classifieds 16
SPORTS UCO softball coach Gerry Pinkston celebrated her birthday with two wins.
ENTERTAINMENT Comic book news, a hit movie and more. See it all in the Entertainment Pages.
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PULITZER UCO alumnus Charles Porter wins a Pulitzer Prize for his photo from the OKC bombing.
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