Hospital offers CSU stomps Payne classes...page 4 31-7...page 6
THE September 30, 1986 Vol. 85, No. 9
Homecoming queen crowned...page 7
-VISTA
Tuesday Edition
Central State University, Edmond, Oklahoma
Photographic services: Dan Hoke
Thatcher Lake, in front of the University Center, sported more than 40 students making the best of a rainy Monday afternoon. Top right: several students create their own 'water sports'; — bottom left: Shawn Slavin goes tubing down Thatcher River; center: Michael Smith waits for the big bite; top: Kim Griffith and Kim McMahom (left to right) observe the afternoon's activities in a more 'conservative' fashion.
Candidate recommends 'less government' By Kim Voynar Associate Editor "Less government is the best government," declared Rep. Nelson "Freckles" Little in a campaign speech to a political science class Friday. Little, who is running as an Independent candidate in the gubernatorial race, spoke to four political science classes about his
Nelson 'Freckles' Little
views and campaign platform. Little claims the state is very close to a Chapter 11 — bankruptcy — and said he feels Gov. George Nigh has "absolutely ruined this state." Little also said he feels the biggest problem Oklahoma has is big government. Part of his platform said he plans to "restore the government back into the hands of the people, so they can become the masters, and the elected officials and government employees can be the servants." "We need to get rid of all the relatives of the elected officials — about 15,000 people," Little said. "We've got people sitting around reading newspapers all day trying to act busy. And they're the ones in the highest paid positions. It's all part of the 'buddy-buddy' system. You can't even track it — that's how big it is." Little also claimed the news media invented the under-thetable pay-off. He said the state's three biggest newspapers, the Daily Oklahoman, Tulsa Tribune and Tulsa World, have frozen him out. "They don't want me to tell the truth about what's going on," he said. "Whoever pays the most
gets the most coverage. Most elected officials only care about being re-elected, that's all." 48 percent of the legislature are lawyers, Little said, and they "kill all the good bills." Almost everything in the House of Representatives is done by committee, he added. "The committee votes aren't recorded because they don't want the people to know how they voted," he said. Little said another big problem the state has is a lack of new industry. He said corporations won't come to Oklahoma anymore because the system has cheated the corporations that are already here. For example, Little said General Motors was promised a 10 year tax exemption, which was then declared illegal. He said GM was then sued by the state for back taxes and had to pay $13 million. Little also cited another case in Hydra, Ok. He said a group of farmers pooled together their life savings to build a Gasohol plant using surplus wheat. The state Legislature voted to give the farmers a five year tax exemption, he said.
In October 1979, 18 months before the exemption expired, the Legislature voted to take it away. Little said the Gasohol plant had to close and the farmers lost their money. However, he said he wasn't sure if the plant had reopened yet. Little also spoke on behalf of Lt. Gov. Spencer Bernard. He claimed Nigh didn't do anything to bring the Japanese plant to Norman. "Bernard did it. He brought more industry to the state than everyone else put together," Little said. "But Nigh, Cleta Mitchell and the press saw to it that he didn't make it back in, and the state lost a good public servant." Little said he also wants a federal investigation of the Horse Racing Commision. He said he wants the state government's involvement with the Commision looked into. "DeBartalo is hooked in with Walters and Bellmon — they are his race horses," Little said. Little also said he considers his opponent Republican Henry Bellmon to be "one of the most liberal men I've ever met." Little said in the 1969 election Bellmon supported Democrat Leo
C. Winters for lieutenant governor rather than the Republican candidate. Winters won the election and was lieutenant governor for four years and then state treasurer for 20 years. "Winters became a multimillionaire and then he finally had to declare bankruptcy." Little said. Little said he is supports stricter drunk driving laws, including a mandatory jail sentence for firsttime offenders. He also advocates making prisoners work harder. "They could be put to work cleaning trash off the highways and maintaining state property a lot more," Little said. He also advocates having all able-bodied welfare recipients spend some of their time working in their communities to earn some of their money and become more useful citizens, according to his campaign platform. Basically, Little said, the best way of revitalizing Oklahoma's economy is honesty. "Cut the monster of big state government. Less governement is best government! State government has to learn to live within its means just like the private citizens have to," Little said.