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Associated Press
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Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility Monday for a pre-dawn attack.
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OCT. 5, 2010 uco360.com twitter.com/uco360
THE VISTA
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA’S student voice since 1903.
MODERN DAY SLAVERY EXISTS ALONG OKLAHOMA’S MAJOR HIGHWAYS Human trafficking is the second largest criminal activity in the world and a $32 billion dollar industry. Oklahoma is caught in between the crime as thousands of women and children are smuggled. By Jenefar de Leon / Staff Writer As the lights go off and Oklahomans head to bed safely in their homes, millions of children and women are being trafficked through Oklahoma highways. Oklahoma has become the crossroads of modern day slavery of women and children. According to the Department of Bureau of Justice Statistics in 2008, the United States is considered the No. 1 destination for sex trafficking and the second largest criminal activity in the world. It is a $32 billion industry. And the demand for young children and women continues to grow, Mark Elam, coalition director of Oklahomans Against Trafficking Humans, said. O.A.T.H. is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increase awareness of human trafficking, to identify victims and work with police department and professionals to service victims in Oklahoma. “It does happen,” Elam said. “People see it on TV shows like CSI and read it on the news, and people still don’t believe it happens. It is out in the open in countries outside of the United States, but we are in the center of it all.” Interstate 35 and Interstate 44 in Oklahoma is a center hub for human trafficking to the West and East Coast, Elam said. Victims of the sex trade have to cross highways to reach their next destination including San Francisco, San Diego, New York, Houston and throughout cities in the Midwest. In 2009, a Tulsa man was charged with conspiracy to traffic women and children, operating out of Houston and in Oklahoma Cities, making it one of the largest child sex trafficking ring in the Southwest region. Many victims have reported they were recruited from Oklahoma City and traveled to truck stops and known prostitution areas in Denver,
Oklahoma City’s FBI Division identified 48 pimps in the state, including 24 that exploited minors. As a result of the case, 16 children were recovered. The children’s average age was 12 years old.
Colo.; Miami, Fla.; and Houston and Dallas, Texas. The same report by the FBI’s Oklahoma City Division conducted in 2004 identified a total of 48 pimps which 24 of them exploited minors. Sixteen children were recovered as a result of the case, many of them as young as 13, according to the FBI Congressional Testimony on June 2005. “The average age is 12,” Elam said. “And the demand for younger children is increasing.” Elam said that the media has sexualized children, and “the closest thing to the Barbie is young women.” Annually, 2.2 million children are trafficked
as reported by the United Nation in 2009, and in the U.S. alone, currently more than one million children are involved in the sex trade. Elam said due to broken homes and poor inner city communities, young children and teenagers are easy prey for pimps and the sex trade. “They run away from home,” he said. “They then go to survival mode, and the easiest thing they can trade for food or a ride is sex.” It takes 48 hours until sex is propositioned to a runaway, and once they act on it for food, a place to sleep or a ride to the next stop, their freedom is lost, Elam said.
Once a pimp or predator takes their trust, they will just “rent” them for the highest bidder a night and continue to “rent” them as many times they can. Elam said for a child under 12, it can cost $1,000 for a night. Human trafficking is a loss of freedom. Migrant workers and illegal immigrants are also part of human trafficking. Human trafficking does not always involve sex; it sometimes means forcing someone to work to pay off a debt. There are many cases of women, children and men who are illegally and legally in the country, but are forced into labor until they pay off the debt they owe to the person that helped them come to the country. Elam said you can see it everywhere; it is common in construction, nail salons, massage parlors, in restaurants and nanny positions. “You expect everyone to be free,” Elam said. “But you don’t know what they had to go through to be here [U.S.] and the price they paid.” Elam continues saying that threats are often made and physical abuse occurs to prevent them from escaping. In 2007, trafficking laws have included U.S. citizens as a result of a large number of American women being trafficked throughout the United States. Elam said with awareness and demanding stronger laws against the trafficking of women and children will help decrease the crisis. Currently in Oklahoma state law under Title 10, Chapter 71 Section 7115, it is only a misdemeanor for sexually exploiting a child under 18. Punishment can be a year of imprisonment in a county jail or a fine of $500 or up to $5,000. Once the existence of trafficking is brought to the spotlight in the United States, it cannot be ignored.
City Utilities
WATER PRICES TO BOIL OVER NEXT FIVE YEARS WEATHER TODAY
H 77° L 51°
TOMORROW H 83° L 55°
More weather at www.uco360.com
DID YOU KNOW? A quarter has 119 grooves on its edge and a dime has 118.
By Jack Chancey / Staff Writer In a 3-2 vote last Monday, Edmond City Council approved a five year multi-rate increase that will go to funding capital improvement projects. The rate increase is projected to bring in $163.8 million to fund a water line to Sardis Lake in southeastern Oklahoma. Larry Steven, city manager of Edmond, said, “It has been a long standing need to accommodate large capital expenditure for the future of Edmond’s water needs.” According to the Regional Raw Water Study, the capacity of central Oklahoma’s current pipelines will reach capacity. The study also showed that central Oklahoma’s water needs are likely to double by 2060. Steven said he knows that nobody likes rate increases on anything but that Edmond is still under the state and national median average of water utility rates. “We tried to be upfront about the increases, by having a workshop and other methods,” Stevens said, “but we do feel it is more appropriate to be proactive for long term solutions.” Mayor Patrice Douglas and councilman Charles Lamb were the two dissenting voters in water rate recommendation provided by the consulting firm, Camp Dresser and McKee. According to the Edmond Sun, Douglas said, “The problem I have right now is we are in an economy that’s flat, and I am not sure I can sleep at night if we raise rates on possible projects that we think will happen.” The rate changes are expected to take place in November. A meter fee of $7.19 will replace the
current base charge of $6.25 for 1,000 gallons of wholesale wastewater treatment. The meter fee is set to increase every November for the next five years. November 2011 will see an increase to $8.27, $9.51 in 2012, $10.46 in 2013, and $11.50 in 2014. To help with estimating the necessary rate increases Edmond commissioned Economists.com to work out a water and wastewater rate study and also a long-term financial plan for the utilities. According to the Edmond Sun, Fred Rice, superintendent of Edmond Water Resources, said Economists.com identified that in order for the city of Edmond to borrow money needed to secure water rights for the Sardis Lake project, it needs to demonstrate now that it can repay those loans to potential bond makers. Where the money flows: As Edmond outgrows the supply of Arcadia Lake, the need to find another source will be key. Sardis Lake, in southeastern Oklahoma, seems to be the answer on every regional city councils short list. The lake is not without issues and concerns though. Tribal land rights, environmental issues and the need for commitment from other cities are all things that need to be worked out before an inch of pipe line is laid. The plan is expected to cost Edmond about $267.9 million. In the Edmond Sun, Rice said, “Often the right thing to do is not an easy thing to do, and it’s hard for me to come up here and defend this, but I’m fortified by the knowledge that this is the right thing to do.”
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0369.220 5
Meter Fee Increase Over Next 5 Years 2014
$11.50 2013
$10.46 2012
$9.51 2011
$8.27 2010
$7.19