Campus Quotes
Gun Rights
Meet New Faculty and Staff
Quarterback Competition
Do you think political ideologies such as communism and socialism are threats to our country? Page 2
Supreme Court ruling re-establishes the right for all citizens to bear arms. Page 3
Get to know some of the new hires at UCO. Page 4
Open competition for UCO’s starting quarterback. Page 7
JULY 7, 2010
uco360.com twitter.com/uco360
THE VISTA
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA’S student voice since 1903.
CRUDE SUMMER By Andy Snow, Contributor & Jenefar De Leon / Staff Writer
A
n oil leak in the Deep Fork River south of Edmond near Interstate 35 was discovered on June 21. The oil leak was a concern, as the river flows into Arcadia Lake further upstream. The public was concerned that the oil would reach Arcadia Lake, which is where residents of Edmond get their drinking water.The city of Edmond and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency both confirm oil never entered Arcadia Lake. Joe Hubbard, U.S. EPA spokesperson, said an estimated 250 barrels of crude oil were discovered in the Deep Fork River. The oil spread 8,000 feet, or roughly 1.5 miles from the original site of the Deep Fork, Oklahoma Corporation Commission spokesperson, Matt Skinner, said. Continued on page 5
The USA Today reported that much of the oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico is coming from a 6.625 inch drill pipe, the size of the photo to the right. Officials said that the approximate size of the hole responsible for the oil in the Deep Fork River is the size of a thumb print (left). The Gulf spill is on day 79, as of today, while the spill in Deep Fork lasted only one day.
Deep Fork River at 1-35 and Britton. The white booms keep the oil from advancing downstream. One of the booms was washed away during the rain on July 4 and was not replaced until July 5.
Facts from the Gulf Oil Spill ESTIMATED OIL SPILLED An estimated 100,000 barrels of oil a day are flowing into the Gulf, according to an internal British Petroleum document. One hundred thousand barrels is roughly equivalent to 4,200,000 gallons of oil (ABC News). As of mid-June, an estimated 73-126 million gallons of oil have spilled into the Gulf since the Deepwater Horizon disaster that began on April 20.
TODAY
H 85° L 71°
COST OF SPILL TO BP The estimated cost of the Gulf spill to BP is $3.12 million as of July 5. As of May 1, 2010, the cost per day of to BP was an estimated $7 million. These costs reportedly include the $147 million spent settling 47,000 claims for payment, as well as costs associated with responding to and containing the spill. (AP)
ECONOMIC DAMAGE Analysts estimate that the Louisiana fishing industry alone could suffer $2.5 billion in losses, with Florida suffering a potential $3 billion in tourism income.
Holiday
PHOTO BY GARETT FISBECK
WEATHER
NUMBER OF ANIMALS DEAD As of July 5, 1844 dead animals have been collected from the Gulf and surrounding coasts, including Texas and Louisiana coasts. The number of animals collected includes 1387 birds, 444 sea turtles, and 53 dolphins. (fws.gov)
LIBERTY FEST ENDS WITH BANG AT UCO By Samantha Maloy / Staff Writer Spectators of all ages displayed their patriotic spirit this past week during the 39th Edmond LibertyFest. LibertyFest, which annually brings in more than 100,000 people, was recently named by USA Today and CNN as one of the top 10 places to be on the Fourth. This year’s theme celebrated the Boy Scouts 100th Anniversary. Though the rain was intermittent throughout the weekend activities, it held off until the very end of the parade on Saturday. Thousands of people lined the parade route to watch the 100+ entries march by, according to the Edmond Sun. Emoly West, Edmond native and newly-crowned Miss Oklahoma, also made an appearance in the parade. LibertyFest offers a variety of fun family activities, including kite flying, cookouts and chalk drawing contests during the week before July 4. The UCO fireworks display is the finale to the week-long festivities. Robert Meinders, chairman of the fireworks display, estimated between 50,000 and 60,000 people observed the show. Meinders said they waited until 7 or 8 p.m. to make the final decision to go ahead with the show, as the weather looked like it would cooperate after all. The UCO show was 28 minutes long, and “thousands of shells were set off during the finale alone,” Meinders said.
TOMORROW H 82° L 70°
More weather at www.uco360.com
DID YOU KNOW? The planet Saturn has a density lower than water. So, if placed in water it would float.
1777
Year Congress authorizes fireworks for July 4 celebrations.
14,000 Members of the Edmond community sit back and watch the fireworks on campus during the 39th Annual Fourth of July LibertyFest celebration.
Number of fireworks displays that light up U.S. skies each 4th of July.
213.2
Million pounds of fireworks that were sold in the U.S in 2008.
30 Years ago a typical firework display lasted an hour, today’s rarely last more than 20 minutes.