The Oklahoma Publisher - Oklahoma Press Association

Transcription

The Oklahoma Publisher
Official Publication of the Oklahoma Press Association
Vol. 86, No. 1
12 Pages • January 2015
www.OkPress.com
www.Facebook.com/okpress
INSIDE
CAMERA NEWS: OPA
member Lynn Martin reviews
the Sony RX10 – a good choice
for newspapers.
PAGE 7
SUNSHINE LAWS: Terry
Clark reminds newspapers
to educate the public on
Oklahoma’s Open Meeting and
Records laws.
PAGE 8
SATURDAY MAIL
CONTINUES: NNA reports
Saturday mail will continue – at
least for now.
PAGE 11
DONATE TO ONF to receive
this Will Rogers print. Details at
OkPress.com/will-rogers.
OPA PLANS LEGISLATIVE DAY
AT THE OKLAHOMA STATE CAPITOL
Make sure your voice is heard by attending
the OPA Legislative Summit on Thursday, Feb.
12, at the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma
City.
OPA members will meet in the Blue Room
behind the governor’s office at 9:30 a.m. OPA
Executive Vice President Mark Thomas will
provide a quick group briefing, then everyone will visit legislators at their offices.
The summit offers publishers, editors
and other newspaper staff members the
opportunity to meet their local legislators and ask them to support decisions that will affect the newspaper
industry.
Newspapers have several important legislative principles to support and defend including First
Amendment issues, Freedom of
Information issues, and business
issues affecting newspapers, such
as public notice, taxation of adver-
tising and circulation, workers’ compensation
reform, etc.
A recent survey of legislators showed that
their most effective contact with representatives is a personal visit. An email ranks fourth;
a phone call ranks fifth.
Legislators listen to people that make the
time to come to the capitol and express their
concerns. Every organization, including those
that oppose newspaper interests, goes to the
capitol to demonstrate commitment to their
legislative goals and desires. Those voices
must be offset by the presence of newspaper
publishers and editors at the capitol early in the
legislative session.
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin will speak
to OPA members and participate in a question
and answer session at 1 p.m.
Lunch will be provided for members in the
second floor Capitol rotunda area.
Register online for this free event by Monday, Feb. 9, at www.OkPress.com/legislativesummit.
2
The Oklahoma Publisher // January 2015
NEWS
OPA CALENDAR OF EVENTS
analysis
MONDAY, FEB. 9, 2015
DEADLINE FOR BNC CONTEST ENTRIES
by OPA President JEFF FUNK, Publisher of the Enid News & Eagle
DEFYING STEREOTYPES
Oklahoma newspapers –
not what you expected
Try this for a Jeopardy question:
What state had 1,485 earthquakes and
just 16 tornadoes in 2014?
Thinking of California? No, guess
again. The answer is Oklahoma.
Surprised? Well, the ever-changing
state of Oklahoma defies a lot of stereotypes.
The same goes for Oklahoma newspapers. Often, we’re not what you’d
expect. Certainly we don’t fit all of the
troublesome stereotypes our detractors
and competitors would love to have the
public believe.
For example, there’s that belief that
young people don’t care about news,
newspapers or newspaper-related
careers. Don’t tell that to Amy Johns,
publisher of the McAlester News Capital. For the last two years, the McAlester newspaper has been coaching local
high school students as they produce
the monthly Black and Gold. The teens
are eager to write and eager to read the
youth-focused publication, which is sold
by the newspaper staff. It’s so popular,
Johns reports, that teens are volunteering to work for the publication even
without class credit.
Another mistaken belief: Nobody gets
their news from newspapers anymore.
Not surprisingly that little untruth often
comes from our business competitors or
somebody trying to promote their own
website or Facebook page.
Well, the truth is newspaper brands
are incredibly strong, and newspapers
often have maintained or GROWN audience as people have shifted their reading
habits. In many cases, readers choose
to read a printed newspaper some of
the time and go to that newspaper’s
website or Facebook page or mobile
app at other times of the day. Many of
our Oklahoma newspapers distribute
news through digital replica editions,
text alert services, email “blasts” with
daily headlines, Twitter, Facebook and
community websites. Some editors are,
for two minutes a day, webcasters online
or news broadcasters on local radio or
cable television channels. Many newspapers produce community magazines or
special sections on glossy paper.
The ways “newspapers” communicate
have grown tremendously over the last
decade, but there’s one common element: It’s the newspaper’s brand. It’s
our newspaper whether consumers read
it as ink on newsprint or pixels on a
screen.
Newspapers are boring, some detractors might say. Of course those people
probably haven’t glanced at the front
page of the Tahlequah Daily Press,
where news editor Josh Newton makes
you take a second look with his bold
layouts and attention-grabbing photos.
And if you’re bored, you’ve missed the
crime news printed on pages of The
Bigheart Times in Barnsdall, where Editor/Publisher Louise Red Corn leaves
readers laughing or shaking their heads
in amazement. It’s always entertaining.
Think newspapers are out of touch?
Look at the current OPA-sponsored marketing campaign and think again. The
OPA ads list topics – justice, freedom,
family, achievement, education, patriotism, etc. – that we as people care about.
Then it notes that those are topics that
appear in and matter to your local newspaper.
Did you hear the one about newspapers being all BAD news? Come on,
gimme a break. Read a little and you’ll
see heartwarming, funny, honors and
respect for our readers.
Young people don’t want to work for
newspapers, you say? That’s not what
I’ve seen traveling the state and visiting
with newspaper people in publications
large and small.
So, somebody told you newspapers
are dying or dead. Well, that’s flat wrong.
Challenged and tested, perhaps, but 180plus Oklahoma newspapers will be going
to press this week – alive and packed
with good ol’ reliable information and a
lot of surprises, too.
Not what you expected? That’s Oklahoma’s newspapers.
All entries in the 2014 Better Newspaper Contest must be postmarked by
Monday, Feb. 9, 2015. The contest rules and events are available to view online
or download in PDF format at www.OkPress.com/opa-better-newspaper-contest.
If you have questions, call (405) 499-0020 or 1-888-815-2672 (toll-free in
Oklahoma). This is also the deadline for entries in the Digital Media Contest,
Print Quality Contest and the Joseph H. Edwards Outdoor Writer of the Year
Award, as well as the deadline for nominations for the OPA Quarter Century
Club and the OPA Half Century Club. For more information on all contests, see
www.OkPress.com/awards.
THUR., FEB. 12, 2015
Oklahoma State Capitol, Oklahoma City
OPA LEGISLATIVE SUMMIT AT STATE CAPITOL
All OPA members are encouraged to meet at the State Capitol on Thursday,
Feb. 12, to discuss issues with their House and Senate members. Members
will discuss proposed legislation and issues of concern to every Oklahoma
newspaper. Check www.OkPress.com/legislative-summit for updates.
FRI., FEB. 20, 2015
ONF - APPLY FOR AN INTERNSHIP
OR SCHOLARSHIP
The Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation awards several internships and three
$1,500 scholarships to Oklahoma journalism students each year. Applications for
the 2015-16 school year are due by Feb. 20. University of Oklahoma students are
also eligible to apply for the Breeden scholarship. View eligibility requirements
and download all applications at www.OkPress.com/ONF.
MARCH 18-20, 2015
Arlington, Va. / Washington DC
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION’S
LEADERSHIP SUMMIT
Members of the National Newspaper Association will travel to Capitol Hill to
present issues important to community newspapers to congressional leaders.
For more information or to register visit nnaweb.org/events.
THUR., APRIL 30, 2015
OKLAHOMA JOURNALISM HALL OF FAME
INDUCTION CEREMONY
Come support your fellow journalists at the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame
annual induction ceremony on the University of Central Oklahoma campus in
Edmond.
JUNE 4-6, 2015
Sheraton Hotel, Downtown Oklahoma City
OPA ANNUAL CONVENTION
The OPA Education Committee is making plans for sessions and events at the
annual convention. Mark your calendar and make plans to attend.
For more information on upcoming events, visit the OPA website at
www.OkPress.com or contact Member Services Director Lisa (Potts) Sutliff
at (405) 499-0026, 1-888-815-2672 or email [email protected].
The Oklahoma Publisher // January 2015 3
Supreme Court rules Gov. Fallin
can withhold certain records
The Oklahoma Supreme Court
recently ruled that Oklahoma Gov.
Mary Fallin has the power to withhold the release of certain documents because of executive privilege,
although that power is not absolute.
The Supreme Court said it agrees
with the trial court that Oklahoma
governors have a privilege to refuse
to disclose advice they receive in confidence from “senior executive branch
officials” when deliberating discretionary decisions and shaping policy.
The court also said the privilege is
subject to review by a judge and that
the governor must show it meets the
criteria set out in the ruling. Also, a
judge can decide that even materials
that satisfy the criteria can be subject
to disclosure if the requesting party
can show a “substantial or compelling
need for disclosure.”
While the court ruled in favor of
the governor, justices said they also
recognize that the Oklahoma Open
Records Act serves an important function in informing the public about the
activities of their government.
The decision was handed down in
a case filed on behalf of the Lost Ogle
website. The Lost Ogle, The Oklahoman, The Associated Press and other
news organizations had requested
documents from the governor’s office
related to her decisions to reject a
state health insurance exchange
and not expand Medicaid coverage
in the state. Fallin’s office initially
withheld about 100 pages of documents, although she later released
them while maintaining she was not
required to do so because of executive
privilege.
“Despite recognizing a privilege
that does not appear in the Open
Records Act, today’s opinion repre-
sents a victory for our client and for
the people of Oklahoma,” said Ryan
Kiesel, executive director of ACLU of
Oklahoma. “From the outset of this
case, we have maintained that the
governor does not have the authority to unilaterally hide records without justification. In this opinion, the
Supreme Court revoked the governor’s self-issued blank check, shifted
the burden of proof to the executive
branch, and affirmed our insistence
upon judicial oversight.”
Alex Weintz, the governor’s communications director, said the decision
preserves the governor’s ability to
receive candid advice.
“We agree with the Oklahoma
Supreme Court that people are ultimately better served by chief executives that can receive candid, private
advice from senior advisers,” Weintz
said.
Tulsa World sues for execution records
The Tulsa World recently filed a lawsuit against the state of Oklahoma seeking release of records related to the
botched execution of Clayton Lockett.
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed the lawsuit on
behalf of BH Media Group Inc., which
owns the World, and Enterprise Editor
Ziva Branstetter.
The lawsuit seeks immediate release
of documents and emails the World
requested from Gov. Mary Fallin’s office
and the Department of Public Safety
since May.
More than 3,000 pages of interview
transcripts were requested. Although
they are part of the court record in
ATTENTION
OPA BUSINESS MEMBERS
2015
PHOTO ID
PRESS CARDS
an ongoing lawsuit by 21 death row
inmates, the state has designated them
confidential and refuses to release them.
The World’s lawsuit argues that the
state has unreasonably delayed the
release of the records, which are of public interest.
“The Reporters Committee is committed to protecting reporters’ rights
to gather news about the government
and report it to the public. Oklahoma’s
Open Records Act was designed to give
the press and the public prompt access
to government records,” said Katie
Townsend, litigation director for the
Reporters Committee.
“That has not happened here. Particu-
larly given the public interest in, and the
importance of, the issues surrounding
the Lockett execution, the failure of the
Governor’s office and DPS to produce
the records sought by Tulsa World is
unreasonable.”
Reporters Committee for Freedom
of the Press is a nonprofit organization
dedicated to upholding the First Amendment and freedom of information rights
of journalists working in areas where
U.S. law applies. The group is funded
by corporate, foundation and individual contributions and serves more than
2,000 reporters, editors and media lawyers who seek its help each year.
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The
Oklahoma
Publisher
ISSN 1526-811X
Official Publication of the
Oklahoma Press Association
PUBLISHER
Mark Thomas
[email protected]
EDITOR
Jennifer Gilliland
[email protected]
OPA OFFICERS
Jeff Funk, President
Enid News & Eagle
Robby Trammell, Vice President
The Oklahoman
Gloria Trotter, Treasurer
The Countywide & Sun
Mark Thomas,
Executive Vice President,
Oklahoma City
OPA DIRECTORS
Jeff Mayo, Past President
Sequoyah County Times
Dayva Spitzer, Sayre Record &
Beckham County Democrat
Brian Blansett,
Shawnee News-Star
Ted Streuli, The Journal Record
Ray Dyer, El Reno Tribune
Mike Strain, Tulsa World
John Denny Montgomery,
The Purcell Register
3601 N. Lincoln Blvd.
Oklahoma City, OK 73105-5499
(405) 499-0020
Toll-Free in Oklahoma:
(888) 815-2672
www.OkPress.com
[email protected]
www.Facebook.com/OKPress
SUBSCRIBE TO
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$12 PER YEAR
THE OKLAHOMA PUBLISHER (USPS 406920) is published monthly for $12 per year
by the Oklahoma Press Association, 3601 N.
Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73105-5499.
Periodicals postage paid at Oklahoma City,
OK.
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4
Wesner Publications announces
staff changes at three newspapers
Management changes and promotions were recently made at the Watonga
Republican, Hinton Record and Geary
Star.
Brett Wesner, president of the newspaper group, said Eric Warsinskey, managing editor of the Watonga Republican,
has taken on the additional responsibilities of business operations. Darrel
James has been promoted to managing
editor of the Hinton Record and Geary
Star, and Katy Moore and Kim Jenks
have been named as advertising representatives for the three newspapers.
Warsinskey joined the Republican in
August 2013 after graduating from the
University of Akron in Ohio.
“I look forward to continuing to
inform the community through the
paper and improve upon the tremendous
product that we put out on a weekly
basis here at the Watonga Republican,”
said Warsinskey.
“I would like to thank Mr. Wesner for
his continued support of my vision for
the newspaper and I look forward to the
added responsibilities I will now assume
and can’t wait to see what the future
brings for our community’s newspaper.
Over the coming months you will start
to see us become more visible within
the community among other changes,”
he said.
James has been with the team since
December 2011. He studied journalism
at Haskell Indian Nations University
where he was managing editor of the
Indian Leader.
“I look forward to continue working
with the Hinton and Geary communities, including the Native News section
for the Watonga Republican. The newspaper is the foundation of a community and I’m happy to be a part of that,”
James said.
Wesner said the group was fortunate
to have two talented community journalists on its team.
“Darrel and Eric bring a level of
professionalism and a love of their communities that will insure the continued
vitality of our newspapers,” Wesner said.
“It is an honor for me to have the opportunity to work with them.”
The changes were made after general
manager Carla Schultz resigned.
“Carla did a wonderful job in her
work with us. I will always appreciate
her love of the community and her work
to make the newspaper an important
part of peoples’ lives,” said Wesner.
“I’m very proud of the work we were
able to achieve at the Watonga Republican, Hinton Record and Geary Star
during my time as general manager,”
Schultz said. “Working with the people
in these communities has been a sincere
pleasure. Now, I feel that it’s time I seek
new challenges in my work, but I will
remain a part of these communities and
continue the wonderful friendships I’ve
developed over the last three years.”
FOI Oklahoma seeks nominations
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Learn more at StopsWithMe.com.
Nominations are being accepted for
FOI Oklahoma’s annual awards. The
awards recognize individuals and organizations that promoted the First Amendment and the free flow of information to
the public in 2014.
Those who opposed dissemination of
public information are recognized with
the organization’s Black Hole Award.
The awards will be presented during
Sunshine Week activities on Saturday,
March 14, at the Norick Downtown
Library in Oklahoma City.
The Ben Blackstock Award is presented to a non-governmental person or
organization that has shown a commitment to freedom of information, while
the Sunshine Award goes to a public
official or governmental body that has
shown a commitment to open meetings
and open records.
FOI Oklahoma also recognizes an
Oklahoman who has promoted education about or protection of the individual
rights guaranteed by the First Amendment with its Marian Opala First Amendment Award. The award is named for the
late Oklahoma Supreme Court justice,
a Polish immigrant who exemplified a
belief in First Amendment rights.
The deadline for nominations is Feb.
21.
Nominations must include a letter of
no more than 250 words justifying why
the person or organization is deserving
of the award.
Nominations may be made via email
to [email protected] or mailed to
FOI Awards, PO Box 5315, Edmond, OK
73083-5315.
Last year, the Sunshine Award was
presented to state Sen. David Holt,
R-Oklahoma City, and the Ben Blackstock Award went to Joel Rabin and
Sharon Hurst of Bartlesville.
Rita Geiger of Oklahoma City won the
Opala First Amendment Award.
Gov. Mary Fallin was named recipient of the Black Hole recognition for the
second straight year.
This is the eighth year for the awards.
FOI Oklahoma is a statewide not-forprofit founded 25 years ago to educate
the public on the First Amendment and
openness in government.
Musselman Award nomination deadline set;
Half & Quarter Century Club nominations due
Most Oklahoma journalists know
a colleague who never fails to amaze
them, an editor who pushes every staffer to higher achievements, or a publisher whose courage and news sense
makes every issue of their newspaper
stand out.
The Beachy Musselman Award, presented annually by the Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation, recognizes people
like that.
One journalist each year wins for his
or her contribution to the field of print
journalism or its related field.
The recipient receives a plaque and
$1,000, which is presented at the OPA
Convention in June.
Any professional journalist is eligible.
Nominations, which may be made by
anyone, must include biographical information showing work in the newspaper
industry or related field and reasons
you believe the person is deserving of
the award.
Nominations should be emailed to
[email protected] or mailed to the
Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation, c/o
Oklahoma Press Association, 3601 N.
Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 731055499 or faxed to (405) 499-0048.
Beachy Musselman Award nominations are due Feb. 9.
Feb. 9 also is the deadline for nominations in the OPA Half and Quarter
Century Clubs.
To be eligible for membership in the
Half Century Club, nominees must have
worked at newspapers for at least 50
years. Any 20 years of that service must
have been spent at one or more OPAmember newspapers.
To be eligible for induction into the
Quarter Century Club, nominees must
have worked at newspapers for at least
25 years. Any 10 years of that service
must have been spent at one or more
OPA-member newspapers.
A nomination form for either the Half
Century or Quarter Century Club is
available on the OPA website at www.
okpress.com/century-clubs.
to the following individuals and
organizations for their recent
donations to the
Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation:
DEATHS
In memory of
a longtime Tulsa
World Media Company employee, was
fatally injured in an automobile accident
in Tulsa on Dec. 19, 2014. He was 47.
Hall was born March 7, 1967, in
Tulsa.
He began working at the Tulsa World
in 1998 as a computer technician and
was promoted to senior technician in
2001 and was later named desktop specialist, said Randy Rutledge, World IT
operations and telecommunications
manager. Hall managed all areas of computer development and deployment for
the World.
“Words cannot express how we all
feel about the loss of David,” Rutledge
said. “He was a great friend and coworker to all of us in the IT department. His
support and efforts were appreciated by
everyone at the Tulsa World. He was
our fix-it guy. He was truly the backbone
of our Desktop Services Support Team
and will be missed tremendously.”
Hall enjoyed hunting, gardening, fishing, cooking, playing the guitar and
spending time with his family.
He is survived by his wife, Rebeccah M. Hall, and sons Brendan Hall
and Isaak Hall, all of the home; brothers Billy Hall and Tommy Hall; sisters
Rhonda Hines, Melissa Spencer and
Julie Younger; and many other relatives
and friends.
RICHARD ALBERT HORNER,
who
worked at the Tulsa Tribune, died Jan.
7, 2015. He was 69.
Horner served as a copy editor for
the Tulsa Tribune from 1974-1992.
He graduated from Williams College
in 1967 and then attended Texas Tech.
After retiring, he traveled extensively.
He enjoyed running marathons all over
the United States into his sixties.
Horner is survived by his brother
David Horner of Carrollton, Texas, as
well as several nieces, cousins and other
family and friends.
MAEBETH RAE,
former co-publisher of
The Yale News, died Dec. 31, 2014, at
a nursing home in Oklahoma City. She
was 87.
Ray was born on Dec. 2, 1927, in Vici
where her parents owned and published
the Vici Beacon newspaper.
She was a typesetter at the Lawton
Constitution when she met Homer W.
Ray, Jr. She married Homer in Lawton
in July 1960.
The Rays purchased the Yale Record
newspaper from Roland Sodowsky in
August 1965 and soon changed its name
to The Yale News. The Rays published
the newspaper for 35 years until Homer
was killed in an automobile accident in
2000. The paper was sold shortly after
that.
Ray is survived by her son, Mike Wallace Ray and his wife, Sherry, of Oklahoma City; a grandson, Ean Ray and his
wife, Tyler, and two great-grandchildren,
all of Edmond.
NORBERT DEE ROACH,
In 1952, Roach and his wife, Mary
Louise, moved to Fayetteville, Ark. In
1978, Roach purchased a weekly newspaper, The Washington County Observer, in West Fork, Ark., which he owned
until retiring in 1985.
A World War II veteran, Roach served
in the U.S. Army as a rifleman and scout.
He is survived by his wife, Mary
Louise; three daughters, Susanne Reed
of Chattanooga, Tenn., Nancy Fields
of Fort Smith, Ark., and Sally Bailey of
West Fork, Ark.; one son, Eric “Rick”
Roach of Carson City, Nev.; six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
DAVID LEE HALL,
who once
worked at the Watonga Republican, died
Jan. 9, 2015, in Fort Smith, Ark. He was
90.
Roach was born Oct. 2, 1924, in
Okeene, Okla. He started his newspaper career as a reporter at the Watonga
Republican.
MATTHEW PENA (GAH-KOHN),
who
worked for The Oklahoman for 25 years,
died Jan. 4, 2015. He was 55.
Pena was born Feb. 27, 1959, in Oklahoma City. He graduated from Southwestern Oklahoma State University in
Weatherford, Okla., and went to work
for the Oklahoma Publishing Co. He was
an avid marathon runner and a member
of the Kiowa Native American Church.
He is survived by his stepfather,
Myers Wahnee Jr., Mountain View,
THANK
YOU
Joe Hancock
and
John & Tinker Hruby
SEQUOYAH COUNTY
TIMES
A donation to the Oklahoma Newspaper
Foundation will support its efforts to
improve the state’s newspaper industry
and quality of journalism.
ONF’s programs include training and
education for professional journalists,
scholarship and internship programs for
journalism students, and Newspaper in
Education efforts.
ONF relies on donations and memorial
contributions to fund these programs.
Okla.; two sisters, Ramona Goombi,
Fort Cobb, Okla., and Sandy Frazier,
Mountain View; one brother, Thomas
Pena, Wichita Falls, Texas; three adopted brothers, and many other relatives
and friends.
If you would like to make a donation,
please send a check to:
OKLAHOMA
NEWSPAPER
FOUNDATION
3601 N. Lincoln Blvd.
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
In Memory of Our
Friends & Colleagues
Thomas R. Hartley
Dec. 19, 2013
Mary Reinauer-Funk
Jan. 7, 2014
Linda McLemore Graham
Jan. 9, 2014
6
THE OG&E PHOTO CONTEST
Mooreland’s Trevor Elliott (7) appears headed for a rough landing VERY BRAY-VE PLAYER — Kaitlynn Monckton, a Broken Arrow High School junior softball player, found out
after picking up some yardage against Texhoma in District A-1 high how tough basketball can be ... especially on the back of a donkey.
school football action. Mooreland defeated Texhoma 27-0, earning
Photo by John Ferguson, Broken Arrow Ledger, November 14, 2014
a spot in the high school football playoffs.
Photo by Rowynn Ricks,Woodward News, November 2, 2014
NOVEMBER 2014 DAILY WINNER:
NOVEMBER 2014 WEEKLY WINNER:
ROWYNN RICKS
JOHN FERGUSON
Woodward News
Broken Arrow Ledger
The November 2014 contest was judged by a member of the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame.
View all winning photos at www.OkPress.com/OGE-Photo-Contest
ENTER AND WIN A $100 CHECK FROM OGE ENERGY CORP.
For more information about the photo contest, visit www.okpress.com.
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For great photos, nothing beats this Sony camera
BY LYNN L. MARTIN,
ALVA REVIEW-COURIER
Besides being a small newspaper
jack-of-all trades (publisher, photographer, writer, etc.) most members of
the Oklahoma Press Association know
I operate a professional photography
studio. In fact, I’ve run a studio for 54
years compared to only 25 years at the
Alva Review-Courier.
Sometimes the studio operation has
employed as many as a half-dozen wedding photographers, which has given
me the opportunity to purchase many
cameras and lenses. I’ve been a Canon
user about half my career because once
you start investing in lenses it is not
economically feasible to change brands.
My photo studio camera case contains about $7,000 worth of Canon gear
that fits what I do: aerial, portrait, wedding, school, sports and product photography. In general, I have about three
sets of that for my other photographers
to use. My kits consist of the Canon
5DII or III ($3,000), the Canon 28-70
f2.8 IS ($1,400) and the Canon 70-200
f2.8 ($2,500) IS II. We have a few fixed
focal length macro and wide angle lenses. However, the big two are enough for
most jobs.
For years, I’ve hunted for less
expensive equipment for our newspaper
photographers to use. I’ve permitted
use of some of our studio cameras by
our news writers or photographers
but there are times where we have too
many weddings and too many football
games at the same time.
In my opinion, in the last couple of
years, Sony has led the way in camera
innovation. I’ve talked about the Sony
RX100, II and III at OPA sessions. This
small pocket size camera is about $700,
has a 21 megapixel sensor, and a Zeiss
f2.8 lens that exceeds what my more
expensive Canon glass can produce.
Most of my newspaper work is now
done with this camera. I can wear it
on my belt like a cell phone, and
it sure beats lugging around a
40-pound camera case with
my typical pro-photographer arsenal.
We shoot considerable highdef video at all
weddings and
all meetings
covered by
the newspaper. The
little Sony
RX100
shoots
incredible
video but
the lack of a
microphone
jack is a serious
handicap at both
weddings and news-event meetings.
I’ve often said I could easily shoot
weddings with the little Sony but it
doesn’t look good for the pro photographer to show up with a tiny camera
looking similar to the one the bride’s
grandma is using.
Often I receive phone calls from fellow newspaper publishers asking what
“affordable” camera I would recommend.
Well, Sony has finally pulled it off
with the RX10. You might not consider
this camera affordable at an Amazon
price of about $1,000, but it sure beats
the $7000 cost of my typical camera
case kit.
First, it has the same 21 megapixel
sensor of the RX100, but instead of the
High school basketball sports photo shot using the Sony RX10.
zoom range ending at 70 mm it goes
all the way out to 200 mm (these are
35mm equivalent numbers).
The ISO goes up to 12,500. For
everyday operation I use 3200,
but for basketball action I
choose ISO 8000. At
that ISO, I can
shoot excellent
sports action
at 1/640 at
about f4. The
camera has a
very quick
shutter with
almost no
lag.
I’ve recently discovered
the 5 frame
per second
burst mode and
when I see a play
developing under the basketball goal, I
jam the shutter button down and shoot
a burst of frames that virtually guarantees a great shot.
Another neat feature of the RX10 is
dual viewfinders. The camera defaults
to a standard three-inch LCD at power
up. However, if the ambient light is too
great to see the LCD, simply pull the
camera to your eye and the LCD shuts
off and a more traditional eye-piece
viewfinder lights up. The eye-piece,
while electronic, has a diopter wheel to
adjust for your particular eye (or eyeglasses) characteristics.
The winning feature for me is an
honest-to-goodness microphone jack. At
news events, we place a surface-effect
microphone in the middle of the county
commissioner meeting table or at weddings hook into a church sound-mixing
console via the headphone output..
Most magazine reviews of the RX-10
describe it as “pricey.” The list price
is supposed to be around $1,300 but
reputable mail order outfits are down to
the $1000 level. You might want to visit
dpreview.com.
There are similar cameras from
Panasonic and Canon you may want to
investigate. However the RX10 tends to
be a favorite because of excellent lowlight performance and the sharpness
produced by the Zeiss lens.
8
Time to remind readers of Sunshine laws
www.okmulgeecountynewssource.com
Clark’s Critique
Merry
by Terry Clark
Journalism Professor,
University of Central Oklahoma,
[email protected]
Starting off the New Year would be a
good time to remind your readers, and
elected officials, of our “Sunshine” Open
Meeting and Open Record laws.
I know the OPA and FOI OK do a
good job of trying to educate public
officials, but there’s no better way to
reach our citizens about their rights
than through simple informative articles
and editorials in our papers.
They don’t have to be confrontational,
because most of our public officials are
honest, hard-working people who want
to do the right thing. It’s the few who
are abusers who catch the headlines and
make the others look bad.
The best insurance against not breaking the Sunshine Laws is an informed
citizenry, and that’s where the press
comes in.
Oklahoma citizens are fortunate to
have Sunshine Laws that give every
person the right to attend meetings
and view public records. Whatever is
said at those meetings can be reported,
because our officials work for us, the
taxpayers. These laws rarely give special
rights to the press, but are used most
often by the media to help protect your
rights, representing you as taxpayers.
LOOKIN’EM OVER:
Kudos to Oklahoma
Today magazine for its landmark “African-American” issue. The state magazine has had cowboy issues, Native
American issues (as has New Mexico’s
magazine). But I know of no other state
magazine that has devoted an issue to
the influence of African-Americans.
In Oklahoma, from Territorial days,
that has been huge, and largely undocumented. Conflict of interest note: I wrote
a short article on the African-American
Christmas
Vol. 97 No. 103
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
President Warren G. Harding’s
OKMULGEE CONNECTION
75 CENTS
Season of
Scams
Okmulgee woman targeted
in fake IRS plot
For 13 years, Jo Bennett has received an Official
White House Christmas Ornament. The ornaments are
an annual gift from her daughter, Dana. Each gift was
special … but the current one is extra special. That’s
because Jo found an Okmulgee connection to President
Warren G. Harding - and the connection is officially
noted in the document that accompanied the ornament.
—
The 2014 Official White House Christmas Ornament
honors President Warren G. Harding, who served as the
29th president of the U.S. from 1921-1923.
As a child, Harding dreamed of growing up and becoming an engineer. As President, he took over the helm of
Alaska Railroad #618 for 51 minutes, during his famous
transcontinental speaking and sightseeing tour called,
"Voyage of Understanding." It was reported that the
Hardings “had as much fun as two youngsters on their first
train trip.” “This is the most delightful ride I have taken in
my life!” the President said in 1923.
Unfortunately the train that carried him west at the
beginning of his trip also carried his casket back east to
Washington DC, following his sudden death from apoplexy
or a stroke, in his room at the San Francisco Palace Hotel
on August 2, 1923. His casket was elevated to allow
mourners to see it through the windows of the Superb as the
train passed through towns across the country. An estimated 3 million people paid their respects. Mrs. Harding later
gave the white gloves the president wore while at the throttle to the engineer as a memento.
The inspiration for the 2014 ornament came from his
love of trains. The gold, red, white, and blue enameled
engine is a replica of one of many steam powered locomotives that pulled the Presidential Special. Attached is the
coal car that fueled the engine.
• THE HARDINGS' WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS
President and Mrs. Harding enjoyed entertaining and
their Christmas celebrations were old fashioned with quiet
dinners and fireside gatherings with close friends. In the
autumn of 1922 Mrs. Harding, afflicted by a chronic kidney
ailment, drew perilously close to death. The White House
cancelled all social events and the first lady's slow recovery
diminished the cheer of the 1922 Christmas season. Mrs.
Harding, a lady not to be left behind, did leave her sickroom to preside over the dinner table in a wheelchair, but
there was no tree and little decoration that year. President
Harding enjoyed an early round of golf at the Chevy Chase
Club and relaxed in the afternoon with Mrs. Harding. The
president distributed $5 gold pieces to members of his staff
and sent seasonal greetings to America's war veterans wishing them "a restored fortune, health and prosperity." The
Hardings were also enthusiastic supporters of the
Christmas Seals campaign to fight tuberculosis.
Adding a lighthearted note to the 1922 Christmas season, Gabe Burkhardt a hunter from Okmulgee,
Oklahoma, sent the Hardings a live 15 pound white
opossum fattened for the president's dinner table. The
opossum's fate is not known.
Times going to all mail delivery
• Begins Jan. 4th
Beginning with the January
4 issue of the Okmulgee
Times, all subscribers will
receive their newspaper by
mail. This will affect subscribers living in the city of
Okmulgee who have been
receiving their newspaper by
carrier delivery.
While the weekend newspaper is dated Sunday, it will
be delivered on Saturday.
“We have a great group of
carriers, but when one leaves
it is harder and harder to
replace them,” Jeff Mayo,
publisher of the Times, said.
“All subscribers in Okmulgee
County will receive their
newspaper on Wednesday
and Saturdays by mail.”
The newspapers will be
delivered on time - and not
affected by the weather.
“The Post Office does a
great job of delivering newspapers,” Mayo said. “I
believe there will not be a
drop off in service after the
transition. If there is a delivery problem, we certainly
want to know about it.”
The Times is currently
delivered part by mail and
part by carrier. It is likely the
only twice-weekly newspaper in America delivered by
carrier, Mayo said.
Mayo, through is company
Big Basin Enterprises, LLC
purchased the Okmulgee
Times and Henryetta FreeLance on November 5.
The Okmulgee Times is the
No. 1 source for local news in
Okmulgee and across the
county.
An Okmulgee woman recently received a disturbing telephone call from the Internal Revenue Service office in Tulsa.
“You owe the IRS $2,000 and must pay the money immediately or be arrested,” she said told.
Stunned by the call, the woman frantically withdrew
$2,000 from her bank. The caller instructed the woman to
drive to Tulsa. He demanded that she not turn off her phone
during the drive.
The woman told the agent she would come to the IRS
office in Tulsa to make the payment. That’s when the agent
told her to not go to the office - and not call the IRS. Instead,
she was instructed to meet him in a Tulsa parking lot to make
the $2000 payment.
It was at that moment that the woman realized something
was wrong. She was the intended target of a scam. The caller
was not an IRS agent. He was a would-be thief who was trying to scare her into making a $2,000 payment to him.
The woman continued on to the IRS office in Tulsa. She
met an official representative of the IRS and was alerted to
the scam.
Luckily, she did not meet the thief and hand over money.
Her alert instincts saved her from being scammed. She outlined her story for the Okmulgee Times - and then headed
back to the back to re-deposit the $2000 in her account.
In a related incident, Ann Cash of Westside Tax Service
called the Okmulgee Times to report a similar situation. Two
of her client were told the same thing - that they would be
arrested if they did not immediately pay the $852 they owed
to the Department of Treasury, IRS Division.
“They even left a message on the answering machine,”
Mrs. Cash said. “I listened to it.”
The caller warned the intended scam target they faced
arrest if they did not immediately pay the money.
Mrs. Cash said the IRS does not call on matters like this.
The agency would send any correspondence by certified
mail.
These “IRS” scams are just some of the crimes being used
to dupe people into sending them money.
Chief Joe Prentice said the Okmulgee Police Department
has received multiple reports from citizens regarding a telephone scam.
Citizens report receiving calls with an automated message
that they are being sued by the IRS and that they need to contact the IRS immediately. The calls are an attempt to obtain
money from citizens.
After some investigation, officers discovered the numbers
where the calls generate are typically a 446 area code and the
number to be called for contact with the IRS is always the
same (202-684-3502).
“The best information we can find is the 446 numbers generate in the Middle East, possibly India and to date we have
been unable to identify the provider company for any of the
numbers. The 202 number to be called is apparently a VOIP
or Voice Over Internet Protocol line provided by a multinational company known as Level 3 Communications.
Apparently this is going on all over the country and we are
unaware of any agencies having any success identifying anyone to prosecute.
“Citizens should be aware that the normal method of communication from the IRS is by registered mail. If citizens
want to confirm their status with the IRS, they are encouraged to contact them via the published telephone number.”
Featured newspapers this month are
The Davis News, Okmulgee Times,
Weatherford Daily News and The
Piedmont-Surrey Gazette.
press and its role in Oklahoma in the
past and now, “Community Crusaders.”
That heritage of fighting for equality is
carried on today in three weekly newspapers, Russell Perry’s The Black Chronicle in Oklahoma City, the Goodwins’
historic Oklahoma Eagle in Tulsa, and
the relatively new non-profit Oklahoma
City Herald. Inspiring stories. More to
tell, and I may write on it later. Go buy
a copy and you’ll be amazed. Journalism
as it should be.
In your pages: I don’t know of anything more boring than most papers’
“Year in Review” recitations. I know, I
know, it’s easy filler and gives you time
off in the holidays. But huge amounts
of gray copy won’t get you any readers.
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multiplatform program is also easy to launch and easy to manage.
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call 800-223-1600, email [email protected] or scan the QR code to
see how you can immediately implement and benefit from Metro e-Connect.
Metro e-Connect
Commission and facilitated OSUIT’s involvement in the project, said, “This grant allows
us to gather critical information as the state
prepares for budgetary and mission changes
in the Department of Defense. It will look at
the industries in Oklahoma that rely, all or in
part, on Defense Department spending as part
of their business.”
OSUIT will share this information through
a publicly accessible, web-based portal that
maps the impact of sales and employment
related to military spending in Oklahoma. The
real-time economic data and forecasting tools
can then be used to maximize and align
growth strategies for the state’s defense and
aerospace supply chain industries.
Dr. Bill R. Path, president of OSUIT, said
that the grant demonstrates the university’s
strong ties to the military and its commitment
to the armed forces.
“Since its founding, OSUIT has always
worked to help meet the need of our country’s
infrastructure,” Path said. “This grant underscores the university’s focus on providing
workforce and economic development solutions through partnerships with private and
military industries.”
For more information contact Eric Covey at
918-293-5140.
Regional Food Bank looking to use armory building
Staff Reporter
The Weatherford City Commission and the Board of
Directors of the Weatherford Public Works Authority
had their final meeting of the year Wednesday.
During the meeting John Bobb-Semple of the
Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma gave a presentation
to commissioners highlighting the benefits of utilizing
the National Guard Armory in Weatherford as a food
and resource center for those in need in the area.
Bobb-Semple said the facility would be used as a
food resource center as well as an educational center
to benefit those in need in a variety of areas, such as
health and financial advice.
“Weatherford is blessed to have other programs in
the community that are able to serve those in need,”
said Bobb-Semple. “We have programs here such
as the Agape Clinic and many others who are able
to bridge out in other areas of service. Well, this
would be an opportunity for food services to be able
to do that. That’s without replacing those ministries
but very much so to build upon and to uphold to do
greater work.”
Bobb-Semple said eight other communities have
adopted similar food and resource centers including
Elk City.
“The big question for the commission may be, what
is the cost to the city of Weatherford,” said BobbSemple. “We really believe the investment of the
armory will be a great step… At this point the current
funding structure includes the Regional Food Bank to
invest $250,000. There’s also a local donor who has
come forward and said they’d like to donate $100,000
toward kids’ programs. Will it take more money?
Absolutely. Do we have an exact dollar amount right
now? We do not.”
Commissioners agreed to include a discussion
regarding the Regional Food Bank utilizing the
armory during their next meeting in January. There
will be a time set during the meeting for public
comment regarding this action.
Also during the meeting, city commissioners
approved the consent agenda which included the
minutes of the November meeting, general fund
claims in the amount of $851,554.36, restricted
Jessica Kelsey/WDN
John Bobb-Semple of the Regional Food
Bank of Oklahoma gave a presentation to city
commissioners Wednesday about opening a
food and resource center in Weatherford.
sales tax fund claims in the amount of $176,017.34,
approval of airport claims in the amount of
$47,423.06 and the Stafford Museum fund claims in
the amount of $28,430.95.
Commissioners decided they were satisfied with
improvements made to the Minyard property on the
Please see Food,
Page 3
The top story of 2014
JaRay Wilson’s murder trial begins
Coty Tomagos
Staff Reporter
Each year comes and goes at the blink of an eye; last year in particular was a big year. Last year left the
Weatherford Daily News wondering, what is the number one story of the year?
Last week the WDN asked friends on Facebook to take part in our story of the year survey. In this survey we
gave participants the opportunity to vote on 10 stories we thought were the top 10 (in no particular order).
Coming in at number one with 43.75 percent of the vote was JaRay Wilson’s murder trial begins.
The others came in order as followed: Five Weatherford youths arrested for drugs, Foss bodies identified,
Timber Creek restoration project, Bill Cosby/Pioneer Cellular Event Center opening, McDonald’s sign
collapses, WPS reach max capacity, Sage Kimzey wins the National Rodeo title, Weatherford named one of
the fastest growing towns and fracking possibly causes earthquakes.
Please see Top Story,
Page 3
Hospital sees decrease in ER visits
OSUIT receives $875,000 DOD
grant for supply chain study
Oklahoma State University Institute of
Technology, in partnership with the
Oklahoma Strategic Military Planning
Commission, has received a grant of nearly
$875,000 from the U.S. Department of
Defense to study the supply chain of the
Oklahoma defense industry.
Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe said the oneyear grant, which has a total project budget of
nearly $1 million and is titled “Oklahoma and
the Department of Defense: Impacts on the
State’s Economy and Workforce,” will help
maximize opportunities for OSUIT’s
Economic Development and Training Center
to study the defense industry’s impact on the
private sector and global communities.
“In addition, the award highlights OSUIT’s
position as Oklahoma’s only university of
applied technology and makes OSUIT an
influential stakeholder in the global economic
conversation,” Inhofe said. “The work that
OSUIT is doing, and will do under this grant,
will help make our state’s workforce competitively engaged inthe globaleconomy. I congratulate the university on a job well done,
and look forward to seeing how OSUIT’shard
work will contribute toour nation.”
Mike Cooper, who is chairman of the
Oklahoma Strategic Military Planning
Commissioners discuss opening a food and resource center
Jessica Kelsey
Trustees prepare for 2015
Jessica Kelsey
Staff Reporter
During the regular monthly meeting Tuesday of the Board of Trustees for
the Weatherford Hospital Authority members discussed the need to cross train
employees to understand billing.
According to CFO Stephanie Helton, personnel normally responsible with billing
had been absent from work due to being ill. This caused slight problems with the
billing process. Helton decided it would be best to work with outside officials to
cross train several employees in areas such as Medicare billing.
During the meeting members also re-appointed active staff, courtesy staff,
consulting staff and allied health personnel. The medical staff minutes were also
approved.
During Helton’s CFO report, she said throughout the month there was a “pretty
big drop” in patients visiting the hospital’s emergency room. She attributed the
decrease to potentially be a result from either a change in the ER staff or patients
utilizing local convenient cares.
“We have had a change in our ER staff. One of our staff has left,” said Helton.
“Sometimes your ER numbers and what’s done in there is a reflection of different
Please see Hospital,
Page 3
Making Spirits Bright!
Dr. Miranda Ruleford and the staff of Family Dental Care of Okmulgee, along with Santa
Claus himself, spread some Christmas cheer to the many residents of Rebold Manor
Monday evening. The staff packaged some 60 gift bags that were delivered. The residents were very appreciative to Family Dental Care for their gifts. See related photos on
page 8a.
(Staff photo by Patrick Ford)
I saw a few exceptions. The Carnegie
Herald jazzed it up some with a photo to
go along with each month. The Comanche County Chronicle turned it with a
neat headline, “What mattered most in
2014.” Ken Childers at the The Seminole
Producer broke it into three stories,
headlined Top 14 of ’14. Good layout in
the Weatherford Daily News.
What’s not boring is great story telling. Alisha Thompson at The Davis News
writes about a school cop. Her lead:
“The kids call him Officer Phil, and he
prefers it that way. He’s the Davis police
officer who greets your kids in the
morning and afternoon. He sees them
throughout the day, too.”
Andrew Knittle at The Oklahoman,
writing about rural drug overdoses. His
lead: “Five years ago, an Oklahoma
woman was found dead inside an empty
bathtub in her family home. On the
counter, just a few feet from the body,
police found a syringe with a sterile wipe
lying next to it. Another syringe was
found on the ground near the toilet.”
Gene Lehmann for the Chickasaw
Nation, in the The Ada News. His lead:
“GUTHRIE – A hypnotic Oklahoma sunset – blazing pastels of pink, purple and
red – was showing off just as a ‘Discover
Oklahoma’ film crew prepared to interview native Oklahoman Cindy Pickett. /
“‘Why don’t we turn the camera toward
that great sunset,’ Pickett inquired.”
Ginnie Graham for the Tulsa World.
Her lead: “Sgt. Dave Walker is not the
only Tulsa police officer at the scene of
Jeff Barron/WDN
The eastbound off ramp of I-40 at Exit 80 in Weatherford was closed
Wednesday morning due to an overturned semi that was blocking
the roadway. OHP, WPD, WFD, Sinor EMS and ODOT were all on
scene.
INSERTS
CHATTERBOX
TV Weekly
Coloring contest winners can pick up prizes at the WDN office... WPS classes resume
Monday, Jan. 5.... Happy Birthday WDN Facebook friends: Willis Mcgarrah, Kayla
Schroeder, Kat Knutson, Laddi Sahota, Kathy White, Renee Couch-Zeller, Kim
Grubbs Steinly and Paula Evan
USPS 406-100
The Piedmont-Surrey
Gazette
2 Section, 16 Pages
Your Hometown Newspaper For More Than 38 Years!
THURSDAY
January 1, 2015
PNO PiedmontNewsOnline.com
Vol. 39, No. 38
Follow us on Facebook
USPS 334-710
3 Sections, 24 Pages
On Twitter @PiedmontGazette
Area gas prices hovering
below statewide average
Roger Pugh/Gazette
The price of fuel at this 7-11, which is located at NW Highway and Mustang Road, remains among the lowest prices in northeast Canadian County and
far northwest Oklahoma City.
Roger Pugh
Publisher
As gasoline prices continue to tumble, Piedmont
residents gassing up in
town or in surrounding areas were paying from $1.71
to $1.99 per gal. for regular
by Monday.
This is just lower than
last week’s statewide gas
price average of $2.07, according to Triple A Oklahoma.
Statewide, gas prices at
the pump have fallen $1.46
since hitting its 2014 high
of $3.53 on June 26. As of
last week, the state pump
price had dipped for 55
straight days – plummeting
20 cents in the last week
and 56 cents over the last
month.
Gas Price Change Comparison
Source
AAA
Altus
Ardmore
Bartlesville
Enid
Grove
Guymon
Idabel
Lawton
McAlester
Muskogee
OKC Metro
Ponca City
Shawnee
Stillwater
Tulsa Metro
Statewide
Today
$2.098
$2.025
$1.910
$2.074
$1.999
$2.417
$2.147
$2.029
$2.154
$2.051
$2.037
$2.090
$1.954
$2.135
$1.935
$2.071
Last Week
$2.315
$2.214
$2.179
$2.274
$2.212
$2.484
$2.280
$2.199
$2.298
$2.257
$2.187
$2.318
$2.207
$2.349
$2.275
$2.274
Change
From
Last
Week
-$0.217
-$0.189
-$0.269
-$0.200
-$0.213
-$0.067
-$0.133
-$0.170
-$0.144
-$0.206
-$0.150
-$0.228
-$0.253
-$0.214
-$0.340
-$0.203
Price On
11/25/2014
$2.612
$2.605
$2.598
$2.528
$2.560
$2.957
$2.611
$2.514
$2.645
$2.566
$2.530
$2.602
$2.497
$2.719
$2.641
$2.616
Change
From
11/25/2014
-$0.514
-$0.580
-$0.688
-$0.454
-$0.561
-$0.540
-$0.464
-$0.485
-$0.491
-$0.515
-$0.493
-$0.512
-$0.543
-$0.584
-$0.706
-$0.545
At the two locations in
Piedmont to purchase gas,
one station was at $1.89,
while the other was priced
at $1.99 Monday night.
Along the Northwest
Highway the three most
eastern Canadian County
stations were
selling from
$1.75 on the
low
side,
to a high of
Last
$2.10..
Year
In far west
$2.913
Oklahoma
$2.917
City,
from
$2.960
the Northwest
$2.999
Highway,
$2.889
north to N.W.
$3.026
122, prices
$3.022
were generally in the high
$2.895
$1.70’s. The
$2.935
highest found
$2.920
in this area
$2.971
was
$1.99,
$3.030
while lowest
$2.945
was $1.71, as
$3.035
of late Mon$2.898
day
$2.957
Okla-
said Chuck Mai, spokesman for AAA Oklahoma.
“Although crude oil prices
have seen dramatic price
swings in recent years,
this year’s plunge has been
even more extreme and has
triggered speculation that
production may slow in
higher cost regions like the
U.S.”
A number of countries
depend on oil income to
balance their economies,
and sustained low prices
could lead to civil unrest as
those governments struggle
to deal with lower revenue
streams. At the close of
formal trading last week
West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed down
$1.87 per barrel at $55.26.
“Barring any disruptions
in domestic production or
unexpected spikes in the
global price of crude,
we could see prices drop
to a statewide average below $2.00 per gallon to ring
in the New Year,” Mai saiid
The national average
price of gas has declined
for 89 days in a row, the
longest consecutive streak
on record. Gas prices have
fallen every day since September 25 to today’s averBoutwell said $5,000 has age of just under $2.38,
already been raised and the lowest average price
if citizens get behind the per gallon since May 21,
fund raising effort and help 2009. The previous record
raise the needed amount to for consecutive days of deget the grant, construction clining gas prices was 86
days, set in 2008 during the
could start in 2015.
With the new year right height of the Great Receson the doorstep, Boutwell sion.
The current week-overalso reminded that donaWLRQV PDGH EHIRUH WKH ¿UVW week drop of 15 cents in
of the year could be deduct- the national average is
ed from 2014 income taxes. the largest such decline in
“We are already off to a more than six years. Motorgreat start and with the help ists are paying 44 cents less
of Piedmont citizens, we than one month ago and
will make this happen said 87 cents less than one year
See Prices Page 7A
See Splash Page 7A
homa City has isolated
stations selling E10 for
under $1.70 today, the lowest prices of anywhere in
the nation. In addition, the
Tulsa metropolitan area has
the lowest citywide average of any major U.S. city
today, $1.935 per gallon,
with Tulsa proper at about
$1.87.
Gas at both Okarche stations was selling for 2.09
by late Saturday.
,Q .LQJ¿VKHU 6DWXUGD\
most stations were offering fuel for about the same
price.
In fact no station was
higher than $2.09, while
the lowest price in that city
was $1.93.
At the same time in El
Reno, pump prices ranged
from a high of $2.16 to a
low of $1.97.
“Abundant global supply and sluggish demand
growth have helped push
the global price of crude
down by more than $50
per barrel since June,”
Piedmont to get $20,000 splash pad grant
if community can raise matching amount
Roger Pugh
Publisher
Piedmont can take a giant
step toward making the pro-
posed community splash
pad a reality thanks to an
annonymous donor who
has made it his mission to
Like the Gazette on Facebook
and follow on Twitter @
PiedmontGazette to receive links to
stories and breaking news updates.
For home delivery,
call (405) 373-1616
Get news
between issues at
PiedmontNewsOnline.com
help smaller communities
build such parks.
The grant is being made
available through the Communities Foundation of
Oklahoma “Give it Away”
donor advised fund, funded
by an anonymous donor
who has helped fund similar pads in several other
communities in the state.
Members of the Piedmont Community Foundation have been working
ZLWK FLW\ RI¿FLDOV LQFOXGing the Piedmont Parks
Board and citizens to build
a splash pad in Piedmont,
said Andi Boutwell, a
member of the Piedmont
Community
Foundation
Board of Directors.
She said locals working
on the project had received
a quote of $150,000 to
build the facility, but when
the donor looked over the
plans, he felt the project
could be done for much
less cost, and put Piedmont
in touch with a vendor in
Texas.
It was then the donor
agreed to put up the grant
if the community could
raise an equal amount.
a homicide, but he’s the only one who
goes to them all.”
Jeanne Grimes in The Purcell Register.
Her lead: “The new year brings promise
to Ginger Brockman, who for the first
time has a future to look forward to
instead of a past to live down. / “Brockman graduated December 19 from the
Continued on Page 9
The new multimedia ad program that is changing the way we connect.
OKPANOW2013
Clark’s Critique Continued from Page 8
McClain County Drug Court with 524
days of sobriety. / “She’s reached goals
once never even imagined. Completely
out of debt. A vehicle of her own. A
place of her own. A job. Ambition. Self
respect.”
Stories for the coming year?
Oil prices. Kevin Weiss, local angle
in the Woodward News about oil going
below $50. John Yates in the McAlester
News-Capital, “New year, cheap fuel.”
Rachel Snyder in The Duncan Banner,
“Gas prices boost travel, slow production.” D. Ray Tuttle in The Journal
Record, about Saudi Arabia, “Cartel Concerns.” Roger Pugh in The PiedmontSurrey Gazette, health care. K.W. Hillis,
The Lawton Constitution, local angle,
“Obamacare a Godsend.”
Ideas for next Christmas. Rene Fite
at the Muskogee Phoenix interviews people for “Recalling Christmases Past.” R.
Marcus in the The Sayre Record & Beckham County Democrat, writes “A Christmas Blessing in Western Oklahoma”.
HEAD’EM UP AWARDS: First Place, tie,
The Purcell Register on Grimes’ story:
A sober choice
and The Davis News, on Thompson’s
story:
Officer Phil goes the extra mile
Second place, tie, Tulsa World and
The Oklahoman. The World, on Graham’s
story:
Called to catch KILLERS
The Oklahoman, on a Steve Gooch
photo of a duck sliding on frozen water:
Fowl weather
Third place, The Chickasha ExpressStar, on Jessica Lane’s story:
Man making counterfeit dough
caught with pizza box full of pot
Honorable mentions: The Valliant
Leader, “Christmas: A Time of Good
Cheer…And Domestic Violence”;
Okmulgee Times, “Season of Scams”:
Sapulpa Daily Herald, on Chris Hick’s
story, “Grinch caught with stolen Christmas car”; The Lawton Constitution, on
AP drug abuse story, “Pills that kill”;
Marietta Monitor, on a Sandi Wolfe story,
“Drone down.”
News-Star gets new publisher
Kent Bush has been named the
new publisher of The Shawnee NewsStar, which is owned by GateHouse
Media.
Bush, who has served as both a
regional editor and publisher with
GateHouse Media since 2007, is a
graduate of Chickasha High School
as well as Oklahoma State University,
where he majored in political science
and economics.
He served as the editor of the
Chickasha Express-Star for about 14
years. In August 2007, he became
publisher of the Augusta Daily
Gazette in Kansas and has since
served as a publisher and regional
editor with GateHouse Media.
“I am very excited to come to a
dynamic community like Shawnee,”
Bush said. “Following great journalists and leaders like Brian Blansett
and Mike McCormick is a true pleasure. The News-Star has always been
a great newspaper and I am excited
to lead this staff into the future.”
Kim Benedict, senior group publisher for GateHouse Media Oklahoma properties, said Bush will provide
leadership for the News-Star staff
and will be an asset to Shawnee and
the surrounding communities.
“Kent brings a wealth of experience to the publisher position at the
News-Star. He is a seasoned journalist who understands the importance
of community engagement and the
need for multiple information platforms to serve a diverse audience.”
Bush and his wife Georgia have
been married for 16 and one-half
years and have two sons, Blake, 11,
and Dawit, 7.
Name changes around OPA
You may have noticed some new
names popping up in email from OPA.
That’s because two of our staff members
were recently married.
Lisa Sutliff is the former Lisa Potts,
and Wilma Newby is the former Wilma
Melot.
Lisa Potts, OPA member services director, married Marcus Sutliff
on Nov. 22, 2014, in Oklahoma City.
Marcus is an information technology
specialist for the Willis Group and a
graduate of Oklahoma State University.
He has two daughters, Madeline, 15, and
Carolyn, 13. The Sutliffs live in Edmond.
Wilma Melot married Daniel Newby
on Jan. 3, 2015, in Oklahoma City.
Newby is a retired website developer.
The Newbys reside in Oklahoma City.
ACTIVE KIDS MEAN ACTIVE BRAINS,
READY TO LEARN. TSET IS HELPING
OKLAHOMA’S YOUTH ACHIEVE MORE.
When Oklahoma
voters created the
Tobacco Settlement
Endowment Trust,
something amazing
happened. People
came together.
They joined forces
for the greater
good and saw the
possibility of a
healthier future.
For more information,
visit tset.ok.gov.
The habits kids form today
will follow them for a
lifetime. That’s why TSET
offers incentive grants to
schools and communities to
encourage Oklahomans of
all ages to eat better, move
more and be tobacco free.
Our Healthy Schools and
Healthy Communities
incentive grants partner to
promote physical activity
and good nutrition. Schools
use incentive grants to
promote a healthy lifestyle
for staff and students.
Communities use incentive
grants to make their
communities safe
and active.
10
Increase your productivity with tech accessories
Computer Notes
from the road
by Wilma (Melot) Newby
[email protected]
So you got a new tech product for
Christmas and you want to know how
to incorporate it into your everyday life.
Let’s take a look at how to make your
new gadget more useful.
If we’re talking about an iPhone, iPad,
smartphone or other new device, I’ve
found several solutions to the lack of
ports on them.
There’s an accessory called a travel
router that lets you share hard drives,
SD cards and files over your own little
network. A travel router can connect up
to five devices at once and the amount of
storage is only limited by how much you
want to spend.
One brand that your data can pass
through when connected to your regular network is the RAVPower FileHub.
You want the hub to have pass through
capability so that you can stay on your
normal network and reach the hub when
you’re at the office or at home.
This one has an external battery that
can charge smartphones. If you insert
a Micro SD card or an external USB
backup drive, you’ve just extended the
amount of storage by the size of those
drives. All those photos and videos taken
at the game can be offloaded from your
internal card to the wireless hub’s drive
space as you work.
This little device also comes in handy
if the router at your office goes down.
The travel router allows five to seven
computers or phones to share files.
That means your smartphones could
download files from email and then hand
them off to your computers.
Iogear MediaShair is another option
for a travel router. The Iogear and
RAVPower both retail for around $50.
And don’t forget the savings of your
data minutes by not using the cloud to
offload files.
The Ethernet port lets you turn a
wired network into a wireless one when
you plug in so everyone can use the
Internet at the same time.
That about covers the uses of a travel
router. Speaking of covers, let’s talk
about a cover that comes with a Bluetooth keyboard as part of the case for
your new iPhone 6 or iPad. It’s a much
faster input with a regular, albeit smaller,
keyboard and your phone or tablet will
be protected from the elements.
There also are Bluetooth keyboards
that fold and roll up for a very reasonable price.
The Eastchina Mini Portable Waterproof Foldable Wireless Bluetooth Silicone Keyboard is only $20 and can fit in
a coat pocket when rolled up.
Some of the Bluetooth keyboards
even come with builtin trackpads or a
mouse.
Now that we have our portable workstation going, let’s look at some apps
that could make working easier.
If you have one of the yearly subscriptions to Microsoft Office, you get the
free apps on your phone as well. Now
the phone can type directly into a Word
document or Excel file with some cloud
storage for uploading back to the office.
Google has its office apps for the phone
that work much the same way and uses
Google drive to share files.
You might look at something like FTP
Client Pro (there’s even a free version)
for uploading files back to the office if
your office has a FTP server.
For limited photo editing capabilities
on your iPhone or iPad, try Adobe Photoshop Mix or Pixtr.
Now you’re set up with your very own
portable office.
QUARK TO INDESIGN
With several newsrooms making the
change from QuarkXPress to InDesign I
thought I would take this opportunity to
talk about the hardest part of the switch
– recreating style sheets.
There is not really room to do a good
comparison in this column, but these
tips may help.
Recreating your style sheets is a
tedious process. It should be done as
a template file to maintain consistency.
Once you have everything correct, you
can give it to your staff.
Q2ID (QuarkXPress to Adobe InDesign) offers users a quick and easy way
to convert QuarkXPress content into a
new Adobe InDesign document. Q2ID
LEGAL ADVICE
is just one of the benefits of being a member of the Oklahoma Press
Association’s Legal Services Plan. Remove the worry of needing
professional advice by enrolling today. For more information contact:
OKLAHOMA PRESS ASSOCIATION’S
LEGAL SERVICES PLAN
1-888-815-2672 or 405-499-0020
can capture all the intricate details of
objects in a document such as exact
page positioning, color models, fonts
and styles. It retails for around $200. For
large newsrooms, the savings in hours
of labor will be considerable. Unfortunately, Q2ID may not work in Creative
Suite if you have an old version of Quark.
One of the biggest differences is
that Quark bases most of its Paragraph
Styles on Character Styles. This means
you can’t create a paragraph style without the base character style. InDesign
allows you to do it all in one step. It’s
easier, but different.
The first time a Quark user opens
InDesign’s styles dialogue box she can
be overwhelmed by the vast amount of
choices.
When I’m creating new style sheets
from Quark, I start by making screenshots of both the Character and Paragraph Styles along with detailed notes.
Start with your basic styles, such as
body copy and headlines.
Now move over to the InDesign document and start recreating those styles
from your screenshot notes. You can
copy the notes on a Mac by using Command + Shift + 4 and surrounding the
area to be copied. On Windows, use the
snipping tool.
To see how styles are set up in Quark,
go to Edit > Style Sheets. You can also
right click a style and go to edit. Check
carefully to determine if the style you’re
trying to recreate is based on another
style. If it is, go to that style and check
out how it is set up.
Now off to InDesign. Go to the Win-
dow menu at the top and then pull down
to Styles where you’ll find a flyout palette for Paragraph and Character Styles.
You can create most styles in Paragraph
Styles in InDesign. Character Styles are
only needed to embed two styles within
the same paragraph.
Once you’re in the Paragraph Styles
menu, click on the small menu that
pops out from the upper right corner for
another menu that lets you set up styles.
Go to New Paragraph Style. The only
options needed to set up a new style
are the first six listed (General, Basic
Character Format, Advanced Character
Format, Indents & Spacing, Tabs and
Options), unless you’re doing something more complicated, such as classifieds.
The General option is where you
name the style, and where you can base
one style off of another. As you click
through the options, you’ll notice that
all the options from Quark can be recreated here.
If creating new styles that are not
based on old styles, the best thing to
do is create the look you want on your
screen, then go to new Paragraph Style
and name it based on nothing else.
InDesign picks up on what is on screen
and gives the new style all those attributes.
OPA Computer Consultant Wilma Melot’s
column is brought to you by the Oklahoma
Advertising Network (OAN). For more information on the OAN program, contact Oklahoma
Press Service at (405) 499-0020.
NEWSPAPER & PUBLICATION BINDING
Before you have your next issue bound, give us a call. We offer exceptional quality,
competitive pricing and fast turnaround times. With three generations of experience,
we have the knowledge and skill to get your job done. Other services include
Bible binding and restoration, embossing and much more.
ACE BOOKBINDING CO.
825 N. Classen Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73106
(405) 525-8888 or Toll-Free at 1-800-525-8896
Email: [email protected] • www.AceBookBinding.com
OKLAHOMA PRESS ASSOCIATION
Saturday mail delivery continues but
Congress leaves Postal Service in limbo
The National Newspaper Association recently celebrated the continuation of Saturday mail delivery through
the federal fiscal year ending Sept. 30,
but lamented the passage of another
congressional session without postal
reform.
NNA President John Edgecombe Jr.
called on publishers to attend NNA’s
Leadership Summit March 19 in Washington to urge quick action in the next
Congress.
“If common sense had prevailed, a
reform bill would have been completed.
We had a solid proposal that provided
USPS with financial relief, preserved
service and implemented health cost
reforms. It should have been accepted,” said Edgecombe, publisher of The
Nebraska Signal in Geneva, Neb.
However, disputes among Senate
leaders stalled the progress. Congress
finally adopted a government funding
resolution for 2015 that included a
continued mandate for Saturday home
delivery. Other reform provisions,
including preservation of service standards and reasonable guidelines on
USPS’ use of negotiated service agreements to market its advertising mail,
never reached the Senate floor. Edgecombe said NNA was disappointed,
but he applauded President Obama’s
signature of the funding resolution that
continued six-day delivery.
He said NNA would highlight declining rural mail service in 2015. USPS is
on track to close more than 80 mail
processing plants in smaller U.S. cities.
It has said it wants to concentrate mail
sorting in urban areas, where declining mail volume has left urban plants
with idle time. NNA Postal Committee
Chair Max Heath said the changes
in mail processing ahead would be
the next wave in shrinking rural service and focusing processing in urban
areas.
“Although USPS has a genuine
problem keeping its plants busy, the
error was in overbuilding during the
fat times. Trying to fix it by carrying
the mail further and further down the
highways so those big plants can stay
busy is simply going to accelerate the
problems we have already seen. There
is only so much you can do to improve
efficiency when you are faced with
reality of miles of asphalt,” said Heath.
“Sadly, we are looking at two dif-
ferent visions of the Postal Service,”
Edgecombe said. “USPS management
believes it must focus on urban areas
in the hope of improving its revenue.
“But that pits the Postal Service
against private-sector competition in
over-served areas. It abandons the
essential needs in smaller towns and
under-served rural areas where the
service is most critical. Reports of
declining mail service in NNA-member
towns continue, and I frankly see little
change on the horizon unless Congress acts.”
Edgecombe said he was gratified
that key senators supported universal
service and had tried to broker a bill in
the final days of Congress. He thanked
Sens. Roy Blunt, R-MO; Jon Tester,
D-MT; Tammy Baldwin, D-WI; and
Bernard Sanders, D-VT, in particular
for leading the effort to wrap up a bill.
“The 114th Congress will be our
fourth Congress where we fight for
universal service,” Edgecombe said.
“We’ll be back. We will go armed with
our concerns, including service problems. We have faith that legislation can
be passed that preserves mail delivery
and sustains the Postal Service.”
Focusing on the rules shows true creativity
BY ED HENNINGER
“CREATIVITY.” It’s a word that
makes me cringe.
Why?
Because more and more often, it
seems, “creativity” is being used by people who don’t understand what design
is all about. They want to “stretch the
envelope” and “think outside the box”
without any concept of the shape, size
and material of the envelope or box.
They really think design is all about
how something looks – and not about
how it works.
They’ll use any funky font they can
find…in any color…outlined…with
embossing…and a drop shadow. And
they call it creative. Sorry, but to me
that’s not creativity – it’s just playing.
True creativity is a strong focus on the
rules, then working within the rules to
achieve a design that’s visually appealing – and maybe even exciting.
But you can’t work within the rules if
you don’t know the rules. It’s been my
experience that most people who do layout aren’t familiar with some of the most
basic design rules and principles.
STAFF DIRECTORY
ADMINISTRATION
MARK THOMAS
Executive Vice President
JEANNIE FREEMAN
Accounting Manager
SCOTT WILKERSON
Front Office/Building Mgr.
MEMBER SERVICES
LISA (POTTS) SUTLIFF
Member Services Director
ADVERTISING
CINDY SHEA
Advertising Manager
LANDON COBB
Sales Director
BRENDA POER
Advertising Assistant
BUD HEAROD
Account Executive
CREATIVE SERVICES
JENNIFER GILLILAND
Creative Services Director
ASHLEY NOVACHICH
Editorial/Creative Assistant
COMPUTER ADVICE
WILMA (MELOT) NEWBY
Computer Consultant
POSTAL ADVICE
Ask them about focus…unity…
dimension…contrast…the color wheel.
They won’t have a clue, and that’s why I
call them “people who do layout” rather
than “designers.”
Somewhere, someone came up with
the idea that the mission of her newspaper is to help her satisfy her “creative”
urges. So, the publisher is delighted
when he sees a headline in color…
outlined…with embossing…and a drop
shadow.
Sorry, that’s not design – and the
mission of a newspaper is not to satisfy
creative urges. The mission of a newspaper is to bring meaning to the lives
of readers – and to give advertisers a
strong return on their ad dollar.
So, if someone on your staff whines
that there’s not enough “creativity” in
your design…well, maybe that’s a good
thing and maybe you’re just doing a better job of news design.
Creativity has its place, for sure.
Picasso was creative. Dali was creative.
Warhol was creative. Calder was creative. But before they were “creative,”
they understood and appreciated the
finer points of visual art.
Someone who thinks it’s OK to use
Tex-Mex fast food menu typography on
a headline?
Well, it makes me cringe.
ED HENNINGER, an independent newspaper consultant and the Director of Henninger
Consulting, offers comprehensive newspaper
design services including redesigns, workshops, staff training and evaluations. E-mail:
[email protected]. On the web:
www.henningerconsulting.com.
Phone:
803-327-3322.
STEVE BOOHER
Postal/Public Notice Consultant
DIGITAL CLIPPING
KEITH BURGIN
Clipping Manager
KYLE GRANT
Digital Clipping Dept.
[email protected]
JENNIFER BEATLEY-CATES
MALLORY HOGAN
GENERAL INQUIRIES
(405) 499-0020
Fax: (405) 499-0048
Toll-free in OK: 1-888-815-2672
12
OKLAHOMA NATURAL GAS CONTEST WINNERS
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NOVEMBER 2014 WINNERS
November Column: DAVID CHRISTY, Enid News & Eagle
November Editorial: PAUL LAUBACH, The Hennessey Clipper
NOVEMBER 2014 EDITORIAL WINNER
PAUL LAUBACH, The Hennessey Clipper
I vote God’s way
Ten years ago I ran for the Oklahoma House of Representatives as a Democrat. I was humbled to carry Seiling, Canton, and my hometown of Okeene. The majority
of the district voted against me.
Since that time I’ve been blessed with enough success
in the oil and gas business to invest in newspapers. What
a great investment. Now every night I pray that Maria
doesn’t leave me. Apparently managing newspapers is
even more fun than calving out heifers.
One memory from my campaign experiences frequented my mind as I watched my good friend Joe Dorman lose his bid to become Oklahoma’s Governor last
week.
Ten years ago somebody sent me an anonymous,
hand written letter that simply stated, “I vote God’s way.”
Since I was running as a Democrat I was, of course,
running on the devil’s platform.
Are not all Democrats nonrepenting sinners and
Republicans natural saints?
A couple of years ago I switched my party registration
to Independent. With the reflection of my political views
and the constant partisan bickering between the parties,
I finally realized that I didn’t belong to any political party.
Yet I’m still pretty political, but don’t ask my wife
about that.
I often vote for Republicans because their policies
are good for my pocketbook. Less taxes and less government really does help private business. When I vote
Republican it has nothing to do with voting God’s way. I
vote Republican because it’s good for Paul’s way.
My friend Joe lost his election bid much for the same
reason that I did 10 years ago.
Joe ran as a Democrat.
Last week was not a good election night for Democratic candidates.
President Obama’s championed Obamacare has
taken the Democratic Party to new lows. Obamacare is
founded in the concept that the young and healthy and
those better off should help pay for healthcare for the
sick and poor. What a despicable concept.
More than 2000 years ago a wealthy man, a follower
of God’s law, asked our Lord Jesus Christ what he must
do to inherit eternal life.
Our Lord answered in Luke Chapter 18, Verse 22:
“Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and
distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in
heaven: and come, follow me.”
The wealthy man walked away “sorrowful.”
I am a flawed man.
I do not follow all of God’s law faithfully.
Even as I have accepted God’s gift of salvation I still
walk away many times as “sorrowful.” I enjoy what material wealth I have been blessed with.
Last week I voted for my friend Joe to the contrary of
Paul’s way.
Joe has not only followed God’s law more than I, he
has the better heart.
Joe ran on expanding Medicaid coverage in Oklahoma to help thousands of Oklahomans gain health
care coverage. Joe was accurately tied to supporting
President Obama’s most infamous public policy when
he did that.
Joe Dorman may never possess material wealth. Joe
works hard and is plenty smart enough to be successful
in business, but my bet is Joe will just find another way
to serve the people.
There is comfort for me to know that both Joe and
I have accepted the salvation provided by our Lord’s
grace.
Joe’s treasures in heaven will likely outnumber mine.
I wish Governor Mary Fallin a prosperous and successful second term. All Oklahomans should unite
around her. She will be good for business.
I’m proud to have supported my friend Joe. And since
my hypocrisy knows no bounds, I will even declare that
every once in awhile.
I vote God’s way!
Enter and Win
a $100 Check
from Oklahoma
Natural Gas!
The November Oklahoma Natural Gas
Column and Editorial Contest
was judged by a member of the
Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame.
1. Each month, send a tear sheet or
photocopy of your best column and/
or editorial to Oklahoma Natural Gas
Contest, c/o OPA, 3601 N. Lincoln Blvd.,
Oklahoma City, OK 73105-5499.
2. Include the author’s name, name of
publication, date of publication and
category entered (column or editorial).
3. Only ONE editorial and/or ONE column
per writer per month will be accepted.
4. All entries for the previous month must
be at the OPA office by the 15th of the
current month.
5. Winning entries will be reproduced on
the OPA website at www.OkPress.com.
Entries must have been previously
published. Contest open to
all OPA member newspapers.
Although Oklahoma Natural Gas Company
selects representative contest winners’
work for use in this monthly ad, the views
expressed in winning columns and editorials
are those of the writers and don’t necessarily
reflect the Company’s opinions.
Thank you for continued
support of “Share The Warmth”
Read the Winning Columns & Editorials on the OPA website:
www.OkPress.com (Under Contests)

The Oklahoma Publisher - Oklahoma Press Association

Transcription

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