In 2006, Pixar Animation Studios released the movie Cars and introduced us to Radiator Springs, an imaginary town along Route 66 that long ago had been bypassed by a freeway beyond the city limits. The characters are personified vehicles with names like Lightning McQueen, Sally Carrera, Mater the Tow Truck, Doc Hudson, Flo, Luigi and a whole host of other cars and trucks.
Viewers see a community where the slower pace and quality of life is enhanced by knowing and caring about one’s neighbors. The essence of the film is caught in a conversation between McQueen, a stock car literally lost in the rat race of society and Sally, a baby blue Porsche 911 who has intentionally escaped that world to pursue wholesomeness and harmony in Radiator Springs, a community where despite hard economic times, relationships matter.
I had the pleasure recently of hosting the first meeting of the Character Education Task Force.
More than 20 representatives of school districts, civic groups and faith-based organizations from throughout the state joined members of the state’s Parent Teacher Association in the initial meeting earlier this month. In doing so, we are laying the groundwork for something I hope will help in the development of character education in Oklahoma schools.
Everyone has vastly different ideas of what constitutes character education, but one thing is certain — while we focus on increasing academic rigor and ensuring our children are as prepared for college and career as are their national counterparts, none of it will matter if we are not also developing their character.
I noticed a particular phrase used, "The Authority," when dealing with choosing a new lessee.
Just who is "The Authority" (names)? Sounds like they’ll make the final decision on choice of the new lessee, and the people of Midwest City have a right to know their names.
This week, I attended an interesting Midwest City council meeting.
I listened to councilmembers talk and entertain public discussion for 30 minutes or more (I lost track) about a development.
During the comments, an attorney addressed councilmembers on behalf of his client in charge of the development. He pointed out that opposing homeowners were originally against street improvements, but had since changed their stance on the issue.
I’m in no way implying the residents against the development were in the wrong. It’s just that if they’re going to go up against something, they need to stay consistent because it benefits their argument more.
They also need to realize sometimes they are fighting a losing battle.
Knowledge is power, and safety is key so learning how to protect and serve alongside the "Boys in Blue" is an empowering experience.
Midwest City Police Department’s Citizens Academy is now accepting applications for the 2014 class. This session will be the 33rd Citizens Academy as has been a part of the Midwest City Police Department for sixteen and a half years.
"We have classes on every different aspect of the police department," Major David Huff, chief instructor for Citizens Academy, said. "At Midwest City, community based policing is our core. We want to interact with the citizens of our city instead of it being a kind of ‘us versus them’ mentality."
Why does anyone need a high-capacity rifle? It’s a question anti-gun proponents often posit. It stumps some gun owners and gun advocates because it’s difficult to answer. The answer is that nobody "needs" a high-capacity rifle in the technical sense of the word "need." But is the 2nd Amendment a "need" analysis? No, of course not.
I don’t need to write these opinion columns but I do and the things I say are protected by the 1st Amendment right of free speech. I don’t need to be secure from warrantless searches; I’m not a criminal. The 4th Amendment protects me from the State nonetheless. In fact, there isn’t a single protection in the Bill of Rights that I actually need.
Why then do gun owners allow themselves to be duped by this dishonest argument? It’s because they fail to challeng the presupposition that gun owners must justify and articulate a need.
If the 2nd Amendment isn’t based on need, what then is its purpose? Balance of Power. The 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was drafted for the sole purpose of balancing the power of the people and the power of the State. The "well-regulated militia" written about in the 2nd Amendment was no more than an assembly of the people. It stands to reason that the 2nd Amendment was intended to propel the people as a whole to a position of power so that government could not usurp their authority.
Del City residents were in an uproar this week about a rezoning request, that if approved, could have brought sales tax dollars in for the city.
Council leaders unanimously turned down the proposal, though, because the public opinion was that it was not a good idea.
Seems like a fair way to make a decision, but here’s the thing: why wasn’t the city looking out for the best interest of their residents in this area all these years?
They’ve allowed house after house to go into the Sooner Road area. That is the real issue at hand with this situation. Failure to enforce the city’s building codes.
City government employees follow a different set of rules than the rest of us do and if something isn’t done properly, like in this case, problems can arise down the road.
I speak of the incandescent bulb — the light of my life for all of my years. As of Jan. 1, you have been shut off. That was the mission of a 2007 law that raised energy-efficiency and wattage standards far beyond what you are capable of reaching.
You had a fine run, my friend. Perfected by Thomas Edison some 135 years ago, you stand as one of the greatest inventions of all time.
Your brilliance was in your simplicity. By sending an electrical current through a thin filament, which is sealed in a gas inside a bulb, you produce light.
EastWord presents opposing viewpoints on hot topics. The question this time is: The ever-present debate heats up as to rather or not our nation’s most basic wage system should change, but at what cost? Check out what our opposing gust writers have to say on the topic:
By now nearly everyone in America has been made aware of allegedly anti-gay statements made by Phil Robertson, patriarch of the Robertson family and star of the A&E; series "Duck Dynasty." This latest pseudo-controversy is just one in a long line of other controversies involving the alleged homophobia rampant in the Christian community.
Earlier this year, Chick-Fil-A Chief Operating Officer Dan Cathy announced his position against gay marriage. The American media was outraged that a devout Christian would oppose gay marriage. Similarly, the American media (and A&E; apparently) were shocked that Phil Robertson would publicly state his opinion against homosexuality. But is that what happened?
‘Tis the season for lots of good things – and also for potholes.
The wild temperature fluctuations we experience in winter, coupled with ice and snow storms, are especially hard on asphalt roadways, which make up the majority of our road, street and highway surfaces.
Water seeps into cracks, freezes at night, expands and widens those cracks. Then along come cars and trucks and a section of the roadway crumbles and collapses, creating a pothole that may range from inches to feet in diameter.
Not only are potholes unsightly, they can damage vehicles. Pothole patching is a constant battle for those agencies responsible for road and street maintenance.
The true meaning of Christmas, do you know what it is?
When I look into my three-year-old’s brilliant blue eyes as she talks about how excited she is for Christmas, I get a glimpse.
I also saw it this past Saturday when I watched Del City police officers wearing their starched uniforms and tough bullet proof vests, gingerly help little shoppers pick out items for Shop with a Cop.
There are signs everywhere, you just have to know where to look.
During this season, we all shouldn’t debate about the things that really don’t matter like whether a certain decoration conveys a religious message, or if a passive observer should be offended by it.
Should the origin of the Christmas tree or the phrases cashiers greet customers with matter too?
It’s often been said that you never have a second chance to make a first impression. During the launch of HealthCare.gov more than two months ago, the majority of Americans experienced a terrible first impression of the Affordable Care Act and its ability to deliver what the president had promised since its passage.
Good or bad, it is incredibly difficult to change a person’s opinion or feeling on something. As noted pundit Peggy Noonan said during ABC’s This Week, "Even programs can get reputations. You can get a sense that something isn’t working." The initial problems with the website, including its inability to handle high traffic, error messages, long wait times and reported security issues, is a perfect example of a poor first impression. Now it continues to cause many to distrust the website.
Today, Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church was named Time Magazine’s "Person of the Year." Supporters of this "reformer" Pope have heralded his reign as being a modernistic approach to Christianity.
Pope Francis has softened the Church’s stance on homosexuality and abortion, has spoken in favor of the poor and railed against corporate greed. No word yet on how he feels about governmental greed.
Now, I’m not Catholic so I have no personal opinion on this Pope or any other Pope for that matter. I find this particular Pope fascinating by the way liberals, long critics of the Catholic Church, have celebrated his brief papacy.
This past Saturday I was home watching the tube. I really cannot remember what I was watching, although I know it was NOT the OU and OSU game, when my house began to shake.
My daughter, who was too busy bouncing around like her normal 3-year-old self, didn’t skip a beat playing with her toys. I on the other hand was sitting on the couch when the shaking started.
I didn’t move an inch. I just sat there kind of in awe that the situation was really happening.
I remember glancing outside just to make sure that the streets weren’t breaking up like in the crazy earthquake end-of-the-world scene in 2012.
In Phil Bacharach’s rebuttal to Dr. Deering’s comments on the A-F grading system, he says, "Not knowing you have a health problem does not make the ailment go away. If you know about it, however, you can treat it and take steps to lead a healther life."
The problem with the A-F grading system is that it ignores the heath of the community in which our schools are located.
You simply can’t ignore the effect that poverty and homelessness have on a student.
You can’t ignore the effect of being hungry or unwanted.
I was disappointed to read Dr. Deering’s negative remarks in the Nov. 22 edition of EastWord about the A-F school grading system administered by the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
Particularly troubling is her belief that the grading system essentially had been discredited through a pair of studies by OU and OSU education researchers. These studies - the first of which was funded by two education-establishment organizations with a stake in the grades --arrived at some curious conclusions. The researchers, who based their findings on a meager 3 percent of graded schools, found that 70 percent of achievement in the classroom is due to factors beyond a school’s control.
If you don’t mind, I’d like to share an opinion. I believe gay marriage is ludicrous on several levels.
Although it is designed by God, putting any religious aspects aside - just focus on the intended purpose:
1. Marriage was decreed for procreation.
2. Marriage is a safeguard for a virgin, making sexual intimacy with her husband acceptable. Without marriage she would be considered a whore or harlot.
I first visited Tushka Schools in April 2011, after a tornado destroyed the district’s main school building. It was a heartbreaking scene – much of the building was in ruin, many students and teachers were displaced from their homes, and district staff worried about how they would finish the school year.
I visited the Atoka County district again about a year ago, and I made my third trip last week. I can hardly express how thrilled I am with the fortitude of the students, teachers and administrators in Tushka.
After weeks of delay, the A-F grades were released by the State Department of Education last week. Prior to the official release, Mid-Del Schools experienced 10 different grades for our schools in two weeks. Following the release of the grades, the SDE removed district grades due to admitted inaccuracies.
In the business world, if an accountant told you that you would receive a large refund, then changed it 10 times, wouldn’t you find another accountant immediately? Such is the life of the A-F grading system in Oklahoma!
When researchers have warned, in two different reports, that the system is flawed even with the changes this past legislative session, our state leadership has ignored the findings. If this was a medical research report, how long would it take to revise a practice if lives were at stake? Aren’t our children worth as much consideration when research reveals the method to arrive at grades has a high level of arbitrariness and is not a statistically valid or reliable measure of school performance?
I cannot begin to even describe the level of chill bumps I experienced during Monday’s Midwest City Veterans Day Parade.
Way to go Midwest City for putting together this amazing event!
If you were not at the stage, you surely missed out. I am sure there were great views to be had all along the parade route, but being right front and center, was simply the best.
Bonnie Cheatwood with the MWC Chamber of Commerce suggested I take pictures standing to side on the grand stage, and boy, am I sure glad she did.
Those nippy mornings remind us that really cold weather – and with it annoying winter precipitation – are just around the corner. While central Oklahoma is hardly a deep winter place, it can get messy, as we recall from the three big record-setting snowfalls we have experienced in recent years.
Even a moderate dusting of snow or a sudden ice storm can create hazardous winter driving situations. It makes sense to borrow from the Boy Scout motto and be prepared.
Most Oklahomans know that our public agencies don’t have the vast fleets of snowplows and other equipment government invests in in areas like Minnesota, where winter can last six harsh months. But we are prepared, through an excellent system of teamwork arranged in advance each year.
(Editor’s Note: EastWord provided this week’s topic to two local community members that have agreed to participate in our Point/Counterpoint. Their identities will remain anonymous to our readers, but are known by EastWord’s editor. We hope this new feature in the paper encourages our readers to engage in a friendly conversation.)
Discussion is underway in our state about "reforms" that should be made to our state’s system of judicial selection. In fact, a legislative interim study takes place at the state Capitol this week to further delve into those issues. Our current method of choosing judges is the right one for our state, because it is the one best suited for keeping politics out of our courtrooms.
Fifty years ago, when justice was for sale, politicians appointed and confirmed Oklahoma’s appellate Supreme Court justices. There was no check on that authority. The result was a bribery scandal inside our highest state court.
Oklahomans found a new process and it is still working. A Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) was created by constitutional amendment in 1967. Today, the 15 JNC members are appointed in various ways.
The Midwest City Fire Department takes car seat safety very seriously.
I found this out firsthand last week while waiting on my transaction to be complete at the bank for work.
Nina Powell walked into the bank on "official" fire department business but first asked the bank teller if she knew who the driver of a certain vehicle in the parking lot was.
I have read with horror the recent news accounts about Rebecca Sedwick, a 12-year-old Florida girl who killed herself after what authorities said was unrelenting bullying by other girls in her community.
Such high-profile stories have become all too commonplace over the past few years. In Oklahoma, we’ve had our own tragic examples of children bullied to the point of suicide.
It must stop.
October is National Bullying Prevention Month. A proclamation issued earlier this month by Governor Mary Fallin declared the week of Oct. 6-12 as Bullying Prevention Week in Oklahoma, while many of our state lawmakers have worked to strengthen bullying laws.
Each year, thousands of non-custodial parents of Oklahoma children default on the child support payments that courts have ordered them to pay. In many cases this leaves their children in poverty. Now there’s a new way to require that these deadbeat parents meet their legal and moral obligations to support their children.
Most Oklahoma County residents are familiar with the successful SHINE community service program we created in 2010. Judges can sentence low-level non-violent offenders to perform a specific number of hours of community service, and my District Two crew oversees their work.
Offenders sentenced to SHINE work hard trimming brush, picking up trash and even erasing graffiti. SHINE has been honored by Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government as a Bright Idea, and at least two other counties in Oklahoma are preparing to launch similar programs that will save money while reminding offenders that there are consequences for their lawbreaking actions.
OKLAHOMA CITY- State Supt. Janet Barresi’s politicized statement last week soft-shoeing the flubbed A-F grade release to state school districts validates the public’s reservations about the whole grading system, said Rep. Jerry McPeak, D-Warner, on Monday, Oct. 21.
"If we’re looking for accountability in our schools, why not start with the State Department of Education?" said McPeak. "The SDE will take all the accolades you want to give them but haven’t taken the blame for anything wrong in three years. I wonder what it’s like to sincerely believe you and your department are perfect?"
"Dr. Barresi released a statement on Friday that said ‘some opponents of school accountability will no doubt seize on the recent delay as yet another reason to postpone, reconfigure, or simply trash the A-F report cards,’" said McPeak. "In common vernacular from my community, ‘you’ve got that right!’ Barresi’s words validate what I’ve already said. There are those in this state who are determined to continue A-F, regardless of how horribly it is executed and how much it hurts our children in public schools."
In one week’s time, all of our Oklahoma schools reportedly received seven versions of their A-F scores and as of Tuesday afternoon, the results were embargoed until further notice.
No matter what side of the debate you are on when it comes to A-F scores, you have to admit that this delay makes it very difficult for our school districts to stay on task and to do their jobs. And speaking of the results, how are school administrators supposed to trust the results they received when preliminary results showed massive errors, reportedly due to the testing company.
Originally, school districts were supposed to receive the data in August and then have 30 days to review test scores. Then from there, they would receive their report cards and have another 10 days of review before the Oct. state board of education meeting when they would be approved.
