The Seattle ThunderSonics? With the good news that the NBA owners' lockout of the players has been resolved, a couple of Canadian guys, J.E. Skeets and Tas Melas, were in Oklahoma City to interview locals about the news that, as part of the deal, the Thunder were moving back to Seattle as part of a "peace offering."
As reported at USA Today, the article reads as follows:
Oklahoma fans told Thunder are moving back to Seattle By Alonzo Adams, AP, as reported in USA Today:
As a New York Timesstory this week illustrated, Oklahoma City loves and needs its NBA team, the Thunder. As it pertains to why the city needs the team, writer Tom Spousta cites an Oklahoma City chamber of commerce estimation that each of the eight Thunder's home dates lost because of the strike would cost $1.3 million. He also explained that hotels that were selling out on game days were trying fill rooms offering rates for less than $100 per night and waiters who are seeing their tip total slashed by 80% or so. As it pertains to why the city needs the team, writer Tom Spousta cites an Oklahoma City chamber of commerce estimation that each of the eight Thunder's home dates lost because of the strike would cost $1.3 million. He also explained that hotels that were selling out on game days were trying fill rooms offering rates for less than $100 per night and waiters who are seeing their tip total slashed by 80% or so. But the city loves the now three-year-old Thunder as well. "It's a love affair we have here," local businessman Ed Lynn told Spousta. "It hurts. It isn't just a sporting event, it's a social experience for us." Fan T.J. Nance said, "It's the only thing we can agree on, other than conservative politics." So, when J.E. Skeets and Tas Melas of The Basketball Jones, as part of their tour to NBA cities, tried to convince fans on the streets of Oklahoma City that the Thunder were moving back to Seattle to become the Seattle ThunderSonics, it's not surprising that they were surprised and even a little upset. But considering that all's well that ends well for the locals, we can chuckle at a harmless prank.
When I first located and read this article, a smile immediately crept across my face because of the incredulity of the premise — and the lady in yellow made my smile even broader since she obviously didn't have a clue about what she was talking.
It is not enough to say, "Welcome back, OKC Thunder! Welcome back, NBA!" Why not? In Oklahoma City, businesses which have their livelihood based on regular NBA seasons playing their regular preseason games as well as during the regular season, have been irreparably harmed and no remedy is present in the new agreement to make them whole. Regular employees and local businesses which are predicated upon the NBA preseason and regular season existing have lost substantial amounts of income and business and no remedy exists in the new agreement to make them whole, either.
Regardless of owner/player economic issues, the fans who buy tickets to these games and have been powerless to influence the outcome even though they are the singular group which drives the economic engine to make the owners make a profit and funds the players for their largesse player contracts.
And so it is that fan scars, perhaps deep, exist from this lockout which involved the owners and players dispute. The third leg of the stool, the fans and their funding for the latter, had no voice as a factor in that resolution.
Hopefully the Thunder organization will address those fan scars and will bump back the Thunder to the place that it was before the lockout when the Thunder were the winners of the Northwest Division. But don't look for the Thunder organization to pay money to those business who lost income during the lockout or give something to the fans for enduing the senseless events which occurred since the end of the last season.
Not even an apology. Neither the owners nor the players have it within themselves to say, "I'm sorry," to the fans and businesses which rely on business as usual. Whether the Thunder, and the NBA, will be as popular in late December 2011 as they were in May 2011, before the owners' lockout began, remains to be seen ... but my guess is that it/they will be.
In the meantime, a sense of humor is not a bad thing to have. I've looked for but could not find this lady's dad's website, exposure.com, she said ...
Collectively, Wayne Coyne and the Oklahoma Gazette's annual Halloween Parade have doubtless captured the fancy of the contemporary grizzly and ghoul market in the city. But, in my youth, the one and only person that did that was Count Gregore, also known as John Ferguson.
One could not have possibly grown up in Oklahoma in the late 1950s through the late 1980s without knowing about the dreadful Count. From May 1958 until 1988, about 30 years running, WKY-TV's late Saturday night Shock Theater (beginning at 12 o'clock midnight) was broadcast throughout central and at least southwestern Oklahoma (but, as you will see from an interview below, it was evidently seen in other parts of the state as well). I graduated from Lawton High School in 1961, and, before doing so, our television antennas could be appropriately aligned to be able to pick up Count Gregore for Shock Theater parties with my Lawton High School buddies. This was before the days of cable television and during the days that house-top TV antennas in Lawton could be rotated to receive television signals emanating from Oklahoma City.
The 83 year-old but still fearful Count will be the speaker at the December 12, 2011, 2nd Annual Holiday/Christmas/Whatever Party of Retro Metro OKC. This post features the history of Count Gregore — speaker at that meeting and festive occasion. Ann DeFrange, Oklahoman reporter, wrote a fine piece in 2008 which gives a better summary of John Ferguson's public life and the development of the character that he is most remembered for than I could. She wrote the following:
Count Gregore Lives On John Ferguson Followed His Star By Ann DeFrange, The Oklahoman May 21, 2008
Count Gregore, an Oklahoma television icon, turned 50 years old this month, although he appears to be ageless, John Ferguson, his creator, is 80 and almost as immortal. Ferguson and the Count scared generations of children in Oklahoma in the past half century. Ferguson describes himself growing up in Indiana as small, anemic, poor and a bad student. As a high school freshman, he was 5 feet tall and weighed 90 pounds. But, "I was a dreamer," he said. His mother's movie magazines and some acting classes offered an "escape mechanism" and in the 1950s, he went to Hollywood. He worked at a gas station until he managed an interview with the prestigious William Morris talent agency. He was told he'd never make a leading man, and that television was preempting movies. But in Hollywood he met Billie, married her 53 years ago, and moved to Oklahoma. He sold men's clothing in a Tulsa store. Upstairs was the studio of KVOO radio where Ferguson fell in love with radio. He narrates his life story like a radio drama. He followed his star, he said, behind a touring dog act and upstairs to a microphone. He coincidentally auditioned at a station in Muskogee the day they fired their announcer. Then he moved to that company's television station. In 1955, after he had been in the business for only 18 months, he got a job at WKY Channel 4 in Oklahoma City which had been in business only since 1949. He was staff announcer and ad salesman. The small-screen world was black and white and "everything was live, even commercials." Opportunities for creativity were ample, because there were no rules and no technology to rely on. He was one of the pioneers of the medium. His early contemporaries are a roll call of local broadcast history — Wakefield Holley, Joe Jerkins, Bill Howard, Wally Kinnan, Hi Roberts, Johnny Shannon, Steve Powell, Bill Thrash, Ed Birchall. But he kept thinking: "I'm an actor. I want on that stage so badly." In the afternoons, Channel 4 ran a kids' space adventure with a cast of one — Danny Williams. Ferguson developed his own character. "It had to be villainous, evil." Inspired by Ming from the "Buck Rogers" comic strip [ed. note — sorry Ann, but that would be from Flash Gordon, I'm pretty sure], he painted on a Van Dyke beard and mustache, shaped his eyebrows like V's, greased his hair to a point on his face and called himself the Duke of Nukedom. Williams added him to the script, which was more like a scenario, allowing the actors to spontaneously improvise. So, before "Star Trek," there was Bazark and Ubik. Sometimes one of them went to Earth and visited the Circle 4 Ranch, setting for another kids' show. In May 1958, when Williams moved to radio, WKY-TV planned a show to follow, "Saturday Night Wrestling." "Shock Theater" showed classic horror films with a live host, so Count Gregore came to live and stayed on local TV until 1988. Ferguson has appeared on every television station in Oklahoma City and made other appearances as Gregore. He and the Count frightened generations of children in Oklahoma, who had never played gory video games or seen sophisticated scare movies. He still uses his original cape. And he has the voice, a soft, but harsh whisper; the pointed eyebrows that bore into you and leave terror in your heart and a nostalgia for the good old days when scary was deliciously innocent.
Retro Metro OKC 2nd Annual Holiday/Christmas/Whatever Party! The person you have been reading about above is the featured speaker.
All Retro Metro members and their guests, as well as all non-members who have a passion for Oklahoma City history, are invited to attend. Click here for a PDF flyer describing this outstanding event.
The party will be on December 12, 2011, at 6:30 pm at Bellevue Health and Rehabilitation Center's dining room, 6500 N.Portland, which is at the southwest corner of the Bellevue facility.
Here's a map — the red arrow points to your destination.
Hors d'oevres, soft drinks, and wine are provided.
One provider is due singular attention: Ed Lynn, owner of Buffalo Wild Wings at 4130 NW Expressway, is donating 250 wings for the event, a magnificently generous contribution.
Retro Metro OKC is more fully discussed in this blog post, but, briefly stated, Retro Metro OKC is a not-for-profit 501c3 organization which endeavors to make Oklahoma City history more accessible to anyone who wants to learn more about it. Its website is www.retrometrookc.org and its Facebook page is here.
Videos. Here are some videos for you to enjoy ...
The Oklahoman's Dave Morris & Angi Brus Intverview John Ferguson ... How He Got His Start, May 2008
John Ferguson Describes Changes in Horror Films, May 2008
The Count's Top 10 Favorites, October 2008
Excerpts from Nightmare Theater KSBI-TV Channel 52, Cox Channel 6, October 31, 2011 The Brain That Wouldn't Die
When the Count appeared on Channel 5, his program was called Nightmare Theater (I don't know the dates). This past month, on Halloween, KSBI-TV Channel 52, Cox Channel 6, presented a special showing of Nightmare Theater for its audience, and it contained some video of the Count unlike what we've ordinarily seen, focusing on his singing and dancing capabilities!
The Movie — The Brain That Wouldn't Die To save viewer pain, I've truncated the movie to 1 minute, 57 seconds (opening title, head scene, closing title) Notice that the opening and closing titles are not the same. This 1962 movie was simply awful!
The Count Sings With Vampira (3:17)
The Count Dances With Jackie Short (2:42)
The last two clips involving singing and dancing performances may have been from the July 2011 Improv Festival Oklahoma mentioned below, I don't know. For now, at least, the complete Nightmare Theater presentation is at KSBI's website: Part 1 and Part 2.
Closing Notes. At right is a WKY-TV ad on Saturday February 2, 1974, featuring none but the fearful Count.
A March 24, 1974, a note in the Oklahoman's TV section shows Mr. Ferguson looking at a drawing of himself, as perceived by a loyal fan. Ferguson hoped that the fan would identify him/herself so that recognition could be properly attributed — either that or maybe the Count had something more sinister in mind for the artist — who can say? His Channel 4 show ended in 1988.
Even so, the Count continued to grace our television screens and civic affairs for many years. He hosted programs on Channels 4, 5, 25, 43, 52, and Cox Cable.
Mr. Ferguson serves the public in other ways, also. He is presently a member of the Mayor's Committee on Disability Concerns. In 1981 he was a judge at the 3rd annual Paseo Harvest Moon Festival. On June 3, 1997, he was honored by fans and fellow performers at the "First Annual Gregore Retirement Roast" in Bricktown at Pearl's Crabtown. In April 2008, he was recognized at Muskogee's ninth annual Barebones Independent International Film and Music Festival for his contributions to Oklahoma television and media arts. In the October 28, 2008, Oklahoman, David Zizzo reported that,
And Ferguson still can’t quite put his finger on why the count was — and is — so popular.
"I'm surprised to this day," he said.
But, in the article, Zizzo succinctly and accurately gave the explanation ...
It's because Ferguson is so good at bad, or at least acting that way.
Tom Fowler wrote Ferguson's biography and hopefully copies will be available for sale and book signing. Also, check out John's Facebook page.
Also, check out this Rosebud Radio link for a soon to be launched internet radio station which will broadcast Old Time Radio on Friday afternoons and nights, all day Saturday and all day Sunday. From 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM will be Count Gregore's Suspense Theater, which Rosebud Radio says will feature the finest mystery radio shows such as Boston Blackie, Perry Mason and The Thin Man, and from 11:00 PM to 3:00 AM Count Gregore's Theater of the Macabre is scheduled. His part of the schedule is in dark red, below:
Very plainly, what Ann DeFrange said in 2008 remains true today, "Count Gregore Lives On!"
Just when I kinda thought I'd correctly pigeonholed some if not most members of the Oklahoma City Council into one place or another, I'll be darned if I didn't have to eat my words at about 10:15 a.m. on Tuesday November 15, 2011, and I'm gladly eating them. And, you know, those words taste pretty good.
I figured that Ed Shadid's pending motion to include sexual orientation in the list of protected employees, i.e., "The City of Oklahoma City will not discriminate against any applicant or employee because of race, color, creed, ethnic origin, religion, sex (to include sexual orientation), age, disability or political affiliation," had a fair chance of passing ever since Pat Ryan said that he favored the motion when Shadid first brought it to the floor on October 25, 2011.
In my earlier post on October 19, I said, "One can make book on the odds that that if Ward 2 council member Ed Shadid moves approval of something, Ward 8 council member Patrick Ryan will oppose it."
Well, I was dead wrong. Truth is, I would probably have said the same thing about Gary Marrs, but again I would have been dead wrong.
Yesterday, at 10:15, by a vote of 7-2 which included both Ryan and Marrs on the "aye" side, City Council adopted Shadid's proposal and sexual orientation is now in the class of city employees who may not be discriminated against in hiring, firing, placement, and other workplace circumstances. The complete video of yesterday's lengthy discussion is presented in this article, below.
Background. By way of background, at the October 18 Council meeting, Dr. Shadid wondered out loud why Oklahoma City didn't have such approbations in place concerning its city employees and on October 19 at his Facebook page he announced that, "Next Tuesday I will introduce resolution prohibiting discrimination among 4300 city employees based on sexual orientation."
He did. On October 25, after lengthy discussion his proposal was deferred until November 15. Following that, even the conservative Oklahman did not come out against the proposal but did say in its October 29 editorial that it was proper that the matter was receiving public attention and deliberation.
An October 25 Journal Record editorial by Ted Streuli was less reserved. Among other things, he said,
And in this week’s metaphor, Oklahoma City Councilman Ed Shadid is the flag atop the pole. Shadid suggested that Oklahoma City should add a clause to its employment policy that says the city won’t discriminate against someone based upon sexual orientation.
And as sure as the flag points north in a southerly wind, out came the hems, the haws and the unabashed bigotry. Posts on local news sites quickly revealed many wearing the cloak of ill-informed opinion over a suit of irrational hatred.
Yep. The flag went up and the windbags started blowing hard. That was an easy prediction.
In the council chamber, only Pat Ryan supported Shadid’s proposal. Meg Salyer, running the show in the mayor’s absence, remained neutral. Every other councilor squirmed like a sinner in the front pew.
David Greenwell and Larry McAtee said they wanted to study it more.
Study what, gentlemen? Whether it’s a good policy to allow discrimination in the city’s employment practices? Whether it’s OK to discriminate against this particular group but no other?
Yet the biggest head-scratch of the day came from Skip Kelly, who is black. He said the city didn’t need to make a change unless empirical data showed it should. We didn’t need empirical data to prove that some employers refuse to hire people with disabilities. Or those older than 40. Or Jews. Or Muslims. And surely Councilman Kelly doesn’t believe we needed empirical data to prove that people of color face discriminatory employment practices. Some truths are self-evident.
Here’s the test: If you can hear Bubba saying "I ain’t hirin' no (insert slur here)" then you can bet your last Southern Cross lapel pin that members of the group referenced have been victims of discrimination.
Personally, I think that Mr. Streuli was over-broad when he said, "Every other councilor squirmed like a sinner in the front pew," most notably concerning Pete White who would be expected to favor Shadid's proposal and had voted against deferring the matter when the initial deferral vote was taken. But, to be sure, I was also scratching my head over Skip Kelly's remarks at the October 25 City Council meeting.
The November 2, 2011, Oklahoma Gazette also carried a couple of relevant pieces. Clifton Adcock, who (in my opinion) has already distinguished himself as the preeminent journalist who covers local politics in the city, wrote a good summary of what occurred at the October 25 meeting (even though he did not report that Patrick Ryan said that he intended to vote for the proposal). In the same issue, part 1 of James Cooper's lengthy article on the local gay community was published, and in the November 9 Gazette issue, part 2 was published as well. In part 2, Cooper wrote,
Victor Gorin, who used to write for the Gayly [Oklahoman] and still lives in OKC, recalled an encounter with law enforcement at Angles [a local pub frequented by the LGBT community].
Just moments after leaving the club late one night with a friend, Gorin (pictured) soon realized he was alone and his friend was no longer at his side.
"All of a sudden, I realized I was talking to myself," he said. "(The police) had grabbed him and taken him off in the patrol car, and then I thought, 'Victor, go home.'" Then, on Jan. 6, 1983, the tension between the police and the community reached a tipping point as the front door of Angles came crashing down.
"That was the last straw," the owners told the Gayly [Oklahoman]. "That was the night that they took several people out and put them up against the patrol cars like they do when they frisk them, and took their night sticks between their legs and just beat the hell out of them, beat them on the back and everything else."
Another Angles patron, Robert Bigger, allegedly encountered Van Schuyver after he left. Bigger claimed he was forced from his car before having his face smashed into the vehicle, according to The Daily Oklahoman.
Bigger eventually filed a federal lawsuit against Oklahoma City and Van Schuyver. According to The Daily Oklahoman, Van Schuyver suggested that the chief of police at the time "specifically advised" him to treat the gay community on N.W. 39th Street with such force.
Meanwhile, in February of that year, Cotton-Eyed Joes Inc. filed a federal lawsuit against Oklahoma City.
The next month, Gravel reportedly hired former Oklahoma City Councilman Eric Groves, the same lawyer representing Angles, and blamed the mayor and the OKC police chief for their inability to stop police violence and harassment on N.W. 39th Street.
Later that year, rather than face a prolonged, expensive legal battle, the original Angles owners offered to settle out of court and drop the lawsuit, but only if Oklahoma City made significant changes.
The city obliged. On Sept. 13, 1983, the city reportedly settled the lawsuit for $1 in damages and agreed to pay approximately $28,000 in legal fees to the Angles owners.
"The City Council did the right thing," Groves told The Daily Oklahoman. "This was a good solution to a tough problem."
Moreover, the city agreed to provide gay-awareness training for its officers henceforth and obey a permanent injunction against the Oklahoma City police that prevented them from coming onto N.W. 39th Street and harassing the gay community. The City Council settled with Gravel, as well, and agreed to pay him $25,000.
Van Schuyver reportedly resigned before a police disciplinary review board had a chance to make its recommendation. The city agreed to pay Bigger $15,000 to drop his suit.
Mr. Cooper was one of the eleven citizens to speak at the November 15 City Council meeting. His video particularly appears below.
The Videos. I've broken the November 15 discussion before City Council into segments so that you can look at either the parts you want or the whole of the discussion. Speakers are shown in the same sequence as they spoke during the meeting. As for citizen comments, I've selected a few which I considered deserving of individual treatment, presented immediately following the general citizen comments video. Other citizen opponent comments I've not singled out since none added anything substantive to the discussion presented here. That said, all 11 citizen speeches are in the main citizen video below.
Ed Shadid (11:09)
Skip Kelly #1 of 3 (6:42)
Larry McAtee (6:16)
Pete White (4:36)
Kelly #2 of 3 (4:55)
All 11 Citizens (37:35)
Opponent Paul Blair (2:35)
Proponent Muneer Awad (2:59)
Opponent Tom Vineyard (3:59)
Proponent Robert Lemon (4:28)
Proponent James Cooper (3:37)
Proponent Ryan Kiesel (2:48)
Proponent Nathaniel Batchelder (2:38)
Proponent Scott Hamilton (3:20)
David Greenwell(4:48)
Skip Kelly #3 of 3 (1:03)
Gary Marrs & The Vote (5:12)
The Final Vote (0:43)
Conclusions. Every reader and listener will have his or her own conclusions about what happened concerning this resolution on November 15, 2011, and that's fair. We all have the right to speak, to form opinions, and/or to advocate what we personally think is "right." Since this is my blog, I'll give mine here.
I am proudest of ...
Ed Shadid for having the ideals and courage to advocate those ideals so that others could follow, and, as well, whether they would or not. Shadid has already demonstrated his willingness to stand alone, if need be.
Pete White for his unwavering support for the rights of all citizens ... with Shadid on the Council, he now has an ally in advocacy of and for the common men and women in our city.
Patrick Ryan for setting aside his differences with Ed Shadid and announcing on October 25 that he wanted to be present to cast his vote for the resolution and for him doing so on November 15.
Gary Marrs for having the gumption to search his conscience and speak and vote in favor of Shadid's resolution on November 15. Not even Ryan spoke on November 15, but Marrs did ... when he didn't have to.
Deserving Of Credit But No Cigars. Although all three voted for the resolution, only one spoke during either the October 25 or November 15 City Council Session.
David Greenwell softly indicated his approval on October 25 but spoke ambiguously on November 15. Perhaps, one day, he will find more willingness to assume less of a wallflower and more of a leadership mantle, but in this matter he did not assume such a role.
Mick Cornett voted affirmatively but he also chose not to speak at a time that leadership counted. For his vocal silence, he gets a "no cigar" vote from me.
Meg Salyer spoke at neither session but did vote in favor of the resolution. But, for her vocal silence, she also gets a "no cigar" vote from me.
Council Members Who Disappointed. Two fall into this category.
Larry McAtee. Ward 3's City Council member presented no surprise in his negative vote. That's just who Larry is.
Skip Kelly. Ward 7's Skip Kelly's negative vote is not only one of my most surprising revelations, it is also my greatest disappointment. Skip, as an Afro-American, should be the 1st in line of the Council members to understand and grasp the notion that, in America, all minorities should be protected against the majority and citizen speakers like Paul Blair and Tom Vineyard. But, by his persistent advocacy on both October 25 and then again three times on November 15 and his vote on the latter day, he of all City Council members represents my personal greatest disappointment.
I regard Skip as a friend. I know that he favors civil liberties being extended to all. Why he would vote as he did, and vocally objected as he did, on October 25 and again on November 15 remains beyond my understanding. One member at OkcTalk opines that he was pandering to his political base, but I truly hope that Skip is above that sort of thing when human liberties are involved. It is my hope that as time passes he will come to see, and have, a better day, and come to grasp that not only Afro-Americans should have protection under the law.
Originally posted on October 19; updated on October 22 to update the item on Ed Shadid's resolution to be presented to the council on October 25 concerning discrimination prohibition.
The October 18, 2011, City Council meeting provided several items worthy of coverage ... ranging from the sublime (a fine presentation by A.J. Kirkpatrick, assistant city planner, who conducted a Bricktown long range planning study and presentation) to the lowly (vis a vis the finger-pointing remarks of Ward 8 council member Patrick Ryan while arguing against approval of a paltry $300 claim by the Edgemere Park neighborhood association which incurred sprinkler system damage at the hands of an Oklahoma City snowplow this past winter).
My shortlist includes the following video clips from the October 18 City Council meeting:
Bricktown Planning. A.J. Kirkpatrick, a member of the City Planning Department, presented a study concerning the future of Bricktown. All things considered, this may have been the most substantive 30 minute segment of council proceedings.
EMSA Emergency Services. Up for a vote was whether the council would approve a contract that EMSA continue to provide emergency (911) medical transport services. Only council member Ed Shadid opposed the same but he articulately expressed the reasons that he voted no.
Occupy Oklahoma City. Organizers of the local movement, as a stub of Occupy Wall Street movement, presented their request that the city waive or reduce the $55 daily charge for a permit to use of Kerr Park for its activities. Although that didn't happen, near the end of that discussion, council member Shadid invited an after-council meeting with Mark Faulk to find ways for the permit fee to be paid by interested citizens.
Inclusion of Sexual Orientation in Prohibited Discrimination Ordinances. Council member Shadid telegraphed his intention to propose that the same be added to the list.
Patrick Ryan Continues to Undistinguish Himself. One can make book on the odds that that if Ward 2 council member Ed Shadid moves approval of something, Ward 8 council member Patrick Ryan will oppose it. It happened once again on the otherwise small matter of the Edgemere Park $300 claim.
The details are shown in City Council video clips, below.
1. Bricktown Planning. The 32 ½ minute video clip below from the October 18 council meeting contains the presentation by A.J. Kirkpatrick, assistant city planner, about Bricktown's long range planning, aka the Bricktown Strategic Plan.
Oklahoman reporter Steve Lackmeyer reported on this presentation here as well as in his more thorough OkcCentral blog posts, Staring Down the 800 Pound Elephant, Part 1 and Part 2. Additionally, concerning comments by Russell Claus beginning around 22:00 concerning media coverage of a particular Bricktown proposal's parking provision during Kirkpatrick's presentation, where Claus said, "I think the media did a poor job of characterizing the discussion on that...," see Steve's rebuttal at OkcTalk.com where he said, "For what it's worth, I was completely bewildered by Russell Claus' claim that the Chris Johnson story wasn't reported right by "local media." There are only two of us covering it - myself and Brianna Bailey - and we've both delved into the very issues Claus claimed wasn't represented in local coverage. Have Bailey or I left any doubt that the committee does not agree with the idea of creating parking lots along the canal?"
2. EMSA Emergency Services. For several weeks, the council has considered whether or not to continue EMSA as the provider for 911 emergency medical transport and the resolution continuing EMSA in that capacity came up for final vote on October 18. Without reviewing that history, on October 18 council member Ed Shadid was the lone opponent to not do so, he instead favoring placing that duty with the Oklahoma City Fire Department. He expressed his reasons in the 12 minute video clip below:
Personally, what he said made sense to me. When you have an emergency 911 call for emergency health matters, as I did when my wife had collapsed on the stairs many years ago while barely being able to breathe and with severe heart issues, response time matters. In that experience, Fire arrived 4-5 minutes sooner than EMSA did and Fire literally saved my wife's life because of its fast response. Does response time matter? Make your own call.
3. Occupy Oklahoma City. Doubtless you've been closely or vaguely following the Occupy Wall Street movement for the past several weeks which has been catching on around the world. That's been true in Oklahoma City, also. At the 10/18/2011 council meeting, local Occupy OKC proponents asked that the city waive or reduce the $55 daily permit fee, in this instance, for Kerr Park. Oklahoma Citian Mark Faulk was the most articulate, and presentable, of those advocates and his part begins around 7:00 of the 16 minute video clip, below.
At about 9:30 of the clip, Faulk said that the local movement consists of disabled, unemployed, single mothers, all races, all types. He said, "This is a fully inclusive organization that we hope that we open a dialog with our city and with our state that will be an ongoing dialog and well give a voice with the rest of the people who honestly have not been represented in our government."
Their request was not granted. But, see the discussion beginning around 10:58. At about 13:50, Shadid remarked, "... there does seem to be a coalescing around one message, that we need to get money out of politics, that many politicians are bought ... does that [coalescing] seem to be happening ... ." At around 21:40, Shadid offered to meet with Faulk immediately after the meeting to assist in finding funding solutions for the daily permit fee.
As for me, I found Faulk's statements to be rational, reasonable, politely and civilly put, and, at their core, not dissimilar with council member Ed Shadid's viewpoints about plutocracy, to which I also subscribe.
Have we already forgotten the experience with the Committee for Oklahoma City Momentum in City Council elections earlier this year? A more than ample basis and justification exists locally, certainly nationally, for this expression of speech, in my opinion.
4. Prohibition Of Discrimination Based On Sexual Orientation. Although not on the council agenda, Ed Shadid used the "Items From Council" section of the council's agenda to wonder out loud why the city lacks such prohibitions in addition to the items already covered, e.g., race, gender, religion, etc.
At Dr. Shadid's Facebook page, he made this post on October 19: "Next Tuesday I will introduce resolution prohibiting discrimination among 4300 city employees based on sexual orientation; please attend or call your councilperson in support (city currently prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, age, disability, political affiliation, national origin and religion but not sexual orientation)." Now, if council member Patrick Ryan gets upset over a motion by Shadid to pay a paltry $300 damage claim by Edgemere Park, it ought to be interesting to hear Ryan's remarks about this proposal.
October 22 Update: I've just had a look at this Tuesday's council agenda. Shadid's item reads,
X. Items from Council A. Resolution amending Sections 105 and 401 of The City of Oklahoma City Personnel Policies, as amended and adopted December 13, 2005, to include specific reference to discrimination based upon sexual orientation, and directing the City Manager to disseminate said amendments. Councilman Shadid
I was not able to locate the city's "Personnel Policies" at the city's website, but, since a mere resolution (and not a proposed ordinance) is involved here the same must be administrative in nature.
Proposed changes to the municipal code (i.e., city ordinances) must follow a 3-public-meeting track and wouldn't be handled like Shadid's proposed resolution. As far as city ordinances are concerned, I did find a few ordinances which prohibit discrimination, all in Chapter 25, Human Rights. Section 25-39 relates to housing discrimination, Section 25-40 relates to employment by the city, which reads,
No head of any department, official, agent, or employee of the City, or any department acting for or on behalf of the City in any manner involving employment by the City, shall discriminate against any person otherwise qualified in employment or in tenure, terms, or conditions of employment, or adopt or enforce any rule or employment policy which discriminates between employees or prospective employees or seek information relating to race, creed, color, sex, national origin or ancestry for any person or employee as a condition of employment, tenure, term or in connection with conditions of employment, promotion or increase in compensation, or discriminate in the selection of personnel training. Willful violation of this section by any person within the Division of Public Management shall constitute grounds for appropriate disciplinary action or termination by the City Manager.
Probably, the intention of such ordinances is to track state statutory requirements, e.g., 21 O.S. §1302 but those statutes do not specifically prohibit discrimination based upon sexual orientation.
So, if the city does adopt Shadid's proposed resolution, the city's policies will go further to prevent discrimination than state statutes do, which would indeed be interesting.
5. About Jefferson Park's $300 Claim. First, a show of hands: Raise your hand if you remember a motion made on a contested matter by Ward 2's Ed Shadid that wasn't opposed by Ward 8's Patrick Ryan who represents the far northwest section of the city, which includes Gaillardia. Although I stand ready to be corrected, there should be no hands seen — from the get-go on this council member term, Ryan has expressed animus as to Shadid, and he has yet to give him a compliment (which is a customary and frequent practice on the city council dais). Ryan, or so it seems to me, opposes Shadid at every turn. It is recalled that Ryan was backed by the Committee for Oklahoma City Momentum, which organization/entity has been strongly criticized by Shadid, among many others, including this writer.
On this otherwise mundane matter, it seems that Ward 2's Edgemere Park's sprinkler system had been damaged by an city snow plow, and it asked to be reimbursed that $300 expense. Watch below and judge for yourself whether Ryan was "reaching" for a reason to deny Shadid's motion and Edgemere Park's claim:
Ward 1 council member Gary Marrs' comments began around 21:40. Ordinarily an ally of Ryan, he was interrupted by Ryan while he was stating his views favoring the motion. After that interruption by Ryan, Marrs' facial expression says it all.
That's it for the highlights of this fine day at the races. Come again ... there will be more to tell as more council meetings take place.
Two Former Governors, One Democrat, One Republican, Hope Not
Will the Oklahoma Legislature let this masterpiece-in-progress die, mid-stream, in its tracks? In the above video produced by the Chickasaw Nation and published a couple of days ago, two former governors, one Democrat (Brad Henry) and one Republican (Frank Keating), say NO, that would be a wrong course to follow.
But, with the changing of the guard in Oklahoma State Legislature during the past several years from democrats to republicans, governmental sponsorship of projects relating to culture and the arts have had an increasingly hard row to hoe.
Nothing demonstrates this difficulty more vividly than the earlier-promised partial state funding of the American Indian Cultural Center & Museum (AICCM) in Oklahoma City. Notwithstanding the support of current Republican Governor Mary Fallin, in spring 2011 the controlling committee members of the Oklahoma Legislature's House & Senate refused to allow further funding to even come to a vote. Overall, funding is from multiple sources which I'll explain later.
But, without the state legislature doing what it earlier committed to do, is the American Indian Cultural Center & Museum doomed? David F. Allen expressed his thoughts at OkcTalk.com. About himself, David says,
I was born and raised in South Oklahoma City, graduated from the University of Oklahoma with Bachelor of Architecture. I am currently living in SW Houston. However, Oklahoma and to be more exact, Oklahoma City has always been home to me.
About the above video and the project, David wrote,
That was a very well done video, and it captured several key things that will (I hope) 1. Raise awareness of how significant a facility this really is. 2. Showcases its integral nature in relation to the Downtown renaissance. 3. Address the fact that there is a real economic as well as intangible cost that will be realized simply by failing to complete a project that has this type of visibility and unique cultural significance, paid for with immense public investment. Failing to complete this sends the unintended message of instability could very well give developers pause before pushing forward serious plans in the area. 4. Completion of the project allows for the continued momentum in the growth and development taking place downtown.
It was nice to see many of our leaders of the past who recognize the intense detrimental impacts of this project being left to flounder in the shadows of downtown. There is no hiding this place, it is right down the river from the Oklahoma River rowing courses and will be a source of national and international exposure for good (if completed) or ill (if not) The landform and striking architecture of the buildings will draw attention unto itself, so there will be no way for OKC or Oklahoma in general to hide this unfinished project. So we may as well realize that the unfinished project could cost us far more in losses due to the negative PR that we will get, for the negative perceptions that will be reinforced or taken away from this if not completed, such as: That we do not value our history, that we can't live up to what we have been advertising, issues of race and the list goes on and on ... the biggest issue is that we will not be able to control the way the rest of America or the world for that matter, will take this and run with it.
This project IS critical to get completed because we are too far along for us not to! We have used it as a feather in hats in many of our chamber videos that have been at major development conferences (and anywhere else we can get them played) showcasing Oklahoma and its capital city. Even the cost of shuttering it for a while and then at some future point dusting off the plans and completing, will cost far more as there will be significant cost increases anytime you demobilize the site and then have to start back up, plus the costs of labor and materials and on and on and on ...
The decision to build this facility was made long ago and there is nothing that can undo that, those dollars are spent. The costs of not completing it are incalculable, even from a fiscal responsibility standpoint. If you ordered dinner at a nice restaurant and your date has eaten half of hers already, and you then realize that you do not have the money, you have to work out a way to pay it, or be prepared to wash the dishes. But one thing is for certain, even if you begrudgingly wash the dishes, yes you have met the obligation, but the date that you were hoping to go well is over. Feel free to insert developers, corporate relocation candidates, or large group events/meetings seeking a venue, etc. into the role of the date in the analogy.)
You can be assured that there are many very key people who are keeping an eye on our state and city with interest, watching for us to support our claims of being world class or waiting for us to falter. The fact that we have run into budget issues on the project does not doom nor define us, however how we respond to the challenges that face us do. So do we just try and brush this one under the rug and wait until some casino decides to pony up the money for the land and facility and then become the laughingstock of the nation? Or do we work to identify a viable solution to deliver a promise that was begun a long time ago and let the expense finally mature to the point that it can begin having a positive economic impact in our area. There is no doubt that this will become every bit, if not more renowned than the National Cowboy Hall of Fame.
It is my hope that in years to come we will recognize this moment for what it is, a pivotal one that had lasting and unimaginable economic impacts on our city.
The rowing venue is one of Oklahoma's most currently relevant venues for increasing international exposure for something (other than the Thunder.) of permanence and place. When there are significant races being held here, the network camera crews will be looking for shots to showcase its location and this is immediately adjacent to the course!!!! Even in Europe there is a familiarity with the plight and issues of the Native Americans on this continent. You cannot buy this type of public advertising that will be a boon to tourism in our city and state.
As an underdog (Charlie Swinton being the highest vote-getter in the Ward 2 primary vote and favored by the Oklahoman and the Committee for Oklahoma City Momentum), in the runoff election Shadid roundly defeated the Oklahoman's and the huge and hidden monied Committee for Oklahoma City Momentum's candidate by a vote of 62% to 38%.
He then took his office. Shortly following, he was taken aback by the City Council having on its consent docket a proposal for a new non-profit organization which would assume roles which previously resided in city government, the Alliance for Economic Development (see here and here), the the 35-page proposed contract having been delivered to the Council only 2 or 3 days before the meeting. Later, he responded to such a short notice procedure by a proposal which would require greater time and public input before considering substantially important matters. For that, some city council members took personal offense and he got his ears boxed by council members Ryan, Marrs, McAtee, and Salyer, they saying that, actually, all one needed to do was to ask for a continuance and, in the Council's magnanimous collegiality, it would be granted.
But, about that collegiality and to make matters worse, when he was unavoidably unable to attend the important July 5 City Council meeting that would establish the prioritization of MAPS 3 projects and he requested a continuance through Pete White, Shadid's face was very sharply slapped by the majority present and voting (as well as by another council member, Meg Salyer, she voting by proxy via the mayor). So much for that supposed magnanimous collegiality.
Later still, he took on Momentum by naming Larry Nichols as the principal if not only person behind the Committee for Oklahoma City Momentum. Later, he, Pete White, and City Clerk Frances Kersey gave their support to a matter pending before the Oklahoma Ethics Commission brought by the Oklahoma Gazette. Among other things, the Gazette requested an interpretation of the Political Subdivision Ethics Act (PSEA) as to whether an entity sending money to a nonprofit organization — the so-called "super-PACS" — that is participating in electioneering would also be subject to campaign disclosure requirements, i.e., identification of "super-PAC" contributors and amounts of their contributions. The Attorney General's office nixed an immediate answer, but one would expect the query to be answered sooner rather than later.
By all appearances, but for Pete White, Skip Kelly, and perhaps David Greenwell, one could reasonably conclude that Shadid has been eschewed by the other council members and the mayor and that, all things considered, he might be or is or could be considered by them to be something of a persona non grata.
So, what does he do? Did he put his tail between his legs and lower his head like a sad bad dog, be timid, and go to his corner?
No. He's not that kind of dog. Instead, he leads, and he leads like no other city leader has in recent or perhaps any memory — instead of pouting (and I've watched Council meetings closely this year, and he has yet to respond to the poor treatment received at the hands of other Council members with anything other than courtesy), he has gone to the public and encouraged ordinary citizens like you and me to become involved and be part of the process.
Shadid seems to have the idea that ordinary citizens have the ability to think, understand, contribute, and be trusted, that good government is best when it is transparent, and that doing something about the city rests not only with elected officials and the wealthy, as important as their roles are in this city's progress, the bottom line is that it fundamentally rests with the public at large.
Most recently, he organized and perhaps paid for (the city didn't) a public forum designed to promote discussion and resolution of the problems associated with "urban sprawl" in Oklahoma City, conducted yesterday evening at the Marriott Hotel Ballroom at Independence and Northwest Expressway. It's just as though his rebukes at the City Council level had never happened — no animus was present in tone or content, just public education.
Given the lackluster blessing upon the new city council member by the mayor and council members Marrs, Ryan, McAtee, and Salyer, would anyone even bother to show up or listen to whatever might transpire at this public forum which Shadid said would be but one of other public forums yet to come?
Click on any image in this post for a larger view.
So, how many would show up in the 600 seat capacity ballroom at this public forum which Shadid organized which was said to be a first step in discussing urban sprawl? 50? 100? 250? What?
This many?
Or this many?
Maybe this many?
No, it was this many ... wall to wall people, standing room only.
The 600-capacity ballroom was overflowing — additional chairs had to be brought in next to the walls to accommodate the overflow crowd. Heck, the Oklahoman even covered the event in an article by Michael Kimball in this morning's paper. Quoting Shadid, Kimball's article defined the purpose of the meeting:
"It's about defining the issues, defining the scope of the problem and bringing it to the public," Shadid said. "Then we can let them process it, draw upon their individual experiences and then engage the city with their ideas."
What a concept — involve the public by defining where we are with our sprawling 621 square mile city and begin a discussion about how to fix the problems that our city's sprawl has created — not a discussion behind closed doors but one right out front for everyone to see and be part of.
The Oklahoma Gazette publicized the event and Dr. Shadid ran the following flyer in the August 31, 2011, Oklahoma Gazette:
While listening to his opening remarks, I was flabbergasted by the breadth of knowledge that Shadid easily rolled off of his tongue — as well as be amazed that, given his lukewarm if not cool reception at City Council, he'd assembled the following speakers, each of which succinctly discussed the elements of the city's sprawl which pertained to their expertise (all photos were taken yesterday evening). Many if not all injected elements of humor in their comments — even Eric Wenger who sometimes seems to be dour personified made a quip which was chuckled at by those present, but I did notice that he often did not laugh at the hearty comedic anecdotes of other speakers. Maybe he was preoccupied with what he would say, himself, as I might also have been were I on the dais.
Blair Humphreys Urban Planner & O.U. Instructor
Jim Couch OKC City Manager
Russell Claus OKC Planning Director
Keith Bryant OKC Fire Chief
Bill Citty OKC Chief of Police
Rick Cain, Director OKC Public Transit & Parking
Eric Wenger OKC Public Works Director
Marsha Slaughter OKC Utilities Director
Bob Tener, Director OKC Code Enforcement
During the meeting, councilman Shadid also echoed the remarks which he'd made at the August 30 City Council Meeting, those comments being shown here — buy local so that more money stays in the local economy and the city collects more sales tax revenue, sales tax revenue essentially being the sole source for funding of city operations — streets, police, fire, utilities, parks, government, everything.
So, at last, back to the question, What IS the deal with Councilman Ed Shadid?
The deal is this: Rather than criticize Shadid, Council members would be wise to take lessons from him even though most have been in their posts a lot longer than he has. I'd give the same advice to the Oklahoman, but you know as well as I do how important such advice would be to the powerful but increasingly isolated newspaper. Even so, it may yet come to see that the public likes this guy, how he works, and what he is doing — and even the Oklahoman may glean that the public may well want its new leaders' clothes to be cut by the same tailor who made his almost always black attire — even though a bit of color would be cool with me. In my opinion, he's the real deal, and the public is becoming increasingly aware of exactly that fact. In the end, even the Oklahoman may get it.
As to sitting Council members, have any of you readers ever seen any other Council member do something similar to what Ed Shadid did with yesterday's urban sprawl forum with 600 or more citizens in attendance? Correct me if I'm wrong and show me a picture, but I think that yesterday evening's public forum was a first of its kind.
I may be dreaming, but I venture to say that Ed Shadid has set something powerful in motion in this city the likes of which we have not seen before, something that neither the Oklahoman nor the Committee for Oklahoma City Momentum will have the power to stop.
At the September 6 meeting, Dr. Shadid said that he'd be doing more public forums similar to what he did with the urban sprawl forum discussed above. I can hardly wait.
One last thing — even though Ed Shadid has shown no rancor for the treatment that he has received at the hands of some City Council members, some of the rest of us may not be so kind when this period of time is recalled in elections yet to come. Some of us may have a touch of the "dark side" left in us, even if Ed Shadid does not.
Originally posted September 1, 2011; updated on September 6 & 8 to show reunion photos.
News Flash: Lawton High will be open for touring at 10 a.m. tomorrow (Saturday). I don't know how long that will last.
As you can see from the above photo in the 1961 Lawton High School yearbook, Lawton High in 1961 was no small school. Its sophomore-junior-senior population was well above 2,000, and my senior graduating class exceeded 600, many of whom I never met.
In that context, how does one get prepared for his/her 50th high school reunion at one of 1961's largest high schools in the state? If one comes from a small high school, it's probably not that much of a challenge. But if coming from one of the largest, preparing for the 50th reunion can be daunting.
Lawton Roots. Although born in Oklahoma City and having lived and/or worked here since 1966 during my time in law school at the University of Oklahoma, I was largely reared in Lawton beginning in the 3rd grade. I was one of more than 600 graduates from Lawton High School in 1961. Today, Lawton/Ft. Sill's population is around 100,000, and the city has 3 principal high schools. But when I graduated Lawton's population was a bit over 60,000 and there was only one principal high school, Lawton High School, one of the premier high schools in the state. In fact, in 1962, Home of Champions was a title bestowed on LHS by the Oklahoma State Legislature, when Lawton High won all five of the major sports State Championship titles, even though before 1962, LHS was not at all shabby in its athletic accomplishments.
It is from my Lawton High School days that my beginnings into the value of civic pride were born. Before graduation, I made road maps of everything in the country coming through Lawton. I relished in the fact that Lawton was then the 3rd largest city in the state. Even though those civic pride sensations have since transferred to Oklahoma City where I was born and where I live today, Lawton and Lawton High is/are where my sensory perceptions of the value of civic pride began.
How To Prepare For A Reunion. To prepare for this auspicious reunion, I concluded that it would help to review each of the high school yearbooks associated with this class, with a focus on activities that I or my high school sweetheart were associated with, and then carry it forward beyond the 1961 graduation. The next 10 pages show that sequence over time spanning 52 years.
For starters, it is accurate to classify me as a "nerd" — my interests were band (1958 and ending in fall 1959) and debate (all 3 high school years). I'm still a nerd else I wouldn't have been doing Doug Dawgz Blog since 2006. And I'm damn proud of it.
Click on any image for a much larger view.
Band
Since the 5th grade, instrumental music was part of my upbringing, and I played the cornet. As a sophomore, I gained a superior in the state band contest, much to my and everyone's surprise. Linda Tozier was my piano accompanist. In March 1959, the band took a trip to Corpus Christi to participate in the Buccaneer Band Festival and that is when my love affair with Corpus Christi began. Although I dropped out of band in the fall of 1959 so that I could spend more time with debate, band was an important part of my high school career. The photo below is the 1959 Lawton High School Band from the 1959 yearbook.
Page 1 of my Reunion Review, 1958-1959
Page 2 of my Reunion Review, 1959-1960
Pages 3-6 of my Reunion Review, 1960-1961
Page 7 of my Reunion Review, at OSU 1961-65
Page 8 of my Reunion Review, at OU 1965-1968
Page 9 of my Reunion Review, Post-1968
Page 10 of my Reunion Review, Lawton High
The Mountains. For a high schooler in Lawton, mention must be made of the Wichita Mountains. Everyone in Lawton referred to the Wichita Mountains simply as "the mountains" and I've blogged about the Wichitas previously. As high school kids, that's where we often hung out, doing various and sundry things in the process ... some things are better left unsaid in a blog post like this. Here are a few photos taken much later than our 1961 graduation but it wasn't that much different then.
In 1990
My Kids Treating Me To A Meersburger, July 2010
In Medicine Park, July 2010
The Reunion Flyer. Aside from yearbooks and my own photos, the next valuable preparation tool was the 4-page flyer which announced and described the 3-day reunion over Labor Day weekend. As I said, we had more than 600 in our graduating class, many of whom I never met. About 280 of them were identified as whereabouts unknown, and another 43 were reported as dead. The 3rd step was to accept the fact of mortality and missing persons and that days gone by cannot be wholly recreated. Remembrances, for sure; wishful thinking about immortality, not at all. Anyway, combining the missing and the dead, that whittled about 323 people off of the list of who to possibly expect to see. I don't remember the exact count of graduates ... like I said it was over 600. Using 610 as the number, that leaves about 287 who might be present during the 50th reunion.
Talking with one of the reunion organizers, I understand that about 140 or so have registered to be present. That means that approximately 23% of our graduating class, which is about 50% of those whose who are presumed living and whose whereabouts are known, will be attending. Cathryn, who lives in Egypt, will be there, as will my high school buddy, Tony, who lives in Florida, among many many others.
My high school sweetheart and 1st wife and mother of our children (David, Mary) Liz (left), will attend, but, sadly, my high school debate partner, Judy (right), who lives in Alaska, will not. I'd love to talk with her again. Still, I'm very much looking forward to this 50th class reunion and seeing again and talking with any who are present.
But will I recognize them when I see them? Better put, have a look at me in 1961 and what I look like now and ask, will I be recognized by them?
I'll let you know after I return from the dinner dance scheduled for Saturday, September 3, at the Lawton Country Club, with pictures from the auspicious evening.
GO, WOLVERINES!
SEPTEMBER 3 PHOTOS. The Labor Day Weekend reunion is now done and I had an outstanding time attending events on Saturday, September 3. My wife and I paid a few extra dollars to stay at the Hampton Inn in Lawton, thinking from prior experience with the same hotel brand that the extra money would be worth it -- but, in our opinion, the hotel facility was really quite average and disappointing even though the hotel staff was excellent. The fact that several others attending the reunion also stayed there helped to make up for the hotel's shortcomings.
I've weeded out a few pics that I took and saved 75. The photos begin in the morning with a brief tour of Lawton High School which Sue Otis Wigington kindly arranged. Then, I took some photos at the Girlfriends Brunch at the Silver Spoon Restaurant in downtown Lawton, and, finally, at the dinner dance at the Lawton Country Club. A slideshow made by Photobucket is shown below ... you can right-click on the show to zoom in or out if you want. Move your mouse over the slide show for pause, backward, and forward controls ... unfortunately, speed cannot be controlled in the slideshow and it moves rather quickly.
A larger image slideshow containing more description of individual photos is available in the Photobucket LHS Reunion Album slideshow and it's better than the above.
Individual photos (1024 px wide) are stored in my Photobucket account here but they are also shown in the table below. Either way, click on a small image and a larger image, typically 1024 pixels wide, will open. To save a larger photo that you want, right-click on the larger photo and a menu will pop-up. In the Firefox and Chrome browsers, a menu item reads, "Save image as ..." and in IE Explorer a menu item reads, "Save picture as ... ." Select the "save" item and save it to where you want on your computer.
Individual Photos & Thumbnails. Click on any small image below for a 1024 px wide view. A brief description of each photo appears below the image.
LHS Class of 1961 50th Reunion
Mary Jo Watson at LHS
Doug Loudenback at LHS
The auditorium was being renovated, all seats having been removed (a pic showing remnant seats appears below inside the school office). The photo of the stage shows the original curtains at the top.
Seats All Gone
Auditorium Stage
Athletic Trophy Case
Wolverine Logo in Main Entry
Some 1961 Trophies
Mary Jo Walking the Halls The original lockers haven't changed.
Outside the School Office
Wolverine From Outside
Wolverine From Inside Office This was a gift by the class of 1962, I'm told.
Inside the School Office Principal's Office, left; Asst. Principal, right (I had to visit Mr. Hancock in the latter on one occasion, as I recall)
Hall Surveillance Monitors Inside the Office (Not nearly as personal as our old "hall monitors")
Remnant Auditorium Seats
Speech & Drama Trophies
Walking East Toward Cafeteria An inside view of the formerly smoking courtyard
New & Expanded Cafeteria
Not Like Our Cafeteria, For Sure
Girlfriends Brunch. This event was in the old Johnson's Dairy at 6th & C Streets. Now, it is the Silver Spoon Restaurant. One guy attended, too.
Tony White, Liz McCutchen Pearson, Janet Bost Armstrong
Tony & Liz
Tony, Liz & Janet
Various Graduates
Various Graduates
Sue Otis Wigington & Dixie Massad Sheridan Having looked at Dixie's photography website, she may well be the most accomplished member of our class.
The Room Was Packed With Gals Who Just Wanted To Have Fun
The Place Was Raining Women -- Cathryn Goddard, right, came from Egypt
Ingrid Fuller Hogue, Shirley Scott Pace & Many More
Shirley Scott Pace
Dixie Greer Walker
Beverly Davis (Don's Wife)
Pat Stephens Skuda
Dinner Dance at Lawton Country Club Dan & Sue Wigington made the arrangements for the event at the club which, if one was disposed, included golf and swimming during the day. Mary Jo and I only attended the evening festivities. I apologize in advance for not getting everyone's photo and for not knowing everyone's names, even though not all wore their name tags. I have a crappy memory. After the dinner and round-the-room introductions and the not-always-brief biographies, the entertainment began with classmate Tony Cerveny and his wife Lynn putting on a South American dance show which was simply superb. Who'da thunk it!
Tony Cerveny
Lynn Cerveny
Ferne Hooper Mizell and her husband Walter liked it.
After that, I walked around the room and took the following photos. If I don't know or recall a name, it is not shown. On learning them or if I've made mistakes, I'll be glad to make changes.
Hans Giroux
Cathryn Goddard
Wayne Littlefield Sue Otis Wigington
Mary Jo Watson
Pat Stephens Skuda (red tops) Hans Giroux
Brenda and Gary Rigsby Roger Pursley, Ann Shepard Tubbs Gary Tubbs
Gordon Atchley
Derald & Shirley Hankins Ahlsclager, Don Davis, Shirlene Littlefield (?), Sue Otis
Derald & Shirley Hankins Ahlschlager, Don Davis, Wayne Littlefield
Greg Sharp
Billie Ruth Bish Fargo Bill Fargo
Billie Ruth Bish Fargo Kaye Thompson McCarley & Bill Fargo
Billie Ruth Bish Fargo If we still did "Best Looking" designations, she'd get my vote.
Paul Baker Tony White
Paul Baker, Tony White Robert HaithCock
Robert Haithcock
Michael Hogue & Ingrid Fuller Hogue, Shirley Scott Pace Pam Guzzle Kinzer
Doug Roper, Sherry Kemp Bly Dennis Bly, Ann Shepard Tubbs
Betty Hennessee Watts, Dennis Bly
Jerry Boucher, Mary Martin Boucher, Vanda Marie Clark Halbrooks, James Halbrooks Jerry Hurst, Glenda Cast Hurst
Les & Sue Campbell Judy Witt
Joyce Isaacs Keyes, Alan Aycock, Martha & Butch Keiningham
Joyce Isaacs Keyes Alan Aycock
Paula Evans Biondi
The Dance Floor
Mary Jo Watson
Nancy Eubanks Oelklavs
Pat Stephens Skuda (red)
Lynda Freeman Oswalt Sherry Kemp Bly
Pam Guzzle Kinzer Lynda Freeman Oswalt
Doug Roper, Nancy Eubanks Oelklavs, Michael Hogue Ingrid Fuller Hogue
Nancy Eubanks Oelklavs Cathryn Goddard, Wayne Littlefield Cathryn was obviously wearing her sheik Egyptian attire while attempting to lure others to join her and Nancy in doing the hula dance, but there were few takers.
Mary Jo wasn't feeling well so we left early, around 9:45 or so, so I didn't get any more photos. I hear that Honest Don and Wayne put on quite an Abbott/Costello show that left everyone in stiches after I left. I'd love to have heard it. Anyway, I hope to see everyone again at the 55th Reunion in 2016, and thanks again to Dan and Sue Otis Wigington and all the rest for a great time and a job very well done!
Operation Scissortail - Our Latest Book!
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[image: devon book cover]
We are very happy to announce the release of our latest book, "Operation
Scissortail," a narative history of the construction o...
Saturday in the Park..on a 113 degree day
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For those who don't know, there is a reason I've gone very quiet at such a
pivotal moment for Downtown OKC. I accepted a position in Cleveland, Ohio
and I...
Collectively, Wayne Coyne and the Oklahoma Gazette's annual Halloween Parade have doubtless captured the fancy of the contemporary grizzly and ghoul market in the city. But, in my youth, the one and only person that did that was Count Gregore, also known as John Ferguson.
Count Gregore, an Oklahoma television icon, turned 50 years old this month, although he appears to be ageless, John Ferguson, his creator, is 80 and almost as immortal.
Retro Metro OKC 2nd Annual Holiday/Christmas/Whatever Party! The person you have been reading about above is the featured speaker. 
The party will be on December 12, 2011, at 6:30 pm at Bellevue Health and Rehabilitation Center's dining room, 6500 N.Portland, which is at the southwest corner of the Bellevue facility. 
One provider is due singular attention: Ed Lynn, owner of Buffalo Wild Wings at 4130 NW Expressway, is donating 250 wings for the event, a magnificently generous contribution. 
Excerpts from Nightmare Theater
Closing Notes. At right is a WKY-TV ad on Saturday February 2, 1974, featuring none but the fearful Count.
Tom Fowler wrote 
Just when I kinda thought I'd correctly pigeonholed some if not most members of the Oklahoma City Council into one place or another, I'll be darned if I didn't have to eat my words at about 10:15 a.m. on Tuesday November 15, 2011, and I'm gladly eating them. And, you know, those words taste pretty good.
The October 18, 2011, City Council meeting provided several items worthy of coverage ... ranging from the sublime (a fine presentation by A.J. Kirkpatrick, assistant city planner, who conducted a Bricktown long range planning study and presentation) to the lowly (vis a vis the finger-pointing remarks of Ward 8 council member Patrick Ryan while arguing against approval of a paltry $300 claim by the Edgemere Park neighborhood association which incurred sprinkler system damage at the hands of an Oklahoma City snowplow this past winter).
Talking with one of the reunion organizers, I understand that about 140 or so have registered to be present. That means that approximately 23% of our graduating class, which is about 50% of those whose who are presumed living and whose whereabouts are known, will be attending. Cathryn, who lives in Egypt, will be there, as will my high school buddy, Tony, who lives in Florida, among many many others. 
My high school sweetheart and 1st wife and mother of our children (David, Mary) Liz (left), will attend, but, sadly, my high school debate partner, Judy (right), who lives in Alaska, will not. I'd love to talk with her again. Still, I'm very much looking forward to this 50th class reunion and seeing again and talking with any who are present.
But will I recognize them when I see them? Better put, have a look at me in 1961 and what I look like now and ask, will I be recognized by them?
![](http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/Lawton/50thReunionPics/reunion_50_08.jpg")
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