LOCAL

Hefley Says Edwin Fair Will Meet New Challenge
Panhellenic Board Will Meet Tonight
Chamber News
Controlling Cholesterol Helps Keep Hearts Healthy
OK State Regents Request Tobacco Settlement Funds

Hefley Says Edwin Fair Will Meet New Challenge

By LAURA CORFF

News Staff Writer

Robert Hefley, executive director for Edwin Fair Mental Heath Community Center, is one of nine-members serving on a Transition Oversight Panel formed by Senate Bill 149 to advise Gov. Frank Keating and a joint legislative committee on the upcoming reduction in bed space at Eastern State Hospital. ESH is the state mental institution in Vinita.

The panel consists of mental health directors, mental health service consumers, family members and mental health advocates. The group has met three times and the transition plan must be submitted by Jan 1, 2000.

Community-based programs in the 21-county service area of ESH are making preparations to expand to accommodate patients who previously would have been admitted to the hospital. Under the provisions of Senate Bill 149, ESH must reduce its capacity for civil patients to 44 beds by January 1, 2001. The 44 remaining spaces will be enhanced residential care for patients with persistent and severe symptoms who are difficult to treat, according to William Burkett, ESH superintendent.

In recent years, the hospital’s average daily census of civil patients has numbered about 150, with a median length of stay of 19 days.

According to Hefley, the panel is working very hard on a plan to ensure patients are the primary concern. Whatever is adopted will take into account the safety and welfare of the patients, the local mental health center director said.

“The plan is beginning to evolve. Currently, the group is working on equitable funding for services,” said Hefley.

Since May, the panel has been looking at a plan of action. A set of preliminary plans has been formulated, and the panel is including more details and considering what array of services will need to be offered.

The panel is due to report back with its recommendations on September 15. Hefley confirmed the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance has assured funding will be available for the increase in community based programs.

With the temporary assignment of Edwin Fair patients going to Western State Hospital, the local facility can take a little more time to deliberately and cautiously move forward, Hefley said. They plan to gradually gear up programs and phase down referrals to other mental hospitals.

Hefley has already began approaching health facilities about providing involuntary inpatient services.

“We would prefer to have a local facility within our service area to benefit and serve the patients,” Hefley confirmed.

Currently, the staff at Edwin Fair is looking at how the facility is providing services now and how they can enhance programs. In addition, Edwin Fair expects to become more assertive in crises intervention.

“We will try to catch situations before they become crises to attempt to prevent the need for in-patient care.

Citizens are urged to attend the upcoming public hearings to obtain information first hand and make their comments known.

“The plan is not finalized, it is still evolving,” Hefley said. “The public can still impact the plan. The public needs to show their concern and interest in mental health. It has been underfunded in Oklahoma for so long but it is a vital part of health.”

Regarding the transition, Burkett, stated there would be no mass busing of patients away from the hospital on the cut-off date. He said centers will stop sending referrals and begin treating people in the community.

“Those hospitalized will complete their length of stay for a natural ‘drying up’ process,” he said.

Members of the Transition Oversight Panel include: Charles Danley, Nowata; Jimmie Davis, Tulsa; Jane Glen, Oklahoma City; Paul Greever, Tulsa; Hefley; Anna McBride, Oklahoma City; Twila Spielman, Grover; Mary Taddiken, Tulsa; and Mike Thompson, Grover.

Public Hearings

Public hearings have been scheduled in Muskogee, Vinita, Stillwater and Tulsa. The first will be on September 14, at 9 a.m. at the Muskogee Public Library, 801 West Okmulgee Street, in Muskogee. At 1 p.m., A second hearing will be held at Big Dawg Catering, 320 South Wilson Street, in Vinita.

On September 16, the Oklahoma Department of Vo-Tech will host a public hearing at the Seminar Center, 1500 West Seventh Street, in Stillwater. At 1 p.m., the last hearing is set in the Martin East Regional Library auditorium, 2601 South Garnett Road, in Tulsa.

Citizens unable to attend the public hearings are invited to submit written comments until September 17. These should be mailed to John Hudgens, director of community based programs, Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, P.O. Box 53277, Oklahoma City, 73152 or faxed to Hudgens at 405-522-3650.

Panhellenic Board Will Meet Tonight

The Kay Panhellenic Board will meet this evening at 7 o’clock at the home of Elizabeth Nickles, 2207 El Camino. All area sorority alumnae club members are encouraged to have a representative at the meeting. It is not necessary to have an organized club to be represented on the Kay County Panhellenic Board. Any area alumnae who would like to represent their sorority is invited to attend.

The main project of the local panhellenic is the Christmas house tour. Proceeds are used to fund scholarships for area senior women. For more information call Mrs. Nickles, 762-8140, or Sandy Hudack, 762-5820.

Chamber News

Health and Medical Luncheon

The Ponca City Area Chamber of Commerce Health and Medical Committee will host a final Workers’ Compensation luncheon-seminar for all area businesses, Wednesday, Sept. 8 from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. The luncheon will be held at Conoco’s Fourth Street Club House. The public is invited to attend this luncheon to hear Mike Seney, Vice President — Member Relations and Director — Manufacturing/International Trade Department of the State Chamber discuss: How Oklahoma ranks in number of Workers’ Compensation claims in comparison to other states?

Is the problem bigger in Kay County, than in other areas of the state?

What types of injuries are more prevalent?

What types of injuries net the most money and are going to be successfully tried?

Also, get a review on Workers’ Compensation legislation planned for the upcoming legislative session.

If you are interested in attending the luncheon, please contact the Chamber at 765-4400 to RSVP. The cost of the luncheon is $5.

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, September 7 — Education meeting at the Chamber Conference Room at 11:45 a.m.

Wednesday, September 8 — Health and Medical Luncheon on “Workers’ Compensation” at Conoco’s Fourth Street Club House from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Thursday, September 9 — Infrastructure meeting at the Chamber Conference Room at 11 a.m.

Friday, September 10 — Ribbon Cutting for Frames and Things Showroom, 216 East Central at 10 a.m.

Controlling Cholesterol Helps Keep Hearts Healthy

September is National Cholesterol Education Month and the Oklahoma State Department of Health, Chronic Disease Service, is urging all Oklahomans to remember that controlling cholesterol helps keep hearts healthy.

“Controlling your cholesterol is an important part of heart health,” says State Health Commissioner J.R. Nida, M.D. “Whether you’re young or old-and especially if you have coronary heart disease — you should take action to protect your heart. Start now and you’ll reap the benefits of a healthier life.”

High cholesterol is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD), the leading killer of Oklahomans. Americans’ lifetime risk of developing CHD is very high. One out of every two men and one out of every three women aged 40 and younger will develop CHD at some time in their lives. Even for 70-year-olds, the risk remains high.

The buildup of cholesterol in arteries begins early in life-often in adolescence-and worsens over time. Research shows that young adults with the lowest cholesterol levels will live longer than those with higher cholesterol levels. In fact, the cholesterol level of a 22-year-old predicts the risk for heart attack over the next 40 years.

The almost 300,000 Oklahomans who already have been told that they have CHD need to pay special attention to their cholesterol levels. They should reduce their level of low density lipoprotein (LDL, the bad cholesterol) even further than persons without CHD. Clinical studies show that by doing so, Oklahomans with CHD can prolong their life and dramatically reduce their chance of having a heart attack.

Older Americans, too, should make cholesterol control a part of their healthy lifestyle, according to a National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) report on cholesterol-lowering and the elderly published in early August in the Archives of Internal Medicine. “The benefits for all Americans from controlling their cholesterol are great, and the steps needed to take control are straightforward,” Dr. Nida said. “These steps include: Eat a healthy diet lower in saturated fat, total fat, and cholesterol; be physically active; maintain a healthy weight; and, if necessary, take medication.”

To help Americans learn more about cholesterol control, the NCEP will launch an expanded Web site on Sept. 1. Check it out at www.nhlbi.nih.gov/chd/. The Oklahoma State Department of Health hopes Oklahomans will make September the start of a new heart healthy lifestyle by remembering: Cholesterol counts for everyone. For more information about cholesterol, contact your health care provider, county health department, or the American Heart Association at 1-888-242-0280.

OK State Regents Request Tobacco Settlement Funds

A resolution requesting funds from the state’s tobacco settlement for healthcare and higher education initiatives designed to snuff out tobacco-related disease in Oklahoma was approved recently by the State Regents for Higher Education.

Among the items recommended for funding are the establishment of comprehensive cancer research and treatment centers in Tulsa and Oklahoma City and university research projects aimed at curing chronic disease in Oklahoma caused by tobacco use.

Citing studies that show the more educated an individual is, the less likely he or she is to smoke, Regents also called for dunging to enhance efforts to enroll more Oklahomans in higher education.

Specific project costs were not included in the resolution approved but will be discussed at the Regents’ Oct. 15 meeting.

“Higher education can and should play a vital role in expanding and initiating efforts to curb chronic disease in Oklahoma that is a direct result of tobacco use,” said Chancellor Hans Brisch. “Our universities have the research expertise necessary to improving Oklahomans’ quality of life in this area.

“And by enrolling more Oklahomans in our colleges and universities, the more likely Oklahoma is to reduce its citizens’ use of tobacco,” Brisch said, noting that in 1994, 38 percent of people with a high school education smoked, compared to 16 percent for people with a bachelor’s degree.

Specifically, the State Regents’ resolution requests funding for:

— the development of a state-of-the-art Oklahoma Comprehensive Cancer Research and Treatment Center, a project expanding the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center’s capacity through the construction of clinical research and treatment facilities in Tulsa and Oklahoma;

— endowments that match private sector contributions for faculty positions and research projects focusing particularly on the cure of chronic disease;

— “Brain Gain 2010,” a State Regents’ initiative to increase the proportion of college degree holders in the state; and

— the establishment of a trust fund to support the Oklahoma Tuition Scholarship Program. The scholarship program was legislated but unfunded by the 1999 state Legislature in HB 1759 and would target college freshman and sophomores who had met certain requirements in high school.

DEATHS

Doris LaVerne Davis
Anna Gorkuscha

Obituaries

Doris LaVerne Davis

Doris LaVerne Davis went home to the Lord early Tuesday morning, Aug. 31, 1999, at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center after suffering a massive stroke on July 30.

A celebration of her life and love will be held Friday, Sept. 3, 1999, 2 p.m., at Northeast Baptist Church in Ponca City with Dr. Larry Nigh, pastor, officiating. Burial will follow In Blackwell Cemetery under the direction of Roberts Funeral Home. The body will lie in state at Roberts Funeral Home in Blackwell through Thursday. The casket will be open prior to the service at Northeast Baptist on Friday.

Doris LaVerne Barnett was born Jan. 17, 1916, at home near Antlers, Okla., the daughter of Charles and Mae Della (Laster) Barnett. She attended school In Asher, Big Pond, and Milfay. She was valedictorian of her class and excelled in the sport of basketball. She grew up in the Depression years, and her very strong work ethic continued her entire life.

On Sept. 21, 1935, she and Allen Luther Mullins were married in Depew. They farmed In several locations near Depew, Bristow, and Holdenville. They were blessed with two children. In 1949, they moved their family to Blackwell, where she worked at various jobs Including Fey’s IGA, 6raves Drug and Hunt’s Department Store. While in Blackwell, she attended The First Church of God where she was a member and taught Sunday School.

On Nov. 25, 1972, she and Baxter Davis were married In Blackwell. They have made their home at 2509 Turner in Ponca City for the past 27 years and worshiped at Northeast Baptist Church. She worked at Howard’s Discount Store for a time. She assisted her husband with his television repair service and later with their star mail routes to Shidler, Newkirk, and Hunter.

She enjoyed gardening, canning home-grown vegetables and fruits, cooking, crocheting, sewing, camping, boating and fishing. Her busy hands were never still. She was an avid fan of the Cincinnati Reds, the Boston Celtics, and the Dallas Cowboys and rarely missed a televised game.

Doris was a very loving and devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin, and friend. Nothing pleased her more than to have her family visit so she could prepare a big meal. “GiGi” was especially delighted when her two great-granddaughters visited. Christmas was a very special holiday to her, and the peanut brittle she made was an extraordinary holiday delicacy. Her deep commitment to nurturing her family by providing love, encouragement, determination, strength and grace never ceased. She practiced her strong Christian values and lived each day with high energy and a zest for life itself.

She is survived by her husband Baxter of the home; one son and daughter-in-law, Ray and Carol Mullins of Blackwell; one daughter and son-in-law, Gerry and Charles Tingley of Ponca City; one grandson, Ty Mullins of Blackwell; one granddaughter and her husband, Tari and Kevin Cunningham of Tulsa; two great-granddaughters, Cassidy and Cori Beth Cunningham of Tulsa. Also surviving are two sisters, Reba Keeling of Kiefer, Okla., and Margie Hodge of Slick, Okla., and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

She was preceded in death by her first husband, Luther Mullins; her parents; two brothers, Herbert Barnett and Dotson Barnett; and one sister, Needa Alley.

Casket bearers will be her nephews, Darrell Barnett, Ralph Barnett, Jim Barnett, David Barnett, Charles Barnett, Max Alley, Charles Hodge and Eugene Keeling. Honorary bearers will be Charles Emerson, Stan Hinshaw, Oran Steffey, and Francis Wilkerson.

Memorial contributions may be made to Northeast Baptist Church, 2200 North Pecan, Ponca City, Okla. 74604

The family will be at the home at 2509 Turner Road.

paid obituary

Anna Gorkuscha

Anna Gorkuscha, longtime Ponca City resident, died Tuesday, Aug. 31, 1999, at her home. She was 89.

The funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 3, 1999, at the First Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Dr. Monty Fey, pastor, officiating. Burial will be in the Odd Fellows Cemetery under the direction of Grace Memorial Chapel.

Anna was born in the Ukraine on March 1, 1910. She married Peter Gorkuscha in 1933. During World War II, Peter, Anna and their daughter Luba, left the Soviet Union to escape the communist regime. For several years they lived in various parts of Europe including a displaced persons camp in Lienz, Austria, where their son Mischa was born. During these years, Luba emigrated to England with the plan that the rest of the family would join her when they received the proper authorization. But God had a better plan.

In 1951, the First Presbyterian Church of Ponca City sponsored the Gorkuschas to come to Ponca City as an adopted displaced family. There could have been no better home. The congregation of First Presbyterian and the citizens of Ponca City produced many wonderful friends and neighbors. Always, but especially after Peter’s death in 1982, they provided so much love, care, comfort and friendship to Anna, and therefore to her family.

Anna was a loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Her family will miss her greatly. We will miss her letters, phone calls and visits. But we will always remember her great love for us, and we will remember her strength of character and faith in God that allowed her to endure so much in life.

Anna leaves two children and their spouses, Luba and Victor Stasiuk of Richmond, B.C., Canada, and Mischa and Ruth Gorkuscha of Oklahoma City; seven grandchildren, Allison and Nicholas Gorkuscha, Russell, Greg, Jeff, Gary, and Mark Stasiuk; seven great-grandchildren, Tyler, Jesse, Joshua, Megan, Matthew, Alexandra, and Channel Stasiuk.

All in all, Anna’s life was rich and full. She loved her family and her friends. And they, in turn, loved her dearly. During many hard years, Anna and Peter dreamed of coming to the freedom, safety and bounty of America to live and raise their family. Thank you First Presbyterian and thank you Ponca City for helping make their dream everything they hoped and prayed it would be.

The family asks that contributions in Anna’s memory be made to the First Presbyterian Church, 14th and Grand, Ponca City, Okla. 74604.

Friends may call at the funeral home until noon on Friday.

paid obituary

NEWS BRIEFS

Burglary — An employee at Amsco Supply, 605 North Union Street, advised the Ponca City Police Department at 9:53 a.m. Wednesday that a unit was broken into. An officer responded and took a report.

Native American jewelry and crafts by 2 Bears at Pauline’s Supper Club this Saturday. adv.

Arrest — At 10:17 a.m. Wednesday, a Ponca City police officer arrested a 28-year-old man at South Fourth Street and East South Avenue for driving under suspension, improper tag, a city warrant and a Kay County warrant.

Mums, Flowering cabbage and Kale. Keathly Nursery, 2448 Bridge Ave, 762-2927. adv.

Warrant Served — A Ponca City police officer arrested a 39-year-old man at North Fifth Street and East Emporia Avenue at 10:31 a.m. Wednesday on a Kay County warrant.

Dougan's Bar-B-Q Friday special from 4-8 p.m., all you can eat ribs with beans, potato salad and

coleslaw, $7.49. 215 South 14th, 765-7979. adv.

Accident — A Ponca City police officer responded to take a report of an accident in the 2300 block of North Fourteenth Street at 11:58 a.m. Wednesday.

Shoplifters — An employee of Wal-Mart, 1101 East Prospect Avenue, advised the Ponca City Police Department at 4:59 p.m. Wednesday that two women were in custody for shoplifting. An officer responded and arrested a 42-year-old woman for grand larceny.

Warrants Served — A 37-year-old man was arrested at 11:39 p.m. Wednesday by a Ponca City police officer in the 1000 block of West Hartford Avenue for two Kay County warrants.

Crape Myrtle one large group 25% off. Keathly Nursery, 2448 Bridge Ave. Open Sunday 1-5. 762-2927. adv.

Arrest — A Ponca City police officer arrested an 18-year-old man in the 1700 block of Sykes Boulevard at 2:49 p.m. Wednesday for a city warrant.

Free Pregnancy test. Birth Choice cares. Confidential. Hours: Tuesday, 6-8 p.m., Wednesday, 1-3 p.m. and Thursday, 6-8 p.m. 700 West Broadway. 765-9689. adv.

Theft — A clerk at the Triple T, 425 South Fourteenth Street, advised the Ponca City Police Department at 11:45 p.m. Wednesday that a boy left the business without paying for gas. An officer responded and took a report.

Pauline’s Steak Shrimp Peel, All you can eat, $11.95, Friday, September 3rd. For reservations

call 765-5460. II Bears Indian Craft Show will be in our parking lot, September 4th at 5 pm. adv.

Embezzlement — At 7:21 p.m. Wednesday, a Ponca City detective took a 40-year-old man into custody at the police station for embezzlement and obstruction.

Dougan's Bar-B-Q Thursday special from 4-? 1/2 BBQ chicken with 2 vegetables. $4.25. 215 South 14th. 765-7979. adv.

Arrest — A clerk at Citgo, South Fourth Street and East South Avenue, advised the Ponca City Police Department at 7:50 p.m. Wednesday that two boys took two 30-packs of beer and left the business northbound on Fifth Street. Three officers responded. Officers located an 18-year-old man and arrested him for petit larceny and public intoxication. At 8:25 p.m. an officer located a girl who was also involved in the beer theft.

Head Country all day Friday special­ All you can eat, smoked BBQ ribs, beans, potato salad, and coleslaw, only $7.49, all day. 1217 East Prospect. 767-8304. adv.

GARDENING

Northern Oklahoma Iris Society To Meet
Creative Ways To Water Garden
Northern Oklahoma Daylily Society Meets
Some Plants Can Take Heat
Black Tulip Remains Elusive
Add Structure To Garden

Northern Oklahoma Iris Society To Meet

Members of the Northern Oklahoma Iris Society will meet for the annual picnic and rhizome distribution meeting Friday, Sept. 3, at 6:30 p.m. at the Cann Garden center. Members are asked to bring a covered dish.

Northern Oklahoma Iris Society is an affiliate of the American Iris Society. The next business meeting of the local group will be held Oct. 1.

Creative Ways To Water Garden

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Necessity may be the mother of invention, but drought is the inspiration for water-saving devices.

Arnold Collier has been watering his garden all summer without taking a drop from the public water supply. He used bits of piping, old gutters, wire and three barrels to create a contraption that allows him to collect and use rainwater on his 10 tomato plants.

Collier said he’s not a big conservationist — he just likes to grow tomatoes.

“It’s just that I wanted something so I have tomatoes,” he said. “I like to give them away when they’re nice.”

Collier, 79, began by running a plastic pipe from the rain gutter on the back of his home to three plastic barrels. He then submerged a sump pump in the barrels and connected that pump to his garden hose to water the plants.

By using the rainwater for irrigation, Collier said he has doubled the yield of the German and “first lady” tomatoes that he grows.

Collier used materials he found around his home to build his rainwater recycler.

“It didn’t cost anything,” he said.

Other gardeners have come up with similar systems.

Tom Gettings, special projects director for the Wildlands Conservancy in Emmaus, rigged a 30-gallon garbage can to catch water from his rain gutter downspout. The water is run through a spigot into a smaller bucket. He waters his vegetable and flower garden with the rainwater and figures the method saved his garden.

Edith Goetz of West Allentown saves the water from her dehumidifier. Instead of pouring it down the drain, she uses it to water her marigolds and geraniums.

“It’s just so serious now,” Goetz said of the drought.

Bryan Swistock, extension associate at Penn State’s School of Forest Resources, reuses his dehumidifier water on his impatiens and petunias.

Jeff Moyer, manager of the Rodale Institute Experimental Farm near Kutztown, said people can save their washing machine and dishwasher water by rigging outflow pipes into buckets.

“There’s a lot of water used in washing machines. It can be as much as 50 gallons, but your plants can use that water,” Moyer said.

But gardeners should check with their local regulatory authorities before using recycled rinse water, and they should use water from the rinse cycle only.

Northern Oklahoma Daylily Society Meets

The Northern Oklahoma Daylily Society members will meet for a potluck supper at 6 p.m. Sept. 13 at the Cann Memorial Gardens. Meat for the meal will be furnished. All members, former members, and prospective members are invited to attend. For more information, call Judy Farabough, 336-2425, or Lil Williams, 762-3796.

Some Plants Can Take Heat

By LEE REICH

(AP) — Pity outdoor plants this time of year! We can jump into some cool water, sit in front of the air conditioner, or duck into the shade. Plants aren’t so lucky. They’re tethered in place. Searing heat can dry out plants and cause them to burn up energy faster than they can replenish it. But if they have water, they cool themselves through transpiration. This evaporation through the leaves can cool a plant by about 5 degrees F.

That’s why more than 90 percent of the water taken up by a plant returns to the air via small leaf pores. Carbon dioxide and oxygen also pass in and out through these pores. These gases are needed for photosynthesis, which allows a plant to store up energy. This cooling process works only if there’s enough water in the soil. If not, the pores close, transpiration and photosynthesis stop, and the plant warms. Even with moist soil, the pores might close if the leaves are losing water faster than the roots are drinking it in.

Cacti tolerate hot climates by opening their pores at night. It doesn’t do much to keep them cool, but it allows for photosynthesis. Other plants, such as corn and crabgrass, tolerate heat by being so efficient that their pores are open less. What can we do to help plants weather the heat?

Planning ahead with careful siting helps. So does keeping the garden watered and offering a bit of shade from a temporary frame covered with wooden lathe. Sprinkling or misting plants could keep them cool, and keep them from having to pull water up from the soil.

But the average 30 gallons of water that runs up through a tomato plant in a season, or the 50 gallons for a corn plant, is more than a cooling agent. It also draws in minerals from the soil. Plants constantly misted might not absorb enough minerals, and the wet environment would predispose them to disease. A better alternative is to select plants adapted to the weather. Lettuce, spinach, peas and radishes are not plants to harvest in August. Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, melons and squashes can take some heat. But vegetables like corn, purslane and amaranth and flowers such as portulaca, sedums and, of course, cacti, thrive on it.

Black Tulip Remains Elusive

Since the early 1600s, Dutch tulip hybridizers have attempted to breed a pure black tulip. Many have tried. A few have come close - but none have succeeded. Call it the “Holy Grail” of the tulip world.

This fall, as the current mania for Tulipmania surges, with books galore on the subject creating interest and Steven Spielberg’s Dreamworks studio optioning film rights to the British romantic thriller “Tulip Fever’ (to be released here next spring), expect “black” tulips to be tops of many bulb-buying lists, as gardeners everywhere gear up this fall to plant the bulbs that will bloom next spring.

Renewed Interest

Today, Tulipmania-mania is drumming up renewed interest in exotic tulips and tulip lore. But it was in 1850 that Alexander Dumas, famed French author of such bestsellers as “The Count of Monte Cristo,” “The Three Musketeers” and “The Man in the Iron Mask,” first created a fervor of popular excitement for the most elusive (indeed unobtainable!) exotic flower with his novel “The Black Tulip,” a romantic tale in which a fictional black tulip figures in a love story laced with murder, torture, greed, dastardly intrigue, and sudden surprises.

A popular sensation, the book’s 1850 publication in France was immediately followed by an English issue, and a pirated version released in Belgium. The central theme of the book, the quest to hybridize the elusive and valuable “black” tulip, has persisted in the imagination of flower lovers everywhere. But ultimately, the quest for the black tulip became more. In the words of one modern reviewer: “Dumas makes the black tulip an emblem of justice and right, which are Nature’s ultimate gift to ungrateful mortals.” Tilting at Windmills? Ah, There’s the Glory!

Part of what fuels popular interest in the black tulip saga is the fact that no truly black tulip actually exists to this day - nor is one ever likely to!

There’s a simple reason for that: it’s impossible.

Frans Roozen, technical director of the International Flower Bulb Center in Hillegom, the Netherlands, explains, “To be truly black, the color would have to be absolutely devoid of any hues or overtones of other colors. In nature, this only happens with death. No living leaf or flower is truly black.”

Though Roozen admits that very serious efforts to hybridize a black tulip have been made over the years and that some stunning results have been achieved, actual black remains impossible to achieve.

“What is possible,” he says, “and what has already been done well, is to create tulips that are a deep, dark purple. Close to black, very, very close, but not really black.

The Quest

The first tulips in Holland were planted at the University of Leiden in autumn of 1593. From the beginning, enterprising Dutchmen sought to use their passion for tulips and hybridizing skills to improve on nature’s efforts. From the beginning, the “elusive black tulip” was high on their lists of ‘What ifs.”

Hybridizing is the method by which the qualities of two separate “parent” plants are married together (by mixing their pollen) to create a new plant which incorporates desired qualities from both.

For example, by crossing a parent with desirable traits, such as color or fragrance, with another parent with other desirable traits, such as plant height or flower type, a hybridizer seeks to create a “dream flower.” Sometimes his skill lies in spotting the “happy accidents” that can occur in cross-breeding. It is a painstaking and time consuming process that even in this modern age remains more art than science.

Hybridizers typically look to create a pleasing and practical harmony of attributes. Sometimes, though, the quest for a single attribute, such as the color black, can capture the hybridizing community’s imagination.

Color Illusions

The best news in all of this is that, while a “black” tulip may not be technically possible on a scientific level, on a practical level it doesn’t much matter. Black, it seems, is in the eye of the beholder.

For color itself exists only in the mind’s eye. It’s all a matter of perception. What we see as color is the result of how our eyes receive and our brains process the way light is reflected off objects. Sir Isaac Newton’s work with prisms in the late 17th century proved this by showing that”white” light could be refracted into many different colors like a rainbow.

These same properties work to the advantage of deep purple tulips and other “black” flowers in the garden. When cast against a green backdrop in bright sunlight, the overall effect is black. So who cares what the text books say? If it looks black then it is black. Nature teases with color illusions. Though no tulip can truly be called “black,” here is a selection of those considered to be the “blackest” of the officially “purple” tulips:

Tulipa ‘Queen of Night’, christened in 1944 and still considered the top contender, is a single late tulip, described as a deep velvety maroon, very, very dark in color.

T. ‘Burgundy’, 1957, a sport of T. ‘Captain Fryatt’, a lily-flowered tulip, a deep purplish-violet.

T. ‘Black Parrot’, 1937, a sport of T. ‘Philippe de Comines’, a parrot tulip, exterior deep purple, inside blackish purple.

T. ‘Black Diamond’, 1962, a single late tulip, exterior dark reddish brown, darker at the edges, inside “dahlia purple” with purple anthers. T. ‘Black Hero’, 1984, a sport of ‘Queen of Night’, harder to find but a real “looker”, a double late tulip, dark reddish brown.

In the garden, these dark tulips are eye-catching all on their own. They also make other colors instantly snap to life. Many garden designers use them to create “black and white” gardens, which can be a striking addition to the spring landscape.

One great early, blooming combination is deep near-black Tulipa’ Queen of Night’ and luscious rosy-salmon T. ‘Apricot Beauty.’ For a later blooming combination, try teaming up the fringed, ruffled parrot tulip T. ‘Black Parrot’ with white-rose-green flushed T. ‘Weber’s Parrot’. Another exotic late blooming combo pairs two lily-flowered tulips, wine-colored T. ‘Burgundy’ with marigold-orange T. ‘Ballerina’.

Though for all practical considerations, today’s tulip assortment makes the question of a “black” tulip moot, the quest goes on.

Says Frans Roozen, “it is human nature to continue to strive for the impossible, so I am sure we have not heard the last of this. Hybridizers, by nature, are dreamers.

And where there are dreams, there is hope. Perhaps that’s appropriate, especially for the tulip, whose reappearance in the spring garden each year is often referred to as the symbol of hope.

For those interested in the book that started it all, Dumas’ “Black Tulip” is still in print, though not widely available. Its text is also offered free to download or read online.

Add Structure To Garden

By LEE REICH

For AP Special Features

Flowers are fine, adding structure is better. Structure comes from trees, hedges, walls and other enduring plantings and objects that add mass and definition to a garden.

Your home is the major structural element of the landscape. Link it to your garden with an arbor. Train plants to climb the arbor and add some shrubbery and perhaps a well-placed bench. Put some flowers near the bench, extending an invitation to sit.

Water, even a trickle, can add structure to a garden by defining area. The same effect can be achieved by the mere suggestion of water, a dry stream bed of rounded stones laid down to suggest a water course. Plant flowers around a small pool or bird bath.

Plants add structure to a garden only if they are of sufficient size or density. A 100-year-old oak offers massive trunk and stout limbs. A yew provides a verdant island of cool green. While flowers disappear from northern gardens in winter, structural plants and garden ornaments endure.

Grouping contributes to the overall effect. Structural elements and plant groups can direct your footsteps, eyes or imagination into the distance. An arch, a gate or a pair of tall plants can frame a view. A hedgerow or a path forms a line that draws you along. It might be straight, ending at a bench, or curved, drawing along you and your imagination.

Plan before you plant a large tree or hedge, build a stone wall or a fence. All make strong statements, so they should be considered in some sort of overall design.

And don’t expect instant satisfaction. A billowing hedge or a large tree doesn’t grow overnight. And even if you can afford to buy mature plants, it takes time for them to snuggle into their surroundings. With time, tree trunks, stone walls and fences acquire a mossy patina on their shaded sides, and near the ground are enveloped by surrounding plants. Age is needed to bring character to these weighty garden elements.

SPORTS

Wildcat Footballers To Meet Tulsa Hale, Friday

Wildcat Footballers To Meet Tulsa Hale, Friday

Ponca City’s Wildcats open the football season Friday night against Tulsa Hale with high hopes and a lot of question marks.

Head coach Rusty Benson is hoping an experienced offensive line can protect a new look backfield as it matures.

The defense should be strong although almost all of the secondary players are new.

The Wildcats will run out of a basic I-formation, but will occasionally be in a one-back look. The Cats are hoping to have a balanced attack between running and passing.

Defensively, the Wildcats should be stronger this year, although that new secondary should be tested by a number of passing teams, starting with Hale.

The Wildcat special teams will have their first real test in Friday night’s game.

Season tickets for the upcoming Wildcat football season are on sale at the Athletic Office in Robson Fieldhouse, at PC Sports and at all locations of the Cherokee Strip Credit Union.

The ticket prices are $15 for adults, $12 for secondary school students and $10 for elementary students.

Reserved seats are available through the Athletic Office. They are $25 each.

For information, call 767-8075.

The Ponca City Quarterback Club will host its annual Tailgate Party prior to Friday’s game.

The party will be held on the west end of Sullins Stadium from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

The meal will include a Wildcat Burger, chips, soda and a cookie. The cost is $4.