LOCAL

Letter - A Letter to the American People
Commission Eyes Rezonings
Pioneer Transit Board Meeting Open to Public
School Calendar
School Menus
Festival of Angel Sponsors Now Exceed 30 Businesses, Organizations
Jody Miller in Concert in Kaw City
City Calendar
Bill Parsons Finally Gets His War Decorations
Volunteer Now For Millennium Bash
Tonkawa State Champs
Clock Dedication Noon Monday
Senior Mobility Program Offers Power Scooters
City Millennium Afghan Ready
Church’s Annual Cantata Today
‘Raindrops’ Plans Annual Service
SJRMC Welcomes Orthopedic Surgeon
Newport Slated At Party Meeting
100 Years of Broadway Attracts Additional Talent
School Officials Laud Advantages of Trimester
Martha and Les Gilliam at Brace Books on Thursday
Oklahoma Politics

Letter - A Letter to the American People

We are about to enter a new millennium with problems that will last a lot longer unless we sit down and think where we are and where we want to be in 50, 100 years down the road. This coming election year is very important one that the future of this country and planet is coming to a fork in the road. We have a lot of problems in this country that every body is talking about but nobody wants to talk about the one real problem and main obstacle in this country. The main problem is the total population on this planet is too big for this planet to support. All most all of the other problems can be traced back to this one. The main obstacle we have is getting people to change the way they do things and think. It will take less work, money and effort to fix the problems than it does now if people are willing to change the way they do and think the way they do things.

If you look at the way our government goes about trying to fix the problems in this country and abroad, several things happen. One: We have more laws generated that have to be enforced to help solve the problem. Two: We lose more rights and have more restrictions put on us. Three: The problem itself gets bigger with no end in sight. Four: It gives the government and politicians more control over us and to do what they want to do. If you think about it, the politicians really don’t have good reason to fix the problem. Because when they do fix the problems, they no longer can justify the things they do or laws they create. Our government has got so big and complex that it thinks it has to solve every problem on its own. Some times the best thing to do is nothing. Note: creating too many laws for a government is just as bad as to not have any laws. When you don't have any laws or guidelines, a country has no direction or progress. If you have too many laws and guidelines, it stops progress and collapses by its own weight. In the end the results are the same, self-destruction.

With all of our problems in this country (population. pollution, education, environment, etc.), why do our leaders always want to get involved with every other country’s problems. All the countries in the world have problems, but we don't have to go fix them. We have our own problems to work out and solve. I don’t mind helping out other countries in time of need, but this country is not the sugar daddy to the world. Let’s start to set the example of how to do it. This country is losing everything it has worked for in the last 200 years. Our quality of work, workmanship and pride has dropped so much in the past 2-4 decades to a point that “MADE IN AMERICA” is almost a joke. We are losing craftsmen in every trade; the education levels in our young; to the integrity of our families. Our lifestyle is growing and moving so fast, we don’t even care about what we do to this country and planet. We are using and abusing our natural resources to a point that we take more than we put back and the waste we put back the planet can't absorb or reuse.

When this country has a problem or a goal and gets together to do it, we seem to do better then. When the goal was to go to the moon and back, we did it. We had a few setbacks, but we never quit. When we had the work programs in the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s, we built things that are still here today. This country has lost its goal and direction of what to do or where to go. We need a new direction and goals to work toward. The sooner we roll up our sleeves and get busy fixing the problems, the sooner we can enjoy what we have worked for. If you have any question or views, you can contact me at 580-761-6480, P.O. Box 2, Kaw City, Okla. 74641 or Fleabert@juno.com. Thank you.

Richard E. Fleharty

Commission Eyes Rezonings

By LOUISE ABERCROMBIE

News Staff Writer

Under new business the City Commission at the 5:30 p.m., Monday meeting at the Public Safety Center will consider two rezonings, one for a Residential Mobile Home Park (RMHP) and the other for R-3, multi-family residential.

The request for the RMHP is for the property located at 3500 and 3600 Block “E” from R-1 Residential to Residential Mobile Home Park. The request is by Bob Whitlock.

The other is to rezone 1516 North Fifth Street from R-1, single family residential to R3-Multi-family residential. The request is being made by Mary Ann Long for a professional office.

Other items on the agenda include:

— Consider and vote upon recommendation to accept the material bids for Jan. 1, 2000 through June 30, 2000.

— Consider and vote on an Ordinance amending Section 22-111 “Loud Noise or Music Prohibited of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Ponca City, making it an additional public offense to operate inadequately or improperly muffled compression release type engine brakes, commonly known as “Jake Brakes.”

— Consider and vote on an approval of the Bid Committee’s recommendation for the demolition of a public nuisance at 443 South Waverly, Lot 21 and 22.

— Consider and vote to accept award for the Small Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program for the improvements and repairs to Lake Ponca Dam.

— Consider and vote on appointment of Phillip Johnston as General Manager of Electric. Johnson will replace Randy Edwards.

— Consider and vote on request for authorization to advertise for bids on a city wide replacement of existing traffic signal controllers.

— Consider and vote on the bid committee’s recommendation to reject any and all bids for the 2000 model riding mowers for the Cann Estate and Wentz Camp and that these bids be resubmitted separately.

Pioneer Transit Board Meeting Open to Public

The board of directors of Pioneer Transit will meet at Head Country Bar-B-Q Restaurant, 1217 East Prospect Avenue, at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. The public is invited to attend.

In addition to the director and financial reports, the board will consider and vote on how to raise local money to match the federal rural transportation grant administered by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. The grant provides about 65 percent of Pioneer Transit’s program.

The door-to-door transportation program began shuttling citizens on Nov. 1. During the first month of operations, almost 1,600 passengers depended on the new not-for-profit corporation to get to work, medical appointments and shopping destinations. Currently, Pioneer Transit has two vehicles equipped to accommodate wheelchairs. Additionally, Bowker Ford, Pemberton’s, Davis Moore Auto Group and a private individual are each providing a vehicle to the program.

The Oklahoma Department of Central Services is handling bid solicitations for three new ADA equipped mini vans. Bids were to close on Dec. 9, with vehicles scheduled to be on-line in spring of 2000.

Hours and days of operation have been adjusted until demand increases for evenings and weekends. Rides can be requested for the hours of 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

In addition, discount passes can be purchased at Miller Market and the Salvation Army Thrift Store. Regular fare for public transportation is $1.50 per person each ride. Seniors, the disabled and children under 18 pay $1.30 per person each ride.

For more information about Pioneer Transit, call 718-0456. To request a ride, call 718-0444 and allow at least one hour advance notice. Reservations can be made in advance.

School Calendar

Po-Hi

Dec. 13

Dead Week/no student activities.

Dec. 14

Faculty Christmas breakfast at Commons, 7 a.m.

Dec. 16

Semester exams for first, second, third and seventh hours.

Dec. 17

Junior varsity and varsity basketball against Sand Springs, 4 p.m.

Junior high and high school wrestling at Jenks.

Dec. 18

Winter Dance at Marland Mansion, 8 a.m.

School Menus

Elementary Breakfast

Monday — Pop tart or cereal or hostess muffins, assorted juices and milk.

Tuesday — Biscuit with egg or cereal or pop tart, assorted juices and milk.

Wednesday — Pop tart or cereal or hostess muffins, assorted juices and milk.

Thursday — Biscuits and gravy or pop tart or cereal, assorted juices and milk.

Friday — Pop tart or cereal, assorted juices and milk.

Elementary Lunch

Monday — Cheese stix with marinara sauce or ravioli with garlic bread, fresh broccoli with ranch dressing, fresh fruit, Christmas cake, saltine crackers or assorted cold sandwiches, chef salad, cottage cheese salad or yogurt salad, juice and milk.

Tuesday — Chicken ringers with hot roll or hot pocket, mashed potatoes and gravy, seasoned green beans, fresh fruit, saltine crackers, dill pickle or assorted cold sandwiches, chef salad, cottage cheese salad or yogurt salad, juice and milk.

Wednesday — Soft beef and cheese tacos or mini corn dog, refried beans, fresh fruit, cheesy rice, cookies and cream pudding, saltine crackers, dill pickle or assorted cold sandwiches, chef salad, cottage cheese salad or yogurt salad, juice and milk.

Thursday — Taco Bell chili cheese burrito or hamburger, tossed salad with ranch dressing, french fries, fresh fruit, saltine crackers, dill pickle or assorted cold sandwiches, chef salad, cottage cheese salad or yogurt salad, juice and milk.

Friday — Steakfingers with hot roll or queso and chips, whipped potatoes and gravy, fresh fruit, glazed carrots, chocolate chip cookies, saltine crackers, dill pickles or assorted cold sandwiches, chef salad, cottage cheese salad or yogurt salad, juice and milk.

West Middle School

Breakfast

Monday — Assorted cake donuts or cereal or pop tart, assorted juices and milk.

Tuesday — Egg and sausage biscuit or cereal or pop tart, assorted juices and milk.

Wednesday — Cinnamon roll or cereal or pop tart, assorted juices and milk.

Thursday — Biscuits and gravy or cereal or pop tart, assorted juices and milk.

Friday — Breakfast burrito or cereal or pop tart, assorted juices and milk.

East Middle School

Breakfast

Monday — Assorted cake donuts or cereal or pop tart, assorted juices and milk.

Tuesday — Egg and sausage biscuit or cereal, assorted juices and milk.

Wednesday — Cinnamon roll or cereal or pop tart, assorted juices and milk.

Thursday — Biscuits and gravy or cereal, assorted juices and milk.

Friday — Breakfast burrito or cereal or pop tart, assorted juices and milk.

West Middle School

Lunch

Available on Tuesday and Thursday at West Middle School is Subway.

Monday — Ravioli with garlic bread, pudding, fresh broccoli with ranch dressing, fresh fruit, Oreos, saltine crackers or baked potato with fixings, assorted cold sandwiches, chef salad, cottage cheese salad or yogurt salad, juice and milk.

Tuesday — Chicken ringers with hot roll, mashed potatoes and gravy, seasoned green beans, fresh fruit, saltine crackers, dill pickle or baked potato with fixings, assorted cold sandwiches, chef salad, cottage cheese salad or yogurt salad, juice and milk.

Wednesday — Crispy beef tacos, refried beans, cheesy rice, fresh fruit, Rocky Road pudding, saltine crackers, dill pickle or baked potato with fixings, assorted cold sandwiches, chef salad, cottage cheese salad or yogurt salad, juice and milk.

Thursday — Taco Bell chili cheese burrito, tossed salad with ranch dressing, french fries, fresh fruit, saltine crackers, dill pickles or baked potato with fixings, assorted cold sandwiches, chef salad, cottage cheese salad or yogurt salad, juice and milk.

Friday — Steakfingers with hot roll, whipped potatoes and gravy, fresh fruit, glazed carrots, chocolate chip cookies, saltine crackers, dill pickles or pasta with fixings, assorted cold sandwiches, chef salad, cottage cheese salad or yogurt salad, juice and milk.

East Middle School

Lunch

Available at the Mid-High Monday through Friday are Domino’s and Subway.

Monday — Ravioli with garlic bread, fresh broccoli with ranch dressing, fresh fruit, Oreos, dill pickles or baked potato with fixings, assorted cold sandwiches, chef salad, cottage cheese salad or yogurt salad, juice and milk.

Tuesday — Chicken ringers with hot roll, mashed potatoes and gravy, seasoned green beans, dill pickle or potato with fixings, assorted cold sandwiches, chef salad, cottage cheese salad or yogurt salad, juice and milk.

Wednesday — Soft beef and cheese tacos, refried beans, fresh fruit, corn, Rocky Road pudding, dill pickle or potato with fixings, assorted cold sandwiches, chef salad, cottage cheese salad or yogurt salad, juice and milk.

Thursday — Hamburger on a bun, tossed salad with ranch dressing, french fries, fresh fruit, dill pickle or potato with fixings, assorted cold sandwiches, chef salad, cottage cheese salad or yogurt salad, juice and milk.

Friday — Steakfingers with hot roll, whipped potatoes and gravy, fresh fruit, glazed carrots, salad, chocolate chip cookies, dill pickles or pasta with fixings, assorted cold sandwiches, chef salad, cottage cheese salad or yogurt salad, juice and milk.

High School Lunch

Available every day at Campus Mart, the Training Table Deli offers a pasta bar, baked potato bar, lean items and fresh fruit. The Ala Carte Wildcat line offers Pizza Inn and Subway. The Retro Mart features a Mexican food, bakery/deli and Italian food courts.

Po-Hi Campus Mart

Monday — Chili dogs, tator tots with cheese, cookies and cream, seasonal fruit, juice and milk.

Tuesday — Pizza, corn, Jello, tossed salad, seasonal fruit, juice and milk.

Wednesday — Chicken strips with hot roll, mashed potatoes and gravy, mixed vegetables, seasonal fruit, juice and milk.

Thursday — Indian taco, mexi beans, mexi rice, sour cream, salsa, jalapeno, seasonal fruit, juice and milk.

Friday — Steakfingers with hot roll, mashed potatoes and gravy, mixed fruit, seasonal fruit, juice and milk.

McCord Elementary

Breakfast

Monday — Pancakes and sausage, juice and milk.

Tuesday — Cinnamon toast, juice and milk.

Wednesday — Oatmeal, toast, juice and milk.

Thursday — Scrambled eggs, toast, juice and milk.

Friday — Cereal, toast, juice and milk.

Lunch

Monday — Charburger, fries, pickle, onion, lettuce, mixed fruit, cookie and milk.

Tuesday — Pizza, cole slaw, okra, pineapple rings and milk.

Wednesday — Baked ham, oven potatoes, peas, cherry crisp, hot roll and milk.

Thursday — Goulash, corn, french bread, pears and milk.

Friday — Ham and cheese hot pocket, carrot stick, tator tots, orange wedge, cookie and milk.

Pioneer Technology Center

Tuesday — Smoked barbecue brisket, teriyaki pork chop with apple chutney or chef’s choice, salad bar, soup, assorted vegetables, breads and desserts.

Wednesday — Beef stir fry, fiesta chicken or catch of the day, salad bar, soup, assorted vegetables, breads and desserts.

Thursday — Pot roast with veggies, chicken fajitas or chef’s choice, salad bar, soup, assorted vegetables, breads and desserts.

The cafeteria is open to the public Tuesday through Thursday from 11:15 a.m. to noon.

Festival of Angel Sponsors Now Exceed 30 Businesses, Organizations

The Festival of Angels has a corporate sponsorship program that was initiated several years ago to help support the purchase of new displays. Corporate sponsors agree to sponsor a lighted exhibit for a three-year period.

This year, more than 30 local businesses and organizations have agreed to become corporate sponsors. These sponsors each have an illuminated company sign next to their display, according to Kathy Adams, Festival Chairman.

“Response from the business community and local organizations has been great. Because of the generosity of our corporate sponsors, we have been able to add new angel displays at each of our primary Festival locations — Lake Ponca Park, Cann Garden Center, Cultural Center, Centennial Plaza, Marland Estate and Pioneer Woman Statue and Museum,” commented Adams.

Corporate sponsors this year include Conoco, Home National Bank, St. Joseph Regional Medical Center, The Ponca City News/WBBZ Radio, KLVV Radio, Ponca City Rotary Club, Ponca City Noon Lions Club, Oklahoma Natural Gas, Lindsay Manufacturing, Holiday Inn, Commercial Federal, Evans and Associates, Stolhand Heating and Air, Ponca Machine, Mid-America Door Co., J.C. Penney, Bank of Oklahoma, Golden Corral, The Gift Shoppe/Emporium, Pioneer Bank and Trust, Braudrick Printery, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Rusty Barrell Supper Club, Ceja Corporation, Trout Funeral Home/Resthaven Memorial Park, Nutri-System, North Central Pump, Century 21/Group One Realtors, Ponca City Council of Garden Clubs and Pioneer Woman Museum.

This year, corporate sponsors were invited to a “Sneak Preview” party the night before the Angel Festival was opened to the general public. Sponsors were treated to a reception and special bus tour in appreciation of their patronage.

The 1999 Festival of Angels display is open nightly from 6 to 10 p.m. until Dec. 31. Angel hosts will be available to take donations at Lake Ponca Park nightly. Maps of all the decorated areas are available at Lake Ponca Park and Angel Central, the official information center and gift shop for the festival, located at the south end of Ponca Plaza. Angel Central is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Maps are also available at Ponca City Tourism, Marland Estate, Pioneer Woman Museum and most restaurants and motels. For more information on the Festival of Angels or becoming a corporate sponsor for next year, contact Ponca City Tourism at 763-8067.

Jody Miller in Concert in Kaw City

KAW CITY — The three churches of Kaw City are sponsoring a Gospel Theater at the Community Center in Kaw City, beginning Thursday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m., featuring the Grammy Award winning country vocalist Jody Miller.

Jody recorded her spectacular Grammy Award hit “Queen of the House” and launched a series of records and awards, television appearances, stage engagements and successful recordings with “He’s So Fine,” “There’s a Party Going On,” “Silver Threads and Golden Needles” and many more big singles.

Jody, a most talented and gracious performer in Gospel music, is truly a gift of God to Kaw City Gospel Theater in Kaw City, arrangers said. This Gospel Theater is sponsored by Oak Grove Baptist, First Christian and First Methodist church. For ticket information call (580) 269-2525.

City Calendar

Items for the City Calendar should be brought in or telephoned (765-3311) to Bob Patterson, at the Ponca City News, by Thursday noon.

Anytime

FOLOBS (Friends of Library Ongoing Book Sale), anytime the Ponca City Library is open, North of Multimedia Room (downstairs).

Alcoholics Anonymous, Alano Group, Ponca City’s first established AA Group, meets at Noon and 8 p.m., seven days a week. All noon meetings open, all 8 p.m. meetings closed except Fridays, 603 South First Street.

Now through Dec. 31

Festival of Angels, Holiday Lighting Celebration, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. nightly.

Oklahoma Watercolor Artists Exhibit, Wednesdays through Sundays, 1-4 p.m., Artist Studio, Marland Estate, sponsored by Ponca City Arts and Humanities Council, free admission.

Today

Historic Ponca City Open House, 2-4 p.m., Marland Estate, Cann Garden Center, and Ponca City Cultural Center, free admission to Ponca City residents.

“Jingle Bells,” a Christmas musical presented by the elementary choirs (grades 1-6 of First Baptist Church, 6:30 p.m., at First Baptist Church.

Silver Bells and Diamonds Concert, Poncan Theatre.

“The Mouse’s Tale,” the Christmas story as told by the animals in the stable Christmas night, will be performed at First Church of the Nazarene, 1900 West Grand. All are welcome to attend.

Monday

Ponca City Board of Commissioners, Ponca City Utility Authority, Ponca City Development Authority, 5:30 p.m., Public Safety Center Commissioners’ Room, 200 East Oklahoma Avenue.

Tuesday

Economic Development Advisory Board, 7:30 a.m., Chamber of Commerce, 420 East Grand Avenue.

Ponca City Library Board, 11:30 a.m., Ponca City Library Board Room, 515 East Grand Avenue.

AARP, 12:30 p.m., Wheatheart Nutrition Center.

Marland Estate Commission, 4:30 p.m., Marland Estate Conference Center.

McCord Volunteer Fire Department, 7 p.m., McCord School Library.

Rural Water District No. 1 Regular Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m., Enterprise School on Lake Road.

City wide salad luncheon at First Assembly of God, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. $5 per person. Sponsored by the Fiorst Assembly of God Women’s Ministries. Everyone welcome.

Wednesday

Planning Commission Work Session, 7:45 a.m., Planning and Engineering Conference Room, 400 East Central Avenue, Suite 305.

Ponca City Public School Foundation, noon, Ponca City Library.

Ponca City Tourism Authority, 2 p.m., Cultural Center Sunroom, 1000 East Grand Avenue.

Thursday

Ponca City Noon Ambucs, Noon to 1 p.m., Ponca City Country Club, interested in joining, just come by.

Park and Recreation Advisory Board, 5:30 p.m., Municipal Courtroom, Public Safety Center. 200 East Oklahoma Avenue.

Kay County Republican Party, 5:30 p.m., Golden Corral, 2300 North Fourteenth Street, State Representative Jim Newport will be the speaker.

Martha Gilliam’s taste tempting samples from her new cookbook, “Back on the Range,” while husband Les Gilliam entertains with songs from his tapes and CD’s, both will autograph, 7-9 p.m., Brace Books and More, North Fourteenth Street.

KLVV 88.7 FM and the Northwest Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Christmas Concert featuring 4HIM, a Contemporary Christian Group, 7 p.m., Enid’s Mark Price Arena, tickets available Nov. 11 at Master’s Touch, call 767-1400 for more information.

Friday

Historic Preservation Panel Work Session, noon, Planning and Engineering Conference Room, 400 East Central Avenue, Suite 305.

Traffic Commission, 1:15 p.m., Public Safety Center, 200 East Central Avenue.

Saturday

Hometown Christmas Review, Poncan Theatre.

December 19

“Journey of Hope, The Birth of A Savior,” Christmas Spectacular, presented by Adult Choir and Orchestra, 6:30 p.m., First Baptist Church, admission free.

“His Name is Jesus”, a musical celebration of Christ’s birth will be presented at First Church of the Nazarene, 1900 West Grand at 10:15 a.m. The congreagation extends an invitation to the community to attend.

December 20

Ponca City Board of Commissioners Work Session, 2 p.m., Public Safety Center, Commissioners’ Room, 200 East Central Avenue.

Multiple Sclerosis Support Group, 6:30 p.m., Albright United Methodist Church, 128 South Palm Street, call Lori White, 767-1668 for additional information.

December 21

DAV, 7 p.m., 401 South Lincoln Street.

Osage Cove Volunteer Fire Department, 7 p.m., Fire Station, corner U.S. 60E and Keeler Road, new volunteers always welcome.

December 23

Ponca City Noon Ambucs, Noon to 1 p.m., Ponca City Country Club, interested in joining, just come by.

December 24

Christmas Eve Vesper Service, 5:50 p.m., First Baptist Church.

December 27

Ponca City Board of Commissioners, Ponca City Utility Authority, Ponca City Development Authority, 5:30 p.m., Public Safety Center Commissioners’ Room, 200 East Oklahoma Avenue.

December 30

Ponca City Noon Ambucs, Noon to 1 p.m., Ponca City Country Club, interested in joining, just come by.

KLVV 88.7 FM, the Millennium Commission, and area church youth groups present Big Tent Revival, Contemporary Christian Group, in concert, 7:30 p.m., Ponca City Hutchins Auditorium Fifth Street and Overbrook Avenue, admission free, call 767-1400 for more information.

Argus Hamilton, Poncan Theatre, Ponca City.

December 31

100 Years on Broadway, 8:30 p.m., Poncan Theatre, Ponca City.

Millennium Celebration, Downtown Ponca City.

Bill Parsons Finally Gets His War Decorations

Forty-seven years after his term of military service in Korea Cpl. William (Bill) R. Parsons, 2124 Joe, has received medals due him.

Over the years, according to his wife Nan, he had attempted to get the medals with no results. Finally when he contacted Sen. Don Nickles things began to happen.

On Nov. 6, after the Veteran’s Day Parade, in a ceremony at the American Legion, Parsons was presented the medals by Brig. Gen. Jim Morford.

Decorations presented belatedly to Parsons were Combat Infantryman Badge, Parachute Wings, Glider Wings, Korean Service Medal with four stars, Good Conduct Medal and Expert Marksman Medal.

But these decorations may not be all that is due the Ponca Citian. He may also have earned the UN Service medal, a Far Eastern Service Medal and should have received a Bronze Star along with the Purple Heart.

The following is an account of Parsons’ war experience that was read by Gen. Morford upon presentation of the medals.

“On March 23, 1951, the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team was given the mission of air dropping the entire regiment near the town of Munsani, South Korea, in an effort to cut off remnants of a large enemy force composed of both North Koreans and Chinese.

“In this drop, so many troop carriers were needed that many C-46s were used to fill out the C-119s normally used. As my squad and one from the mortar platoon and others were too numerous to exit the plane through the one door normally used as the jump door, due to the short length of the drop zone, the air crews removed the left door, which was about three quarters the size of the normal door, and we were to use both doors in order to get the troops on the ground in one pass.

“Our jump altitude was 800 feet, and it takes about 300 feet, plus or minus, to get a full canopy. We exited and as my chute opened, I was almost directly above the man from the opposite door. Trying to avoid a mid-air collision I called to him to slip to one side and I would slip to the other.

"He failed to respond and almost immediately his canopy stole the air from mine and I fell directly on top of his canopy.

“Trying to not collapse both chutes, I rolled to the edge of his canopy and fell off. As I began to fall I could see my collapsed canopy falling down beside me.

“Knowing that there was not enough room left to open my reserve, I began flapping the shoulder harness trying to get the skirt of the chute to catch some air and perhaps reopen, if only partially, to no avail. Some time later, after hitting the ground, I regained some consciousness and recognized the platoon medic, who had seen the whole thing, had removed all of my combat gear and had assembled my rifle and stuck it in the ground with my helmet stuck on the end of it so the litter jeeps, which had also come in by parachute, could pick me up.

“I evidently was bleeding a good bit from the mouth, nose, ears, and a section sergeant from the mortars came up and took a look and moved on. He was a WWII trooper and he reported me as either dying or dead. The medic gave me a shot for pain and tagged me and took off, to help other injured jumpers.”

The story continues, “The litter jeep finally came and got me loaded and delivered to an aid station which was being run by a contingent of Indians (they spoke no English - apparently East Indians) They then put me on a helicopter and I was taken to a MASH unit located some miles away from the drop zone.”

Parsons retired from The Ponca City News in 1994 after 30 years. He was foreman of the composing room at the time of his retirement.

Volunteer Now For Millennium Bash

Performers and bands, musicians and magicians, entertainment slated for all types, for all ages, scheduled all day and night. With so many activities the Ponca City Millennium celebration promises to be the biggest — and best — event of the century.

“I just got involved so I was amazed when to discover the magnitude of this celebration,” says volunteer coordinator Patti Pfeiffer-Parr.

“The dedication of these committee members — the work, the time and energy, the many months and endless hours of planning and preparation for this event is unbelievable,” she said.

As this year draws to an end and the new millennium draws near, the committee members are busy making certain everything is ready and goes according to plan.

“We are really pleased with how all the effort has come together,” said Millennium Executive Committee member Diane Mitchell. “And with all we have in store for the public we’re certain no one will have trouble ringing in the new year in a grand style here in Ponca City.”

The scheduled events begin on the evening of Dec. 30 and continue throughout the day and night Dec. 31, ending at midnight with a ball-drop downtown.

The only thing lacking so far, however, is volunteers. With so much in store for the celebration, committee members report a large demand for those willing to donate a little of their time.

“We are seeking individuals, civic organization, youth groups, anyone and everyone who can give two or three hours to make this celebration a success — and one in which we can all be proud of,” Pfeiffer-Parr said.

She said nearly 100 volunteers are needed and almost all the positions will be indoors. Anyone interested in being a part of local millennium history should contact Pfeiffer-Parr at 580-762-8691.

Tonkawa State Champs

By FRED HILTON

News Sports Editor

STILLWATER — The Tonkawa Buccaneers make the most of their opportunities.

In three trips to the high school football state championships, the Bucs have come away with three gold balls.

The first two came when Tonkawa won back-to-back state titles in 1952-53.

The third came Saturday afternoon on Lewis Field as Tonkawa defeated Turpin 14-7 with the grandsons of several members of those ’52-’53 teams playing.

The Buccaneers had been stalled at the quarterfinals in the state playoffs in both 1997 and 1998. This year they went all the way to the top.

Clock Dedication Noon Monday

At 12 noon on Monday the clock in the Civic Center Tower at Centennial Plaza will be dedicated. The clock and carillon are a gift to Ponca City on behalf of the Larry Hughes Memorial. The public is invited.

There will be a short ceremony and this will begin at 11:45 a.m., with John Raley doing the honors. Friends of Larry Hughes and the general public are invited.

The clock is being dedicated prior to the Millennium so the public can enjoy the chimes during the holidays, according to members of the Hughes’ family.

Senior Mobility Program Offers Power Scooters

The Senior Mobility Program of Greater Oklahoma announces the availability of Power Wheelchairs and three wheel electric scooters to Senior Citizens (65 years old and up) that require in-home mobility assistance at usually no out-of-pocket cost, for those who qualify.

The program was founded in September of 1996 and was formed to assist individuals that without the use of mobility aide products would be chair or bed confined.

The “Senior Mobility Program” has successfully helped hundreds of people, with the assistance of Motorized Wheelchairs and Scoo-ters, regain their activity of daily living and enhance their quality of life.

The aids are provided to those who require them for use in their home and meet the additional guidelines of the program, including an evaluation by their physician.

No deposit is required. This service may also be available to the permanently disabled of any age. The requested item is delivered to the Senior’s home and instruction in operation is given by the program case manager.

To receive more information or to see if you qualify, call 1-888-441-1148.

City Millennium Afghan Ready

The Ponca City Oklahoma’s Premier Millennium City afghan is ready and on sale by the folks at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church — just in time for Christmas giving, it was reported today.

The afghan, done in blues, browns, yellows and white, depicts the things that make Ponca City unique — Conoco, the Standing Bear statue, Indian chiefs, Kaw Lake, “Through the Eyes of a Child” statue at the Library, L.A. Cann Gardens, Bill Pickett and the 101 Ranch symbol, the Art Center, Lew Wentz Camp and Pool, two Indian chiefs and symbols of the area — teepees, horses, buffalo, cotton and wheat.

All proceeds from the sale of the afghan will go to the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church building fund, it was reported. The afghan sells for $50, and may be ordered from Karen Ley at 762-7120 or Amy Furber at 762-0724.

Church’s Annual Cantata Today

The choir of the Asbury United Methodist Church will present its annual Christmas cantata at the 10:45 a.m. service today.

The Rev. Steve Bredesen, pastor, announced that new stoles for the choir will be presented during the service and dedicated to the memory of Edgar Sparks. Sparks and his wife Dixie were long-time members of the Asbury church and choir before moving to OkIahoma City, where he died earlier this year. He was a retired employee of Southwestern Bell Telephone Co.

The stoles were purchased with donations to a memorial for the church, honoring Sparks. Dixie and several of Ed’s brothers and their wives are coming from out of town to attend the service.

Sunday’s presentation is “Let Us Adore Him,” a Christmas celebration for choir, congregation and narrators by Robert C. Lau. Soloists will be Audrey Jones, Donna Culver and Don Crosson. Directing the choir is Priscilla Mullenax and the piano accompanist is Marilyn Robins. Narrators will be Ron and Cindy Harris.

The youth of the church will serve a spaghetti dinner following Sunday’s service. Donations will go to finance their mission projects.

‘Raindrops’ Plans Annual Service

Raindrops, a support group for parents who have experienced pregnancy loss or the death of a child, is planning its Annual Christmas Memorial Service for Sunday, Dec. 12 at 2 p.m. at the First Church of the Nazarene at 1900 West Grand in Ponca City.

This service is open to the public and especially to families who have had pregnancy loss or the death of a child of any age. Guest speaker will be the Rev. Steve Bredesen, pastor of Asbury United Methodist Church of Ponca City. The service will include special music, lighting of a memorial candle and the hanging of ornaments on the memory tree. Those planning to attend are asked to bring an ornament(s) in memory of their child/children who have died. Refreshments will follow the services in the fellowship hall.

Raindrops offers a wide range of services for families who are grieving the loss of a child, including support group meetings, book sand resources, and individual and family grief counseling. Interested persons may call Debbie Brock at Raindrops/Hospice of Ponca City for more information at 762-9102.

SJRMC Welcomes Orthopedic Surgeon

Garry England, St. Joseph Regional Medical Center President and CEO, has announced the addition of Bradford Black, M.D., to the medical staff.

Dr. Black, an orthopedic surgeon, comes to SJRMC from the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital Center, Columbia University Hospital in Manhattan, N.Y. where he completed a four-year residency.

Born in New York, Dr. Black grew up in France. He returned to the United States in 1983 to attend Tufts University in Medford, Mass., where he earned a bachelor of science degree in biology and economics in 1987. In 1988-89, Dr. Black was a laboratory research assistant at Brigham and Women’s Hospital — Harvard Medical School in Boston. He then attended the Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston from 1990-1994. Dr. Black’s internship in general surgery took place at St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital Center in 1994-95.

Dr. Black’s medical interests include knee, shoulder, and other sports-related injuries. He will perform total joint reconstruction and is trained in hand, foot and ankle problems. He has extensive training in trauma. Away from work, Dr. Black enjoys skiing, tennis, golf, wind surging and traveling.

He will begin seeing patients Jan. 3, 2000, on the second floor of the Northern Oklahoma Regional Clinics building, 415 Fairview. Patients may make appointments beginning Dec. 20 by calling 763-4573.

Newport Slated At Party Meeting

The Kay County Republican Party will meet at the Golden Corral at 2300 North 14th St. (14th & Bradley) in Ponca City at 5:30 PM on Thursday, December 16.

State Rep. Jim Newport will be the speaker. Bring your political thoughts, buy a dinner, listen to Rep. Newport and stay for a liberating political discussion.

At the last meeting, David Myers presented some new concepts for campaigning that really fired up the group. For information call 762-0103 or 765-9868.

100 Years of Broadway Attracts Additional Talent

Ponca City’s musical celebration of the millennium is scheduled New Year’s Eve, beginning at 8:30 p.m. at the historic Poncan Theatre. A variety of performers are returning to town to participate in the event.

Sarah Parsons

Included in the orchestra is Sarah Parsons, the daughter of J.B. and Kathy Parsons. She is a native of Ponca City, where she began her violin studies when she was 10 years old. In 1993, she was chosen as the concertmaster of the Oklahoma All-State Orchestra.

Following her graduation from the Ponca City High School, she attended the University of North Texas in Denton, graduating Magna Cum Laude with a degree in music education, violin concentration. While she resided in the Dallas area she played with the Abilene Philharmonic, the Irving Symphony and the Northeast Texas Symphony in Tyler.

Parsons teaches fifth and sixth grade orchestra in College Station Texas, where she also maintains a private violin and viola studio, is a violinist for the BCS String Quartet, and a member of the Temple Symphony in Temple, Texas.

Mike Hart

Also participating in the performance will be Parsons’ fiance, Mike Hart, who is originally from Phoenix, Ariz., where he began his cello studies at age six. He was sitting first chair in the All-Star Orchestra by the time he was nine. By the time he got to high school, he was playing in the Phoenix Youth Symphony.

In his junior year, Hart received a $17,000 scholarship to attend the Idyllwild School of Music and Arts in Idyllwild, Calif., for his senior year. After high school, he attended Arizona State University and studied with Taki Atsumi, a former student of Pablo Casals.

Hart graduated from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, and played with the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra. He is now teaching orchestra for the College Station Independent School District. He plays in the Bryan College State String Quartet and the Temple Symphony Orchestra.

Dr. William T. McConnell Jr. of Tulsa will be conducting the orchestra for “100 Years of Broadway,” a trip through 10 decades of hit musical comedies compiled by Leslie Rardin. The show is sponsored by Conoco, Home National Bank and Smith Furnishings.

Sheryl Martin

One of the many family combinations to be heard New Year’s Eve in the performance is the married team of Sheryl and Doug Martin, instrumental musicians.

Sheryl, the daughter of Margaret and Elbrige Orr, is a Ponca City native and a graduate of Po-Hi who earned an associate of arts degree at Northern Oklahoma College and a bachelor’s in music education from Oklahoma State University. She is now the music director at Burbank’s First Baptist Church, the assistant director of the Ponca City Children’s Chorale and gives private lessons on the flute, clarinet, and saxophone.

Doug Martin

Doug, who graduated from Po-Hi also, earned his bachelor’s of music education degree from Oklahoma City University where he was named the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Outstanding Senior. Now the music instrument technician and Fine Arts custodian at Northern Oklahoma College, he is also the band instructor at St. Mary’s and continues his practice of instrument repair which he began in 1961.

His compositions have been performed by the OCU band, the Fort Smith Symphony, the NOC Choir and assorted groups in Ponca City. After four decades as an instrumentalist, he is currently studying voice, hoping to become a cantor in the Catholic Church.

Stephen Heslip

Stephen Holt Heslip of Yukon, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Larry Heslip, will be coming home to play his trombone in the orchestra. Stephen received his bachelor of music performance degree in May 1999 from Southwestern State University in Weatherford. His major was instrumental music, and he received the John Phillip Sousa Award for Outstanding Musician. He was also a volunteer for the special olympics, and active in the First Baptist Church of Weatherford.

The show will feature hit tunes from Broadway musicals in every decade of the Twentieth Century. Singers and dancers will be Ponca Citians, and former Ponca Citians, who are now professional or semi-professional musicians; a full or-chestra will accompany on stage.

School Officials Laud Advantages of Trimester

By LOUISE ABERCROMBIE

News Staff Writer

One of the questions that will come before the Dec. 20 Ponca City School Board meeting will be whether Ponca City High School becomes the first school in Oklahoma to go to trimester scheduling.

Dr. Bill White told those attending the Chamber of Commerce’s Second Friday Forum about the proposed changes that the administration will be making in order to comply with the 4x4 state requirements by 2003. This scheduling allows for the student core curriculum courses, which are needed to be prepared to enter college, White said.

Dr. Jerry Winkle, High School Principal, told about the advantages the trimester would afford the students. There is a misconception that the students would be going to school in the summer to do a trimester. The 180 school year would be divided into three 60 day periods. School would start at 8:05 a.m., and get out at 3:25. p.m. Classes would run 75 minutes each.

White explained the classes would not be 75 minutes of lecture, but would include student involvement. If approved by the School Board the trimester scheduling would go into effect in the fall of 2000. He told of visiting Bell High School in Texas, which is on the trimester schedule. White said the closest school to Ponca City on the trimester program is Hutchinson, Kan.

With the changes there will be still be time for athletics, band and other activities, the school officials explained. This includes taking courses at Pioneer Technology, NOC or working part time.

Another change that White is pushing is that students must average a “C” to pass a course. He said those with D’s would be required to take the class over. However with the trimester they would not have to wait a year, but could enroll in the class immediately.

White said this is raising the bar and students will do what is necessary to pass. He said expectations should not be lowered. “We are doing a great disservice, whether a child goes to college or he goes into the world of work, if he doesn’t have the knowledge base, the ability to think, solve problems if we continue to offer him a diploma that is just passport to failure,” White said.

Members of the audience asked questions about various aspects of the proposed changes. Some expressed concern about the required “C” to pass. Others asked they know of instances where a trimester program had been tried and dropped?

White said this had happened in some cases. Copies of the proposed changes are available at the school administration building. White indicated the administration stands ready to answer questions and to listen to comments.

The program was introduced by Chamber Chairman Craig Myers.

Martha and Les Gilliam at Brace Books on Thursday

For the fourth consecutive year, Martha and Les Gilliam will be appearing at Brace Books and More on Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. for Snackin’ and Singin.’

Martha will be introducing her latest cookbook, “Back on the Range.” This is the second cookbook in the series, the first being titled “Home on the Range.” Both cookbooks are available at Brace Books and More.

The new cookbook includes 850 recipes, many coming from such notables as movie and TV actor Dale Robertson, author Don Goldsmith, cowboy novelist Dusty Richards, and country music hall of famer Jimmy Davis and his wife Anna. Also contributing to the cookbook were radio personalities Johnny Western and Billy Parker. Even one of George Strait’s favorites is included. For those with a desire for cuisine adventure, the book includes several recipes from the Gilliams’ friends in Vienna, Austria. Many local folks submitted recipes for the new cookbook, including Dr. Joe Kinzer, president of Northern Oklahoma College.

Also contributing to the cookbook were Michael and Suzanne Wallis of Tulsa. Michael is the author of such books as “Route 66,” “The Life of Frank Phillips,” and “The Real Wild West,” which is the story of the 101 Ranch near Ponca City.

Wallis also wrote the biography of Pretty Boy Floyd. One of the recipes they submitted was “Pretty Boy Floyd Apple Pie.” Wallis states in the cookbook that, in 1933, one of Pretty Boy Floyd’s apple pies won the contest at a pie supper when the respected sheriff, unaware of who had baked the pie, tasted it and declared it to be the best apple pie he had ever put in his mouth. Wallis also says that 30-year-old Pretty Boy Floyd left one of these apple pies behind in his New York hideaway when, in 1934, he decided to head toward his hometown of Sallisaw. His life ended shortly thereafter.

The “Back on the Range” cookbook is dedicated to Les’ hometown of Gene Autry. Included are pictures of downtown Gene Autry, the Cowboy Film Museum there and closeups of the rock barns Mr. Autry built when he owned the nearby ranch. The photos show the Flying A rock formation built into the barns, which was Autry’s brand.

Martha will be serving samples from the new cookbook, and Les will be singing lots of Christmas songs along with selections from his latest cassette tape and video, “The Cowboy Hit Parade.”

Oklahoma Politics

The First 100 Years

By RON JENKINS

Associated Press Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — When historian Angie Debo described Oklahoma as ‘‘a cauldron of politics’’ in its formative years, Republicans were hardly in the soup.

But as a new century nears, the GOP holds most top state and federal offices and is registering voters at a pace that could — in the near future — make it dominant from the statehouse to the courthouse.

As statehood dawned in 1907, Democrats seized control of Oklahoma’s developing political apparatus from Republicans, who led the state in territorial days.

Populist feelings ran high from farmers suspicious of railroads, bankers, oil barons and others they had to contend with, along with the elements, in frenzied years after the Land Run of 1889.

Politicians with populist leanings adopted a constitution as long as the Cherokee Strip in 1906. In the years that followed, even Socialists had a significant impact. By 1910, Oklahoma had more Socialists than any state in the nation.

Adding to the strange political brew was a strong conservative strain that Republicans have tapped into over the years. Oklahoma put a Prohibition provision in its constitution that was not repealed until 1959.

The cauldron, stirred by varied economic interests that swarmed over elected officials, did not settle for decades. Before the Dust Bowl stunted Oklahoma’s growth, a battle erupted over location of the Capitol, two governors were impeached and a third barely escaped the ax from the rural-dominated Legislature.

Governors, weakened by a constitution that put most of the power in the legislative hands, acted boldly, if perhaps foolishly, when they could. In the tradition of the shoot-em-up Old West, they often called out the state militia, once to shut down oil production.

In 1910, Oklahoma’s first chief executive, Democrat Charles N. Haskell, settled the question of the Capitol’s location by dispatching aides, in the dead of night, to smuggle the Great Seal of Oklahoma from Guthrie, the territorial Capitol. It was taken to bustling Oklahoma City, where government was set up in a hotel. Construction of the current Capitol was finished in 1917.

Ms. Debo, writing in the 1940s, summed up the turmoil as the product of an agrarian people with Jacksonian views having to cope with industrial developments unparalleled in American history.

She pointed to a 1935 Brookings Institute finding that Oklahoma was ‘‘advanced materially but retarded politically. It is economically developed, but governmentally immature.’’

Or, as writer George Milburn put it, Oklahoma is to sociology as Australia is to zoology — a place of social and political survivals as outdated in modern life ‘‘as a duckbill or a kangaroo.’’

Whether Oklahoma has matured depends on one’s viewpoint, but its political makeup has certainly changed since President Theodore Roosevelt signed a proclamation making Oklahoma the country’s 46th state.

Emerging as one of Oklahoma’s most colorful, forceful and important political figures after statehood was William H. ‘‘Alfalfa Bill’’ Murray, chairman of the constitutional convention, speaker of the First Legislature and governor during the Great Depression.

Elected governor in 1930 at age 66, the cigar-smoking Murray was almost penniless, having left the state in the 1920s for a futile attempt to set up a cotton-growing colony in Bolivia.

He had an administration as stormy as a prairie tornado. On one occasion, he called out the militia to close Oklahoma’s 3,000 producing oil wells, an effort to curb cut-throat competition that sent oil prices to pennies a barrel. Another time, he summoned the military to block bridges over the Red River in a dispute with Texas.

When his detractors hinted at another impeachment effort, Murray likened them to ‘‘a bunch of rabbits trying to pull a wild cat out of its den.’’

Although he fancied himself as protector of the common man against exploitation, Murray’s unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 1932 put him at odds with President Franklin Roosevelt and he opposed the New Deal, aligning himself with some of his life-long enemies.

Oklahoma’s next governor was E.W. Marland, Ponca City oilman, who embraced New Deal programs, as did many out-of-luck Oklahomans, those who had not fled to California and become part of the ‘‘Okie’’ underclass portrayed in John Steinbeck’s ‘‘The Grapes of Wrath.’’

Until recent times and with the exception of a brief period in the 1920s, Democrats controlled virtually all the important political offices in Oklahoma. Most of the eastern part of the state was settled by southerners. The less-populated west, where most Republicans resided, featured settlers from states like Kansas and Nebraska.

Then came European immigrants and residents from Pennsylvania and Ohio, who flocked to Tulsa, the oil boom town that quickly became the state’s second largest city.

Republicans did not capture the governor’s office until the 1962 election of Henry Bellmon, a farmer from Billings, who went on to be a U.S. senator and win election again as governor in 1986. He is known as the father of the modern Republican Party in Oklahoma.

Among the Oklahoma leaders gaining national stature during the state’s ‘‘maturing’’ years were former U.S. House Speaker Carl Albert of McAlester and the late Robert S. Kerr of Poteau, the ‘‘uncrowned king of the Senate’’ and backer of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation Project.

Over the years, many reforms of government have been passed, including a state Merit System during the administration of Democrat J. Howard Edmondson, who took office in 1959 and forced an end to Prohibition.

Other milestones included the launching of one of the nation’s most expansive turnpike systems under Gov. Roy Turner and the creation of a state Corrections Department and one of the country’s top vo-tech systems.

As year 2000 nears, the GOP boasts of a two-term governor in Frank Keating and two U.S. senators. Don Nickles of Ponca City is the No. 2 leader of the Senate. All six congressmen are Republicans, including J.C. Watts of Norman, the No. 4 leader in the House and the first black Republican congressman elected since Reconstruction south of Mason-Dixon line.

Since 1960, Republican voter registration has risen from 17.6 percent to 35 percent, while Democratic registration has falling from 82 percent to 57.4 percent.

Lance Ward, state Election Board secretary, projects the GOP will become the majority party in registration by 2021 if it continues to register voters at the same clip it has done in the past 10 years.

Actually, Republicans had a foothold from Oklahoma from the start. All six territorial governors were Republicans, appointed by GOP presidents. Haskell’s distaste for the ‘‘haven of Republicans’’ in Guthrie provided impetus for moving the Capitol from Guthrie. He ignored a federal order designating Guthrie as the Capitol through 1913.

Republicans had a glorious victory in 1920 during the Harding landslide, ironically with the help of Oklahoma Socialists. The GOP elected a majority in the state House for the first and only time and sent one senator and five U.S. representatives to Washington.

One of the congressional seats was won by Mary Alice Robertson, who ran as an opponent to women’s suffrage. Another was captured by Manuel Herrick, a perennial candidate and refugee of the state’s insane asylum. ‘‘I may be a nut but I’m a tough nut to crack,’’ Herrick said. Both were one-term members of Congress.

Oklahoma’s Socialist Party’s vote grew to 52,703 in early Oklahoma as many rural folks became disenchanted with Democrats, who were accused of siding with the economic elite. The party promoted such ideas as publicly owned cooperatives and state aid to farmers, hardly revolutionary by modern standards.

The movement died in the patriotic fervor of World War I and in reaction to the ill-fated Green Corn Rebellion by a small band of armed farmers who assembled in the Canadian River Valley for a march to Washington

Many members, however, joined the Farmer-Labor Reconstruction League that helped elect Oklahoma City Mayor Jack Walton as governor. Walton’s impeachment ended a series of battles with lawmakers, stemming from accusations of corruption and his attempt to dominate colleges through patronage appointments.

As his critics waged in, Walton cast himself as a champion of decency and battled the influential Ku Klux Klan, putting virtually the whole state under martial law.

The Legislature later im-peached Henry S. Johnson, convicted of a lone charge of ‘‘general incompetency’’ after he had dispersed an antagonistic Legislature by force of arms.

One historian writes of Oklahoma’s ‘‘shameful’’ record on race during the years before and after statehood. Indians were cheated out of tribal land through legal trickery and Jim Crow laws designed to separate blacks and white were adopted at the constitutional convention and by the first Legislature.

In 1921, as many as 300 people — most of them black — are believed to have died in a race riot in the Greenwood District in Tulsa, an affluent business area.

Logan County elected A. C. Hamlin as Oklahoma’s first black legislator in 1908. Another black was not elected until the 1960s, prior to court-ordered reapportionment.

However, Oklahoma came into compliance with the Supreme Court’s 1954 desegregation order much easier than other Sunbelt states, largely through the efforts of Democratic Gov. Raymond Gary of Madill.

In 1936, Oklahomans went to the polls to enact a sales tax increase that was dedicated to helping the poor and elderly. The well-financed state welfare department grew to the biggest agency in the state and Loyd E. Rader, its director, was considered more powerful than many governors.

The change in public attitude after the Reagan years was evident in the 1990s, when Democratic Gov. David Walters tried to supplement Medicaid money with a state provider tax, that was defeated at a statewide election.

Through its history, Oklahoma has had its share of political scandals. The most noteworthy include a Supreme Court bribery case that led to the ouster of the chief justice and many of his colleagues, the bribery-extortion conviction of former Democratic Gov. David Hall in 1975 and the conviction of more than 200 county commissioners, both Democratic and Republican, in a kickback scheme in the early 1980s.

The Supreme Court scandal produced a massive, successful reform of the court system.

Heading into 2000, Oklahoma remains a poor state with a per capita income far below the national average, contributing to such social ills as high teen pregnancy and divorce rates.

It has lived largely off energy and agriculture, whose interests have dictated much of its government decisions. Until the past couple of decades, when policy makers stepped up efforts to diversify the state’s economic base and realigned its funding structure, Oklahoma was a captive of the boom-or-bust nature of the oil business.

The state has enjoyed some good times, such as the mid-1970s to the early 1980s, when oil prices were high. Once Oklahoma even topped the national average in per capita income — during the first term of Democratic Gov. George Nigh, the state’s first two-term governor (1978-1986).

But a collapse in the oil boom produced a series of budget shortfalls, beginning in late 1982, that forced first Nigh, and then Bellmon, to raise taxes.

A powerful anti-tax movement was the outgrowth, leading to a statewide vote making future tax increases virtually impossible. Oklahoma also became the first state to impose term limits on legislators.

Keating, a supply-sider, has repeatedly put Democrats on the spot by trying to force tax reductions, despite criticism he is short-changing an ill-financed education system. He was successful in 1994 in securing $104 million tax cut, just as Democratic Gov. David Boren and Nigh were able to get $130 million in tax cuts in the 1970s as the oil boom and a 1971 Hall tax program produced enormous state surpluses.

Despite his tax-cut penchant and conservative rhetoric, Keating has not been bashful about spending on capital projects. He was the prime mover behind more than $1 billion in bond issues to finance infrastructure improvements, mainly for highways and college construction.

Critics have warned his strategy could backfire if Oklahoma again falls on hard times and has trouble paying off its bond debt without meeting vital state needs.

As the 2000 election year approaches, Democrats are hoping to keep their majorities in the state House and Senate and win back a couple of congressional seats.

Republicans, meanwhile, are expecting legislative inroads and predicting they will be the majority party by 2004.

DEATHS

Dominique William Paschal
William B. LeClair
James Creasey
Robert Dale Noble
David John Bottrell
Ricky L. Davis

Dominique William Paschal

Dominique William Paschal, infant son of Erika (Cornell) and Robert Paschal, died at birth Friday evening, Dec. 10, 1999, at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center.

The traditional funeral feast will be noon today, Dec. 12, 1999, followed by the funeral at 2 p.m. at the Ponca Indian United Methodist Church in White Eagle with the Rev. Abraham Jackson, pastor, officiating; the Rev. Clyde Hendricks, pastor, Faith Baptist Church of Fort Oakland, will assist.

Burial will follow in the Ponca Tribal Cemetery in White Eagle under the direction of Grace Memorial Chapel.

Survivors include his parents of the home of Fort Oakland; two sisters, Tommi Ann Cornell and Kateena Marie Paschal, both of the home; grandparents Allen and Melissa Cornell, George and Vivian Cornell, and Augustine and Robert Paschal Sr., all of Fort Oakland, and Florence Calls Him Cole of Ponca City; and numerous other relatives. He was preceded in death by his great-grandparents.

Casket bearers will be Chandano Kettine Cornell, George Cornell, Elwood Sonny Calls Him Jr. and Robert Paschal Jr. Honorary casket bearers will be Harry Cornell, Thomas Henry Knight Jr., Edward Calls Him Jr. and Eldon Raymond Calls Him Jr.

William B. LeClair

WICHITA, Kan. — William B. “Morgan” LeClair, formerly of Washunga, Okla., died Friday, Dec. 10, 1999, in the St. Joseph Hospital in Wichita, Kan. He was 81.

The funeral will be held 3 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 14, 1999, at the Resthaven Mortuary Chapel in Wichita. Friends and family may visit at the mortuary from 5 to 9 p.m. Monday.

William B. LeClair was born April 24, 1918, in Washunga, the son of William L. and Clara Mehogah LeClair. He was a veteran of World War II and a 32nd degree Mason. He was a resident of Belle Plaine, Kan., and retired from Boeing Company.

He is survived by his wife, Lena, of the home; a son, Ed LeClair of Mulvane, Kan.; a daughter, Marietta Factor of Mulvane, Kan.; a half-sister, Mary Butler of Tulsa; nine grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild.

James Creasey

TONKAWA — James Creasey, resident of Ponca City, died Friday afternoon, Dec. 10, 1999, at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center. He was 45.

The funeral will be Monday, Dec. 13, 1999, at 2 p.m. at the First Christian Church of Tonkawa with the Rev. Joe Howard officiating. Burial will follow in the Tonkawa IOOF Cemetery under the direction of McCafferty-Bolick Funeral Home of Tonkawa. The family will be at the home of Tina Sharp, 223 North Public in Tonkawa.

James Creasey was born Sept. 8, 1954, in Tonkawa, the son of James A. and Juanita (Smart) Creasey. He graduated from Tonkawa High School in 1972. He was employed as the lead man in the receiving department of Titus in Ponca City for more than 21 years.

He is survived by one son, Jason Creasey of Fort Riley, Kan.; one brother, Russell Creasey of Ponca City; two sisters, Janie Milligan of Tonkawa and Betty Hollingsworth of Hutchinson, Kan.; seven nephews and three nieces.

He was preceded in death by his parents and one sister, Ruby McDonald.

Memorials may be made to the American Heart Association, Kay County Division, Box 348, Ponca City, Okla. 74602.

Robert Dale Noble

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — Robert Dale Noble, former resident of Ponca City, died Wednesday, Dec. 8, 1999, in Peachbelt Nursing Home in Warner Robins, Ga. He was 67.

A memorial service was scheduled for 2 p.m. today, Dec. 12, 1999, in the chapel of Christopher-Smith Funeral Home in Warner Robins, Ga., with the Rev. Gary Aikens officiating. There will be a private burial at Andersonville National Cemetery.

Robert Dale Noble was born June 12, 1932, in Ponca City, the son of Virgil and LeNora Noble. He is a U.S. Army veteran and was employed as a branch manager for Bank of America for many years.

He is survived by a daughter, Shannon Crum of Warner Robins, Ga.; two sons, Laryl Noble of Medford, Ore., and Sean Noble of Sacramento, Calif.; two brothers, Virgil Noble of Ponca City and Don Noble of Odessa, Texas; and seven grandchildren.

David John Bottrell

TAHLEQUAH — David John Bottrell, former resident of Ponca City, died Thursday, Dec. 9, 1999, at home in Tahlequah. He was 75.

A graveside service will be held 11:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 13, 1999, at the Fort Gibson National Cemetery in Fort Gibson with the Rev. Robert Dewoody officiating. Arrangements are under the direction of Green Country Funeral Home in Tahlequah.

David John Bottrell was born July 20, 1924, in Ponca City, the son of Dwight John and Ruby Pearl (Kuhns) Bottrell. He grew up in Ponca City, where he attended school. He served in the United States Marine Corp during World War II, going through seven battle campaigns in the Pacific. He later served in the U.S. Navy and earned the rank of chief petty officer. Following his military career, he was employed as a uranium miner in Jeffrey City, Wyo.

Survivors include a son, Bayard J. Bottrell of Riverside, Calif.; two brothers, Dwight John Bottrell Jr. of Norfork, Neb., and Oliver Bottrell of Fort Gibson; a sister, Edith Nell McCallick of Ponca City; three grandchildren; a great-grandchild; and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife; a daughter, Wynona Louise Bottrell; a sister, Wynona Louise Bottrell; and four brothers, Robert Lee Bottrell, Wilber Gene Bottrell, and twin infant brothers.

Services Pending

Ricky L. Davis

TONKAWA — Ricky L. Davis, resident of Tonkawa, died Friday evening, Dec. 10, 1999, in the Baptist Hospital in Oklahoma City. He was 52. Survivors include his wife Teresa of the home. Arrangements are pending with McCafferty-Bolick Funeral Home in Tonkawa.

NEWS BRIEFS

Trimester Meeting — Ponca City Schools will hold an information and communications meeting to update the community on the proposed changes for the high school schedule. The meeting will begin at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 16, at 111 West Grand. Call Weny Milligan at 767-8000 if you plan to attend.

Non-Injury Accident — An emergency call from the 6900 block of North Pleasantview advised of a two-vehicle non-injury accident at 7:20 a.m. Friday two miles north of Ponca City on U.S. 77 southbound. Ponca City police advised the highway patrol.

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.

Millennium Afghans Ready — The women of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church have their Millennium afghans ready for Christmas giving. They are available by calling Karen Ley at 762-7120 or Amy Furber at 762-0724. All proceeds will go to the church’s building fund.

Santa for hire. 762-7825 after 5:00 pm. adv.

Conoco Choir Practice — Conoco Community Choir practice will be 3 p.m. today at the New Life Baptist Church.

Local Accident — An emergency call from a motorist advised the Ponca City police of a one-vehicle accident at Brookfield Avenue and North Fifth Street at 7:42 a.m. Friday. An officer was assigned and a report taken.

Butter Braids: Plain, cream cheese plus five fruit flavors. Thaw-bake and enjoy. Great gifts. 114 S. 5th. 767-8336. adv.

Great Gift! Needle point pillows, (Last Christmas of the Century 1999). Mrs. Brown’s Attic Downtown Ponca City. adv.

Two-Vehicle Accident — Ponca City police were notified of a two-vehicle accident at North Fourteenth Street and Hartford Avenue at 7:56 a.m. Friday.

Accident Reported — A two-vehicle accident was reported at 8:02 a.m. Friday at the intersection of Comanche Avenue and North Fifth Street. A report was taken by Ponca City police.

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.

Mel’s Clothing and Shoe storewide sale! Get 25% off Mel’s prices. adv.

Three-Vehicle Accident — An emergency call to Ponca City police at 6:33 p.m. Friday advised of a three-vehicle non-injury accident in the 700 block of East Prospect Avenue. A report was taken.

Long distance service, 3 cents/minute off peak or 7 cents/minute all the time, free pagers! 765-4120. adv.

County Warrants — Ponca City police advised they arrested a 21-year-old man and a 19-year-old man at 3:50 a.m. Saturday from a traffic stop in the 1400 block of Pecan Road on city warrants for failure to pay.

Don Sawyer’s Chimney Sweep. 26 years experience. Call now before the rush and get on his list. 580-762-8883. adv

Man Arrested — An officer of the Ponca City police arrested a 27-year-old man at 11:36 p.m. Friday on complaints of drunken driving and leaving the scene of a property damage accident in the 2500 block of East Lake Road.

Dougan's Bar-B-Q Saturday special 4-8 p.m. All you can eat beef brisket with beans, potato salad and coleslaw, $7.49. 215 South 14th, 765-7979. adv.

Jueschke Carpet Cleaners. For professional carpet cleaning, call the professionals. Jueschke Carpet Cleaners. 765-3421. adv.

Woman Arrested — An 18-year-old woman was arrested by Ponca City police at 1 a.m. Saturday at the intersection of First Street and Broadway Avenue on two city warrants.

Bearly New. 15-75% off clothes, 20% off used toys, 75% off books. Clearance: new cribs. adv.

Christmas Special. Leather handbags $20 at Crafters Mall, Down town Ponca City. adv.

Windshield Chips repaired professionally. Guaranteed and insurance approved. Ponca Glass, 762-6522, 762-7957. adv.

101 Ranch Oldtimers 2000 calendars available at The Glass Negative, 104 North First. Also previous years available! $10. 765-9785. adv.

Looking for help with your new or old computer? I can help you with your hardware and software problems. Tutorial help available on most software packages. No problem too small. Reasonable rates. References available. 765-4863. adv.

Chamber Bucks — Great stocking stuffers! For the hard to buy for person. $10 or $25. 765-4400 Chamber of Commerce. adv.

Lost three ring zippered notebook with poems/writings. Sentimental value. Leave message, Patsylou 765-8188. adv.

Black, greasy eight eyelet Doc Martens for sale. Men’s size nine, women’s size ten. Excellent condition, $85. 762-3345. adv.

Court Allen Construction. Concrete and flagstone walkways, patios and yard curbing. Call 765-2720. adv.

Big, big selection of snowmen and ornaments! Mrs. Brown’s Attic. down town Ponca City. adv.

20% off sale on Antiques and collectibles. Timeless Antiques. 322 East Grand. adv.

Ponca City Pictorial History Books have arrived! Pick up your copy today! Will make a great Christmas Gift! Ponca City News Business Office, 8:00-5:00, Monday thru Friday. adv.

After 5:00 massage available at Nutri-System. 762-3488. Gift certificates available. adv.

Have Pet? Can travel! In-home pet sitting service. We love them when you have to leave them! 762-4205. adv.

Do you know that you can get the same prices for hearing aids as the big city does but the big difference is it is located right here in Ponca City. Heartland Hearing Aid Center, 1302 North 7th. Local service and support

five days a week just for you. 767-1961. adv.

$16.00 off NCOHA’s nationally awarded Kay County History. $60.00 with 1000 pictures, 900+ indexed pages. 765-7169 or 1304 North Seventh on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday afternoons. adv.

LIFESTYLES

Traditional Lucia Swedish Fest Set In Lindsborg, Kan.
TOPS Chapter Holds Meeting
PT Officer Installation Set
Audrey Jones Will Present Musical Program for DAR
Newcomers Club
Singles Network
Garden Club
Republicans To Meet
Wheatheart Nutrition Menu
Susan Camille Selvey Weds Bret Vorhees Vander Voort
Couple Observes 25 Years
Abbie Rhodes, Jay DeBlank Married in Oklahoma City
Little News
Kiwanis Club Views ‘Dancing With the Moon’ Video
Medical Minutes
Lookin’ With Lou
Amy Jo Glaser Bride-Elect
Engagement Is Announced for DeMarco and Bizik
Reception To Honor Couple
Pair Celebrates 45 Years
Blackwell Event Planned
‘Mental Toughness’ Program Topic For Christian Women’s Luncheon
Pioneer Area Quilters Host Christmas Luncheon
Composer Workshop Plans Made for Programs, Meetings
Ponca City Happenings

Traditional Lucia Swedish Fest Set In Lindsborg, Kan.

Natalie Nelson portrayed a legend at Lindsborg’s Lucia Fest Dec. 11. As a senior member of the Lindsborg Swedish Folk Dancers, Natalie wore the crown of lighted candles which is part of Luciadagen tradition.

Lucia has been a symbol of light and hope to the Swedish people since the Middle Ages, when she brought food to hungry people during a great famine. She returns on Dec. 13 each year to herald the good news of Christmas. Lindsborg’s Lucia Fest is held annually on the second Saturday of December.

Beautiful music of Christmas is one of the features of the event. Local vocal and instrumental performing groups, the Lindsborg Folkdanslag and the Lindsborg Swedish Folk Dancers performed. Cooks across the community prepared Christmas goodies for a bake sale of Swedish delicacies and other holiday treats. Festival events were in downtown Lindsborg and at Bethany Lutheran Church.

Holiday decorations in downtown Lindsborg also reflect the spirit of Swedish Christmas traditions. Handpainted banners representing the Lucia legend, as well as other Scandinavian Christmas customs, hang from each light pole. Julkarve, or bundles of grain, adorn the poles as a gift to the birds. White lights sparkle in the windows and on the trees that line the sidewalks of the downtown business district. Jultomtes (Christmas elves) peek from rooftops. Each contributes a feeling of awe and beauty.

TOPS Chapter Holds Meeting

TOPS OK Chapter 308 met Monday evening. Ann McCool was in charge of the meeting, and Ruth Garroutte gave the devotional “Let Us Smile.”

Joanne Radabaugh led the TOPS pledge, and Betty Flower led the KOPS Kreed. Natalie McCoy called the roll, and Betty Flower gave the weight report. Ann McCool was the best loser, and Donna McCoy won the HaHa pot. Forbidden food for the week is pie.

Betty Flower and Delpha Clemens were appointed to a committee to determine how best to use the benevolent fund. Ann McCool announced there would not be a meeting on Dec. 27.

Take Off Pounds Sensibly is a non-profit organization whose members desire to lose or maintain weight. Members are encouraged to develop individual exercise programs, and contests are used to encourage weight loss. Weigh-in time is 6-6:45 p.m. Monday. For more information contact Betty Flower, 765-5448, or Delpha Clemens, 762-2844..

PT Officer Installation Set

Professionals Today will install new officers the luncheon slated for Dec. 16th at E.W.’s Restaurant at the Marland Estate. Mayor Tom Leonard will be the installing official.

During the business meeting last Thursday, members brought paper goods to be donated to Golden Villa. Gifts for the Bridgeway Christmas party are being purchased by Debbie Whitener and her committee on behalf of the club.

Ruth Capshaw, president, called on Sue Lunsford for “Moments.” There were no Roses and Raspberries given.

The secretary’s report was given by Carole Ann Blackwell, and Liz Cochrane gave the treasurer’s report. The membership report was presented by Deanna Lowther and Whitener told about the installation of officers luncheon.

Capshaw told about the balance of the Community Service budget and proposed uses for the funds. Melody Lahann told about the Hospice Memorial Service at Woodlands Christian Church.

It was announced that now “My Favorite Things” is accepting furniture for resale. Peachtree Landing and Hospice share the proceeds. Another announcement was that collection points for coats, blankets and warm clothing for Elder Care include Carla’s Hallmark or the YMCA.

Decorating of the Professional’s Today Christmas tree for the Ponca City Art Center was to be completed by Monday. Robyn Boettcher was chairman of the committee.

Audrey Jones Will Present Musical Program for DAR

Ponca City Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, will meet on Friday, Dec, 17, at 12.45 p.m. at the Cultural Center.

Audrey Jones, Second Vice Regent, will present a program entitled, “Our American Heritage in Christmas Songs and Carols.” Ms. Jones will tell some of the history of folk carols or traditional ballads of the United States and sing several of these songs. Included in the program will also be songs from the Shakers of New England and other carols. She will be accompanied by Leslie Rardin.

Audrey Jones attended Westminster Choir College, Princeton, N. J., where she majored in voice. While a student there, she sang in performances of the Westminster Choir in Town Hall and Carnegie Hall, New York City. Ms. Jones is a member of the Ponca City Music Club and sings in their choral workshop group She also sings in the Asbury United Methodist Church choir.

Hostess chairman for the DAR meeting is Sue Allen, assisted by Gayle Young, Phyllis Tharp, Shirley Williams, Patti Carmack and Eleanor Hays.

Bits and Pieces

Newcomers Club

Members of the Ponca City Newcomers Club will meet at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 16. John Raley will address the group concerning end of the year events in Ponca City. The St. Mary’s Belles will perform also. Membership in the club is open to new residents of Ponca City. For more information or to make a reservation, call Newcomers sponsor Joyce Fox, 762-9578.

Singles Network

Singles Network schedule for Dec. 12-18 includes a birthday dinner at Pauline’s at 6 p.m. Dec. 12. Members should call Norma June, 765-5410, to make reservations. On Dec. 16 the monthly card party will be held at 7 p.m. at Phil’s with each person bringing snacks to share. A Christmas party is planned for 7 p.m. Dec. 18 at Edie’s. Those attending should bring cookies or snacks and bring a gift to exchange. Cost is not to exceed $5.

Garden Club

A Taste and Tell Christmas luncheon is planned for Dec. 15 for members of the Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Garden Club. The event will be held at the home of Eva Ballard, 3109 Cadet, with Helen Widner serving as co-hostess. Each member is asked to bring a favorite dish and its recipe. Handmade or purchased gifts will be exchanged. Guests are always welcome to attend the meetings. For more information call 762-9866 or 718-0314.

Republicans To Meet

Guest speaker for the 5:30 p.m. Thursday Kay County Republican Party meeting will be State Representative Jim Newport.

The event will be at Golden Corral at 2300 North Fourteenth. Those attending are asked to bring their political thoughts, buy a dinner, listen to Rep. Newport and stay a while for a liberating political discussion.

For more information, call (580) 762-0103 or (580) 765-9868.

Wheatheart Nutrition Menu

Monday, Dec. 13: Sloppy joe; tomato rice soup; vegetable sticks; bun with margarine; peach crisp.

Tuesday, Dec. 14: Fish krispies with catsup; tomato relish; oven dried okra; muffin with margarine; red fruit gelatin with whipped topping.

Wednesday, Dec. 15: Hot turkey sandwich with gravy; mashed potatoes; buttered peas with carrots; bread with margarine; fresh fruit.

Thursday, Dec. 16: Barbecue meatloaf; coleslaw; chilled peaches; whole wheat roll with margarine; sugar cookie.

Friday, Dec. 17: Chicken and noodles; seasoned green beans; tropical mixed fruit; biscuit with margarine; cherry fluff.

Susan Camille Selvey Weds Bret Vorhees Vander Voort

Susan Camille Selvey became the bride of Bret Voorhees Vander Voort in a recent ceremony at the Second Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis, Ind.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Selvey of Indianapolis, and the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. C.E. “Jack” Davenport of Ponca City, and Freda Selvey of Indianapolis, former resident of Ponca City. The bridegroom is the son of Mrs. Sue Vander Voort of Miami, Fla., and Gary Vander Voort of Coconut Grove, Fla.

Following a wedding trip to San Francisco, Calif., and Kauai, Hawaii, the newlywed couple resides in Chicago, Ill. The bride is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and earned her masters of business administration degree from Northwestern University. She is a management consultant for Hewitt Associates in Chicago, Ill. The bridegroom, a graduate of Indiana University, is assistant vice president for Arthur J. Gallagher in Chicago.

Couple Observes 25 Years

Gene and Dana Hines of Ponca City observed their 25th wedding anniversary Dec. 7. Hines and the former Dana Upchurch were married on that date in 1974 at the First Assembly of God Church in Anadarko. They have two daughters, Kylie Godberson and Brooke Hines of Ponca City.

Hines managed a Safeway store in Oklahoma City in 1974, and in 1979 the couple opened H&P Grocery store in Perry, expanding later to include a Ponca City store. They owned and operated H&P 1979-88.

Hines has been an investment representative for Edward Jones since 1989 and is an avid fisherman. Mrs. Hines is active in the First Assembly of God Church and enjoys Bible studies and quilting. Both enjoy traveling and have toured Hong Kong, London, Switzerland, Scotland, Alaska, Hawaii and the Grand Canyon. They are planning a trip to Ireland next summer.

Abbie Rhodes, Jay DeBlank Married in Oklahoma City

Nuptial vows were exchanged by Abbie Rhodes and Jay DeBlank on Dec. 4, 1999, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral in Oklahoma City. The Very Rev. George Back officiated.

Parents of the bride are Dr. and Mrs. Jerry L. Rhodes of Oklahoma City, formerly of Ponca City. She is the granddaughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Hershel Bright, and the late Mr. and Mrs. Bill Rhodes. The bridegroom is the son of Mrs. Anne DeBlank of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Matron of honor was Christy Strother Long of Austin, Texas. Serving as best men were Jason Conner of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and Pete Marzano of Savannah, Ga. Bridesmaids were Kim Rulison Winton and Jodi Hanks Stack, both of Dallas, Texas; Elizabeth Smith of New York City; Bree Howard of Shawnee Mission, Kan; and Christina Smith Rhodes of Pocatello, Idaho. Groomsmen were Christian Duhaime of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Tom Block of Tallahassee, Fla; Darrell Smith of Oklahoma City; and Jason Rhodes of Pocatello, Idaho.

The bride attended the University of Oklahoma and graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma. The bridegroom attended Florida State University and graduated from Florida Atlantic University.

Following a wedding trip to Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa, the couple will reside in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., where the bride is an advertising account manager for The Neiman Marcus Group and the bridegroom is a retail buyer for Burdines Corporate.

Little News

Trinitie Brock Farley is the name chosen by Joe and Malinda Farley, 744 North Fourth, for their daughter born at 11:14 a.m. Oct. 26, 1999, at the Comanche County Memorial Hospital in Lawton. The baby weighed 8 pounds, 10 ounces, and measured 20 1/2 inches long. The baby has a brother, Tanner Wade, 2.

Maternal grandparents are Keith and Sue Behara of Ponca City, and paternal grandparents are Scott and Brenda Farrington of Tonkawa. Great-grandparents are Bessie Farley, the late Charles and Bonnita Hill, the late Bernard and Claudine Behara, and the late Frank Farley.

Kiwanis Club Views ‘Dancing With the Moon’ Video

“Dancing With the Moon” was the title of the video Russell Shields showed to the Kiwanis Club for the program on Dec. 7 as a dramatization of the need to see the world as individuals and not just faceless countries. Also, it dramatized the need to do what we can, as individuals and organizations, to help others. “Dancing With the Moon” refers to the idea of keeping hope alive and making a difference in our world, said a Kiwanis spokesperson.

Iodine Deficiency Disorder (IDD) elimination is an instance of Kiwanians “dancing with the moon.” Throughout the world, IDD is the leading preventable cause of miscarriages, stillbirths, and mental and physical disabilities. A lack of iodine causes the disorder.

History

When giving the history of Iodine Deficiency Disorder, Agnes Hatlelid, IDD committee chair, reminded members that more than 1.5 billion people are currently at risk of IDD — 500 million of these are children. In keeping with “Dancing With the Moon,” she asked members to think of the human suffering IDD has caused throughout history.

“The symptoms of iodine deficiency, such as goiters, can be found in the earliest written records. Now, after 4,000 years, we can virtually eliminate this age-old health problem and change human history. That’s a very inspiring challenge for all our Kiwanis members and others who would like to be part of this elimination effort,” informed Mrs. Hatlelid.

UNICEF

Kiwanis clubs around the world are conducting a campaign in partnership with UNICEF, the United Nations Childrens Fund, to eliminate IDD by the year 2000. The campaign will extend through May 2000 when there will be a final push to reach, and top, the goal of $75 million. Kiwanis clubs have pledged these funds to support production and distribution of iodized salt in “at risk” areas, provide other remedial treatments, and educate the public on the benefits of using iodized salt. Just educating the public isn’t enough — we must help them provide the iodized salt to their nations said a spokesperson.

Kiwanis learned that in Sri Lanka government legislation prohibits the sale of noniodized salt, but producers can process only 28 percent of the nation’s need, in part because of the slow, unreliable method of drying the salt through evaporation. In Bhutan, a mountainous Himalayan country, a 1984 survey revealed an overall goiter rate of 64.5 percent and a high prevalence of cretinism. The Bhutan minister of Health and Education sees “the IDD project as one of the most successful health programs in the country.”

Funding

Kiwanis funds are now at work in more than 65 nations, and UNICEF estimates that Kiwanis-funded IDD projects are now saving more than 8 million children from mental retardation each year. The economic benefits of increased mental capacity and having a healthy populace are staggering. Paula Coppock informed the club that “donations have been received from the caring people in Ponca City who are not even members of Kiwanis, but who have a desire to ‘dance with the moon’ and help Kiwanis eliminate IDD from our world.”

After the video, Ponca City High School seniors introduced themselves to the club. Ashley Mott, daughter of Michael and Nancy Mott, is involved with the golf program and plans to attend Oklahoma State University. Kevin Reiss, son of Stan and Jill Reiss, is very involved with the band program and plans to go into the Air Force.

Kiwanis members were reminded of the commitment to Festival of Angels, the Christmas project, the Salvation Army bell ringing, and the move, effective Dec. 28, to meetings at Albright United Methodist Church, 128 South Palm. All men and women interested in community service are invited to attend the meetings held every Tuesday, noon to 1 p.m., still at the Caucus Room at the Marland Estate until the Dec. 28 change of meeting location.

Medical Minutes

Heart Attacks

Dr. Pavel Riha

Heart attacks result from blood vessel disease in the heart restricting blood supply to the heart muscle. Coronary artery disease (CAD), name of the arteries supplying the heart, and ischemic heart disease are other names for the general term “heart disease.”

The medical term for heart attack is myocardial infarction. A heart attack occurs when the blood supply to part of the heart muscle itself — the myocardium — is severely reduced or stopped. This occurs when one of the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle (coronary arteries) is blocked. The blockage is usually from the buildup of plaque (deposits of fat-like substances) called atherosclerosis.

Blood Clot

A heart attack is sometimes caused by a blood clot forming in a partially blocked coronary artery. This often results from the body’s reaction to a rupture or tearing of a plaque in the coronary artery resulting in total occlusion.

A myocardial infarction is the damage or death of an area of the heart muscle supplied by the occluded artery. If the blood supply is cut off severely or for a long time, muscle cells suffer irreversible injury and die. These cells are replaced by scar tissue which cannot contribute to the squeeze function of the pumping chamber, but merely acts like a patch. Disability or death can result, depending on how much heart muscle is damaged.

Spasm

Sometimes a coronary artery goes into spasm. When this happens the artery narrows and blood flow to part of the heart muscle decreases or even stops. All causes of coronary spasms are unclear but cigarettes are one known factor. It can occur in normal-appearing blood vessels as well as in vessels partly blocked by atherosclerosis. If a spasm is severe, a heart attack may result. Can you have a heart attack without knowing it? The nation’s longest-running heart study suggests that about one heart attack in four produces no symptoms.

Silent Attack

These so-called “silent heart attacks,” however, are only the most extreme case of a still more prevalent condition called “silent ischemia” a chronic shortage of oxygen- and nutrient-bearing blood to a portion of the heart. Both conditions put patients at significant risk of death. The cause of ischemia, silent or symptomatic, is almost always atherosclerosis — the progressive narrowing of the heart’s arteries from accumulations of cholesterol plaque. In most instances, this reduction in blood supply generates a protest from the heart — the crushing pain called angina. But in perhaps 25 to 30 percent of heart attack victims, there were no previous symptoms of these gradually developing blockages.

Symptoms

The absence of pain, however, doesn’t mean an absence of damage. The heart has a built-in reserve capacity, allowing it to suffer a certain amount of scarring and weakening from a heart attack and continue to meet the body’s needs. But further ischemia or another heart attack — even a mild to moderate one — may prove fatal, because that reserve capacity is no longer there. Even those who survive another heart attack are at increased risk of becoming cardiac cripples, disabled by congestive heart failure or arrhythmia.

There is no way of predicting absolutely who is a candidate for silent ischemia, but, statistically, the greater the number of risk factors for coronary artery disease that you have, the more likely you are to be a candidate. Those risk factors include some you can’t control — your age, sex and genetic predisposition to atherosclerosis — and those you can influence, like diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, smoking, lack of exercise and obesity.

Screening

As a rule of thumb, you should undergo a screening for silent ischemia if you have any three of these factors working against you — a man over age 50 who smokes, or a post-menopausal woman with a history of diabetes and unfavorable blood cholesterol levels, for instance, or if you have any concerning symptoms, of chest pains, tightness, shortness of breath, dizziness, heart racing or fainting.

Typical

Typical symptoms of developing coronary artery blockages are chest pains or tightness, called angina pectoris. Other descriptions are uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing pain in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back. Pain can spread to the shoulders, neck or arms. Chest discomfort with lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath are additional important signs of coronary artery disease. Immediate medical attention may save your life.

Lookin’ With Lou

Gifted Time Traveling…

By LOUISE ABERCROMBIE

News Staff Writer

Gifts have come a long way in the last two millenniums. We seem to have forgotten the tradition of present giving at Christmas came when the three wise men brought gifts for the newborn Christ Child.

Fetch your holiday stockings from the fireplace mantle, put on your red and white knitted cap and come with me on a mental sleigh ride back through time. As visitors to Bethlehem, we will want to take modern-day gifts to those connected with the Nativity Scene.

For the slightly pudgy Third Wise Man, there is a one-of-a-kind fitness watch that counts the daily calories consumed.

The Second Wise Man, who detests rain and darkness, will enjoy a flashlight umbrella. The 36-inch umbrella has a screw-off handle that becomes a mini flashlight.

The gift for the businessman of the trio, the First Wise Man, who can get frankincense and myrrh at a discount, is a CD in the shape of a business card.

Now comes the trick of selecting just the right presents for those three wandering shepherds. This unique gift — wrapped in original paperwork from NASA — is a slightly used tracking system (last used on the 1999 Mars shoot).

This is for the navigator of the threesome so he can keep in touch with that really bright birth star. (So what if the system is used — it worked here on earth didn’t it? Maybe it just needs a new pointer.)

For the animal keeper of the sheep crew, a couple of tickets to “There is Always Something Happening at the Zoo.” For the guardian of the near-sighted sheep’s water trough, there is a new product. This is a glass bowl which, when placed on a smooth surface, lights up, displaying the contents.

Now for Mary, mother of Jesus, there is a new futuristic camera that projects how her son will look with a beard when he grows up.

A new online banking credit card with a personalized computer chip is a must for Joseph or any parent. One simply thinks of a person they want to buy a gift for and “zap” the brain scanning chip sends an order form to their cell phone’s display screen.

Before the bank card holder can punch the phone’s number two button for “no” (number one is always “yes”), they own something they never dreamed of buying. Although this is great in some instances, such as in Joseph’s problem area “I don’t know what to buy Jesus for Christmas,” in other cases it is downright annoying.

Anytime humans start letting machines think for them, the situation is dangerous. Sorry we can’t stay longer back here in Bethlehem in the year 0000, but my solar-powered beeper just went off saying we had 30 minutes to get back to the States before the hole in the Ozone heals itself.

Amy Jo Glaser Bride-Elect

Announcement is being made of the engagement and approaching marriage of Amy Jo Glaser and Joshua Christopher Eaton by her parents, Joanne and Rusty Morris, 2138 Berkshire. Eaton is the son of Valerie and Chris Eaton, 2800 Glasgow Road. The couple plans a Jan. 15 wedding at the First United Methodist Church.

The bride-elect is a graduate of Ponca City High School and a 1998 graduate of Pioneer Technology Center. She is currently employed at McVays. Eaton, a 1997 Po-Hi graduate, is a machinist with Ponca Fabricators.

Engagement Is Announced for DeMarco and Bizik

Cynthia Marie DeMarco and John Vincent Bizik have announced their engagement. The bride-elect is the daughter of Beverly Rossman Purdy of Honolulu, Hawaii, and Michael J. DeMarco of Odessa, Texas. Bizik is the son of Vince and Jill Bizik of Grove, Oklahoma.

Ms. DeMarco attended Texas A&M University and is a certified public accountant. She has been employed with Conoco, Inc. for 10 years.

The prospective bridegroom attended Arizona State University and is self-employed with JVB Golf. He is a professional golfer.

Reception To Honor Couple

Mr. and Mrs. Darrell James, 408 North Sunset, will be honored at a reception 2-4 p.m. Dec. 19 at the Ponca City Cultural Center. Hosting the event will be their son, Terry, of Dallas, Texas, and daughter, Darrla, of Tulsa. Friends and relatives are invited to attend, and the couple requests no gifts.

James and the former Bobbie Evans were married Dec. 13, 1959, in Ponca City. They resided in El Paso, Texas, and Carlsbad, N.M., before returning to Ponca City. Mrs. James is self-employed as a hairdresser. James retired from Prudential Insurance Company in 1995 with 26 years of service. He has been employed with Sykes Enterprises for four years.

They are active members of Northeast Baptist Church where both sing in the choir, and he serves as deacon.

Pair Celebrates 45 Years

Mr. and Mrs. Edd W. Wells of Ponca City will celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary on Dec. 17. They recently spent five days in Branson, Mo., where they attended various Christmas shows.

Edd Wells and the former Neva Baker were married Dec. 17, 1954, in Weatherford, Texas. They resided in Fort Worth, Texas, where both were employed with General Dynamics. Wells owned and operated a Texaco service station in Fort Worth until 1971 when the couple built the Country Store located on North Fourteenth in Ponca City. They moved to Ponca City and operated the store until retirement in 1985. Both are members of First Baptist Church.

Mr. and Mrs. Wells have a daughter and son-in-law, Kim and Mike Hodges of Billings, Mont.

Blackwell Event Planned

Friends and relatives are invited to attend a reception Dec. 18 honoring L.W. Jack and Mary Crews of Blackwell. The 50th wedding anniversary event is planned for 2-4 p.m. at the fellowship hall of the First Assembly of God Church, Sixth and Lincoln, Blackwell. It is requested that there be no gifts. Hosts will be the couple’s children and friends. Crews and the former Mary Kathleen Rowls were married in Okemah Dec. 17, 1949, with the Rev. Oscar Black officiating.

‘Mental Toughness’ Program Topic For Christian Women’s Luncheon

All area women are invited to attend a “Candlelight and Snowflakes” luncheon on Dec. 15, 12:30 to 2:30 p.m., at the Ponca City Country Club. Sponsored by the Ponca City Christian Women’s Club, cost for the event is $8.50 per person. Call Jeanette, 765-8427, to make reservations for the luncheon and childcare. It is necessary for reservations to be honored, canceled or used by a friend.

Homes That Glow special feature will be provided by Tonya Daniel-Johnston of Daniel Designs. An interior designer, she will give a demonstration of table top and mantel decorating for the holidays.

Born in Ponca City, Tonya attended college at Denver University and Arapaho University and holds an associate degree. Currently, she is studying for the National Council for Interior Design Qualification. She worked for Conoco for 14 years and Ethan Allen in Littleton, Colo. A member of the American Society of Interior Designers she was on the design team for two Award Winning Parades of Homes in Parker, Colo.

She, and her husband, James, who works in the Oil Movements/Environmental Group in the Ponca City refinery, have two sons, Jason, who attends college at OSU-Okmulgee, and Dustin. Tonya, a devoted country music fan, enjoys riding horses, skiing, traveling, working on her families memory albums, shopping and attending national baseball and football games.

Guest musician will be recording artist Patty Curl, who will be sharing “Notes That Sparkle.” Born and reared in Georgia, this concert soloist and conference speaker attended Tift College in Georgia. Among her accomplishments are winning Most Talented in the Miss Georgia Pageant, singing at the Oklahoma Governor’s Mansion, Ponca City’s Hometown Christmas and being featured soloist this summer at Stonecroft Conference Center during women’s week in Branson, Mo. She is scheduled to appear in Branson in November 2000 for their Ozark Mountain country Christmas. She is president of Singing Churchwomen of Oklahoma.

Annette Williams, owner and piano teacher at the Sounds of Music Studio, will provide background music. A resident of Ponca City for 23 years, she and her husband, Spencer, a Conoco employee, have two children, Lori and John. Patty’s hobbles Include painting and producing wearable art with a Victorian theme.

“Light That Lasts” will be the theme of speaker Julie Ness of Tulsa as she shares “Thinking without Limits … The Mind of a Champion.” Julie Ness, Ph.D, received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Oklahoma State University and a master’s and doctorate of sport psychology from the University of Virginia.

In the field of sports psychology, Dr. Ness has worked with athletes in a variety of team and individual sports, including basketball, football, gymnastics, golf fishing, hockey and soccer. She also regularly conducts workshops and seminars on performance enhancement for corporations across the country. Dr. Ness teaches individuals how to use simple mental skills to improve personal performance and make an impact on the entire organization. Dr. Ness is the author of “Play To Win, The Journal To Keep You a Step Ahead.”

Pioneer Area Quilters Host Christmas Luncheon

Pioneer Area Quilters’ Guild members recently held their Christmas luncheon at Community Christian Church on West Grand Avenue with 80 members and guests in attendance. Norma Fitts of Pond Creek and Carmen DeLapaz of Ponca City were welcomed as guests, and Suzanne Robinson of Ponca City was welcomed as a new member.

Elaine Hughes, president, reminded all members that their name quilts must be worn to be eligible for the door prize, which was won by Rilla Cobb.

The “Winter Fantasy” Christmas tree decorated with handmade ornaments of angels and reindeer and completed with a garland of felt mittens has been presented to the Art Center for the tree collage which is available for viewing through Dec. 26. Cheryl Pritchett, Rosemary Ramsey and Oletta Demaree arranged the presentation. Twelve members worked on the ornaments, eight members created 51 mittens, and 26 members produced the reindeer head pins used on the luncheon tables.

The angel block of the month had 40 entries and members winning 20 blocks each were Barbara Snyder and Louise Skinner. Barbara was also the winner of the “in-house” drawing for a small Bear Paw quilt.

Many members helped to create the strip-pieced Christmas trees that were the centerpieces on each table, and the trees were won by drawing names. Ruth Jared headed the hostess team with Oletta Demaree as the co-chair.

Guests are always welcome to attend the meeting, which is held on the first Monday of the month, and are asked to join after attending two meetings. For more information call Elaine Hughes, 762-5178, or Sue Roy, 580-362-3860.

Composer Workshop Plans Made for Programs, Meetings

The Composer Workshop of the Ponca City Federated Music Club recently held their annual planning meeting to review member composer activity during the past year, discuss their January 1999 Music Club program, share with and encourage each other, and plan their program of original compositions for the 1999-2000 year.

A special program is scheduled Feb. 4 at 1:30 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Ponca City. This program is free to the public. Family and friends of performers, as well as all members of the community, are invited to attend. Names of compositions and performers, along with updated biographical information, are due Jan. 10. Announcement was made that the printed program, The Ponca City News articles, copies of compositions, and other articles and information will be entered in the 2000 American Women Composers Programs Competition. The theme for joint work was also selected.

Composers also listed ideas and plans for their individual program works. The program will include solo and ensemble works for voice and a variety of instruments, including piano and band and stringed instruments, with possible dance and handbells. Possible workshops and junior composers details were discussed.

The February 1999 program again won the Oklahoma/Texas Region award in the American Women Composers Programs Competition. This is the 13th win for the group. Composers featured in the winning program included Elaine Armstrong, Donna Butler, Carolyn Hook, Suzi Lenhart, Barbara Manering, Renee Simpson, and Halide Smith.

During the past year, members have been involved in a variety of composition activities. Suzi Lenhart attended the week-long American Orff Schulwerk National Conference in Phoenix, Ariz. She also wrote a fractured fairy tale, “The Wizard and the Beanstalk,” for her students to perform. Her student recital was in May. Renee Simpson wrote hymn arrangements for piano and viola and created a Christmas Advent book which included some of her original music, poems, and prose. Carolyn Hook performed with Mary Lindsay in their piano/cello duo at the OK Mozart Festival in June as a part of their day-time concerts. Elaine Armstrong has been involved in watercolor painting, and plans to write a composition depicting one of her paintings. Ray Cantwell has written a variety of compositions, most recently a Christmas cantata for his church choir.

For further information about the Composer Workshop, details concerning joining, or for original compositions to fit your particular needs, contact any member.

Ponca City Happenings

SUNDAY

Marland Estate Mansion, 901 Monument Road, open daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Guided tours Monday-Friday, 1:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 1:30 and 3 p.m. Special tour information, 767-0420.

Pioneer Woman Museum, open Tuesday-Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 1-5 p.m. The museum is closed on Mondays and holidays.

Ponca City Art Center, 819 East Central. Wednesday through Sunday, 1-5 p.m.

Ponca City Cultural Center and Museum, 10th and Grand. Home of Ponca City Indian Museum, Bryant Baker Studio, 101 Ranch Museum and DAR Museum. Available for receptions, teas, bridge parties, etc. Open daily 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday 1-5 p.m. 767-0427.

Ponca City Tourism Office, 10th and Grand. Information about all tourist attractions and events in Ponca City and the surrounding area. Open daily 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 1-5 p.m. 763-8067.

11th Step AA meeting — open, 11 a.m.; AA Discussion meeting, 8 p.m. Harmony House, 212 South Third.

AA Alano Group — 8 p.m., closed topic meeting; 603 South 1st.

MONDAY

Al-Anon meeting, 8-9 p.m. Monday, upstairs in the Harmony House, 212 South Third.

Domestic Violence Group, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Mondays. Programs for women and children of family violence. Babysitter provided. For information call 76A-BUSE.

Fibromyalgia Support Group meets on the fourth Monday of each month at 7 p.m. in the parlor of the First Baptist Church. More information may be obtained by calling Betty Wilson, 762-3768; Mary Beth Guy, 765-9894; Martha Long, 762-5572.

Multiple Sclerosis Support Group meets the third Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at Albright United Methodist Church, 128 South Palm. Call Beth Wright, 765-6738, for additional information.

Ponca City Rotary Club, noon Monday, Marland Mansion Chapel.

Simple Steps AA — closed, noon; AA Step Study — closed, 8 p.m.; Harmony House, 212 South Third.

AA Alano Group — Noon, discussion; 603 South 1st.

TOPS OK 308 members weigh-in time is 6 to 6:45 p.m. with meetings starting at 6:45 p.m. on Mondays. For more information call Betty Flower, 765-5448.

Principles Before Personalities, Narcotics Anonymous, 8 p.m. Monday, Harmony House basement (use south entrance by parking lot).

Pioneer Area Guild meets the first Monday of each month at Community Christian Church on West Grand. Business meeting begins at 12:30 p.m. There will not be a meeting in July.

TUESDAY

The American Family Support Group will meet 7-9 p.m. Tuesdays at 1105 West Highland. The topic will be Child Welfare Services and child abuse.

Kay County Wheatheart Sweet Adelines, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Performing Arts Building (south entrance) Northern Oklahoma College, Tonkawa. All women welcome. For information call 765-6829, 363-1643 or 762-2885.

Kiwanis Club, noon Tuesday, Marland Mansion Conference Center.

New-Found Freedom Co-dependents Anonymous, 8 p.m., Tuesday, Harmony House (upstairs library).

AA Discussion meeting at noon; AA Big Book Study — closed, 8 p.m. Harmony House, 212 South Third.

AA Alano Group — Noon, Big Book; 8 p.m., closed, Step Studies with first Tuesday for Traditions; 603 South 1st.

Freedom Group of AA; Tuesdays at 8 p.m. Woodlands Christian Church (Room 202), Fourteenth and Hartford. Smoke-free meeting and building. We study and practice tradition. Study Discussion of “As Bill Sees it” and other AA approved literature. Call 762-3345 for more information.

Parent Support Group, 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Northern Oklahoma Youth Services Center. Focus on parental concerns and frustrations, as well as ways to increase understanding and communications between parent and child. Support, education, coping techniques, and introduction to non-punitive parenting styles.

Preschool storytime for 4-, 5- and 6-year-olds, 10 and 11:30 a.m. Tuesdays at the Ponca City Library.

Ponca Prairie Pleaters meet the first Tuesday evening of each month with the exception of the summer months. For more information call Cheryl, 762-9618.

Weight Watchers meeting, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. Weigh-in begins at 6 p.m.

Fanchon Chapter 53, Order of the Eastern Star, meets the first and third Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at the Masonic Temple, 1200 West Grand.

Free pregnancy test is kept confidential at Birth Choice, 700 West Broadway. Hours are 6-8 p.m. Tuesday; 1-3 p.m. Wednesday; 6-8 p.m. Thursday. Call 765-9689.

WEDNESDAY

Pioneer Toastmasters Club, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, R&D East Auditorium, Conoco Complex, 1000 South Pine. Guests welcome; public invited. For additional information, contact Bob Ennis, 767-5946.

Ponca City Bahai Community Discussion Group, 7:15 p.m. Wednesday. For location call 765-5695 or 762-5529.

Simple Steps AA meeting; Step Study — closed, noon. AA Discussion meeting, 8 p.m. Harmony House, 212 South Third.

AA Alano Group — Noon, discussion; 603 South 1st.

Al-Anon meeting, 8-9 p.m. Wednesday, upstairs in the Harmony House, 212 South Third.

Storytime for 2 and 3-year-olds, Ponca City Library, 515 East Grand, 10 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Short stories, songs, use of flannel board. Lasts about 15 minutes.

Ponca City Council of Garden Clubs meets at the Cann Center on the first Wednesday of each month at 9:30 a.m. Anyone interested in gardening, flowers, birds, butterflies, conservation, historic preservation, landscape design or environmental education, is welcome to attend. For more information call 762-3695, or 762-3555.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) support group aids veterans of the Vietnam and Gulf Wars. The group is confidential and meets at the DAV, 401 South Lincoln, Wednesdays, 7-8:30 p.m. If you are a veteran suffering with PTSD or know someone who could use help, contact 762-3851 or Steve Mallory, 762-7561.

Principles Before Personalities, Narcotics Anonymous, 8 p.m. Wednesday, Harmony House basement (use south entrance by parking lot).

The Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Garden Club meets at 9:30 a.m. the second Wednesday of each month. Guests are always welcome to attend. For more information call 762-9866 or 718-0314.

Four O’clock Garden Club members will meet for a Christmas party at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 15 at the home of Pat Evans, 500 South Prentice. Co-hostesses will be MArty McArthur, Ruth Wetzel and Flo O’Connor.

THURSDAY

Al-Anon at Conoco, TBTV 50 on Mezzanine between North and South Towers, 11:30 p.m. Thursday. Call Linda, 765-7045, 767-5328.

AA Discussion meeting, noon; AA discussion meeting, 8 p.m., Harmony House, 212 South Third.

AA Alano Group — Noon, open, discussion; 603 South 1st.

Freedom Group of AA; closed Big Book Study at 8 p.m. Thursdays, Woodlands Christian Church (Room 202), Fourteenth and Hartford. Smoke-free meeting and building. We study and practice tradition. Open meeting the last Thursday of each month for birthdays. Call 762-3345 for more information.

Jaycees, 7 p.m., first and third Thursday, Chamber of Commerce meeting room. Interested persons welcome to attend any meeting.

Model Railroad Club, 7-10 p.m. Thursday, Stephenson Building, 113 North Third. For information call 762-8687 or 765-7996.

Parent Support Group, 9:30-11 a.m. Thursday Northern Oklahoma Youth Services Center. Focus on parental concerns, frustrations, as well as ways to increase understanding and communications between parent and child. Support, education, coping techniques and introduction to non-punitive parenting styles.

Ponca City Newcomers Club meets the third Thursday of each month at the Marland Mansion. For more information contact Joyce Fox, 762-9578. For more information and to make reservations call Joyce Fox, 762-9578.

Story hour for school-aged children Thursday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the Ponca City Library.

Principles Before Personalities, Narcotics Anonymous, 8 p.m. Thursday, Harmony House basement (use south entrance by parking lot).

American Legion Post 14 meets at 7:30 p.m. the second and fourth Thursdays of each month at the Huff-Minor Post home, 407 West South Avenue.

DAV meets the third Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at 401 South Lincoln.

International Club will meet Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. at the Albright United Methodist Church, 128 South Palm. Games will silent auction held. For more information about the program or the organization contact Anna Razowski, 767-1468.

FRIDAY

Simple Steps AA — open, noon; AA speaker meeting — open, 8 p.m. Harmony House, 212 South Third.

AA Alano Group — Noon, open, Step Study with the first Friday for traditions; 8 p.m., open, discussion, last Friday for birthdays; 603 South 1st.

Pioneer Rotary Club, 11:45 a.m. Friday, Marland Mansion.

Principles Before Personalities, Narcotics Anonymous, 8 p.m. Friday, Harmony House, 212 South Third, basement (use south entrance). Smoke-free building. For more information call 762-3345 or 765-9459.

SATURDAY

AA Discussion meeting at noon Saturday. AA Discussion meeting at 8 p.m., Harmony House, 212 South Third.

AA Alano Group — Noon, open, discussion; 603 South First.

New Found Freedom Co-dependents Anonymous, 8 p.m. Saturday, Harmony House (upstairs library). Smoke-free.

Order of the Amaranth meets the first and third Saturdays of each month at 7:30 p.m. at the Masonic Temple.

Overeaters Anonymous group meets 11-12 Saturday mornings at Woodlands Christian Church. The meetings are open to “anyone who desires to stop eating compulsively.” For more information call 762-2161.

SPORTS

Tonkawa Captures State Championship
Cat Matmen Find Tough Competition
Cagers Get First Two Victories In Tourney
8th Grade Basketball
High School Scores
Sophomores Girls Remain Unbeaten

Tonkawa Captures State Championship

By FRED HILTON

News Sports Editor

STILLWATER — Someone once said that offense wins games but defense wins championships.

That came true for the Tonkawa Buccaneers as their defense styimied the Turpin running game, intercepted three Turpin passes and fell on four Turpin fumbles in a 14-7 defensive stuggle for the state Class A Championshoip at Lewis Feld Saturday afternoon.

The skies were gray and the game was pretty much the same way — after the first quarter — as the two top teams in Class A stuck each other defensively.

The old adage of whoever makes the fewest mistahe wins was never more evident than in this game. Turpin’s seven turnovers were at least two too many.

Tonkawa recovered two fumbles in the first quarter and turned them into touchdowns. After that it was up to the Bucs’ defense, which had allowed just eight total points in the three previous playoff games and had given up fewer than 10 points a game during the season.

The first Turpin turnover came on the Cardinals’ fourth play of the game when quarterback John Peters was jarred loose from the ball and Tonkawa’s McCain Brown recovered at the Turpin 42,

Seven plays later Scott Klufa dove in from five yards out for the first of his two touchdowns on the day. But the pass for the conversion failed

On the ensuing kickoff, Turpin fumbled again and Tonkawa recovered at the 27.

This time it took the Bucs five plays to reach the end zone with Klufa again getting the call from five yards out. Klufa also ran in the two extra points.

Tonkawa led 14-0 with 5:49 remaining and appeared headed toward another big win.

But Turpin showed why the Cardinals have been to the state finals 14 times since 1959 and had won eight titles.

The Cardinals refused to fold and took the next kickoff and marched 65 yards in 12 plays  — converting a fourth-and-one at the Tonkawa 8 in the process — to score with Peters skirting the right side from the 5.

Randy Steers kicked the extra point and Turpin had closed the gap to seven points with under a minute to play in the first quarter.

But that was it for the scoring.

Both teams had opportunties in the next three quarters, but the opposing defense were up to the challenges.

In the second quarter, following a short Turpin punt, Tonkawa had a first down inside the Turpin 10, put couldn’t penetrate the goal line.

Turpin started the second half with a 12-play, 36-yard drive — converting two fourth downs along the way — to the Tonkawa 32.

But Tonkawa’s Brady Fath intercepted a Peters pass at the Bucs’ 13.

Neither team crossed midfield for the remainder of the third quarter.

Turpin started another drive that reached the Tonkawa 31 early in the fourth period. But that hope also fell apart when Tonkawa’s Tanner Heimbach had his second fumble recovery.

Tonkawa got offensive on its own on the next seres, reaching the Tupin 16. But a fourth-down run by Klufa — who had 159 yards on the day — came up short.

But the Bucs kept the Cardinals pinned in their own territory for the remainder of the game. The Bucs’ Josh Day ended the final Turpin possession with an interception at midfield with 58 seconds to play.

“I don’t think it has sunk in yet,” Tonkawa coach Steve Love said after receiveing the treasured Championship Coach’s plaque and surround by players and fans with tears in their eyes and te Gold Ball in their hands.

“But the defense did a fantastic job, We got ’em pinned back in the fourth quarter and kept ’em there.

“This is a great team.”

Tonkawa 52, Commerce 0

Turoin 7 0 0 0 — 7

Tonkawa 14 0 0 0 — 14

Scoring

Tonkawa — Klufa, 5 run; pass failed

Tonkawa — Klufa, 5 run; Klufa run

Turpin — Peeters, 5 run; Steers kick

Statistics

Tonk. Turp.

First Downs 10 13

Rushes, yards 49-229 38-75

Passing yards 34 115

Comp-attempts 4-8-0 8-24-3

Fumbles-lost 1-1 5-4

Penalties-yards 3-25 4-20

Cat Matmen Find Tough Competition

By FRED HILTON

News Sports Editor

PERRY — If Ponca City’s Wildcat wrestlers expected to make the elite list in the wrestling rankings, they are going to have to face the top teams and do well in tournaments as well as duals.

They Cats got their first big tournament test in the Perry Champion of Champions Tournament over the weekend and the results were mixed.

“We had a terrible first round,