Newly elected Lt. Gov. Will Lamb was kind enough to write a press release thanking the hard work of LeFlore County leaders in solving the mess the bureaucrats in Oklahoma City created in closing the Runestone.
You can read the release HERE.
Everybody who has tried to save the Heavener Runestone Park (notice, state is not included and never will be again) deserve a lot of credit. In Lamb’s press release, he cited Lundy Kiger, Traci Barnes, Samantha Hess and Mike Kennerson.
They recently visited Oklahoma City to visit with OTRD leaders and members of the state legislature and yes, they should be thanked.
In Lamb’s press release, he states that there has not been a better time than now to visit our great state. I agree. Visitors bring in a ton of money to our state, especially the eastern part of the state, where six of the seven starts parks that are being closed are located.
He also talked about the recent budget cuts which caused the OTRD to re-visit the financial opportunities of many state parks at the end of the summer and prompted a discussion at home and in the office. Financial opportunities? Uh, something closed will not provide financial opportunities. And discussion? Lamb might have been involved in discussion before the parks were closed, but nobody from LeFlore County had that opportunity.
Instead, it was like the state of Oklahoma, the governor and the OTRD took a roundhouse swing at a bunch of little communities that depend on the state parks to thrive.
Lamb also mentioned the $500 million shortfall and the 5 percent reduction in budgets for state agencies. Good thing the OTRD has $39 million in the bank. And he gives props for the OTRD doing what they had to do, along with LeFlore County!
I almost felt giddy reading this. Almost.
I will probably once again catch some flak since we are supposed to put on our happy face while we work with the OTRD in transferring the operation of the Runestone.
And no, I do not know the Lt. Governor and have nothing against him. I thank him for, uh, thanking our county leaders. Yes, the Runestone will stay open because of the four people he mentioned, but also because of a lot of others such as Rep. James Lockhart, Sen. Mark Allen and many more.
Last but not least, Lamb mentions this true renaissance the state is experiencing. I might be wrong, but I thought a renaissance was something good, not the state leaders we elected allowing a travesty such as the closing of the state parks.
But thanks for the press release.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Looking for my safe place
To those in charge of ordering the weather, we apologize.
Whatever we did that was not right, WE ARE SORRY. Please, no more. We had the worst winter in recent memory and my shoulder has still not recovered from that dreadful slip and slide trip down the driveway thanks to the ice back in February. Did I mention how steep our driveway is? Think George Washington’s nose on Mt. Rushmore!
So now, every day almost for the last two weeks, radio guys and television dudes have talked in excited voices about vortexes, bulge patterns (should we be discussing this over the air?) and going to my “safe place”.
I have a safe place? Great, where is it? It does bring comfort in these times of woes to retreat to my safe place. Now, if I could just find it.
Garrett and the guys on 40/29, who I don’t know but visit when KFSM gets scrambled, which has strangely happened a couple of times, or switches over to air “Wheel of Fortune” when half of LeFlore County is about to get blown away, have started using “safe place”. I even heard it on the radio.
It used to be “get in the (insert dirty word) storm cellar or bathroom…and duck!” Is that our safe place?
I asked Trish where our “safe place” is, but she was too busy watching the same “Sister Wives” for the 15th time and did not give me directions.
Personally, I trust Garrett. In Garrett we trust, even though he, like every other announcer needs to realize it is R-I-C-H-A-R-T, not R-I-K-E-R-T. We have also been blessed with the butchering of Bokoshe and Pocola, but not by Garrett, by gosh!
Weather technology has come a long way. Now, we know just how big the blasted hail is going to be that is going to dent our heads, hoods and houses.
“See this purple mass!” a weather person announces. “That is hail! Let’s take a look at just how big the hail is!”
When they say “Whoa!” or use hail in another tone, it is not a good sign. Softball size? Please no. I don’t much care for the green pea size, let alone softball.
I do believe some of our weather guys have gotten a little carried away with all the technology available. “Say weather sidekick, let’s check out the vortex of that storm and before anybody figures out what the hail they are looking at, switch to something else right before we tell the good people of some community I have never heard of to duck because we missed that tornado which is about to wipe the community off the map while playing with our weather technology!”
And what makes it even worse is, as some of you are aware, my Clark Kent duties are working at an insurance agent before I put my cape on and become Journal Man.
Let’s just say the downtime around the office has been slim. Claims, claims and more claims.
The people have suffered enough. Heck, Molly turned a year old the other day and couldn’t even celebrate with a game of fetch since every time we tried to go outside, it rained and the wind blew hard enough to even mess my hair up.
Okay, it was nostril hairs, but it was still bad. Fortunately, that same weather technology is predicting good weather for the next few days. So we can all come out of our “safe place” and return to living.
Whatever we did that was not right, WE ARE SORRY. Please, no more. We had the worst winter in recent memory and my shoulder has still not recovered from that dreadful slip and slide trip down the driveway thanks to the ice back in February. Did I mention how steep our driveway is? Think George Washington’s nose on Mt. Rushmore!
So now, every day almost for the last two weeks, radio guys and television dudes have talked in excited voices about vortexes, bulge patterns (should we be discussing this over the air?) and going to my “safe place”.
I have a safe place? Great, where is it? It does bring comfort in these times of woes to retreat to my safe place. Now, if I could just find it.
Garrett and the guys on 40/29, who I don’t know but visit when KFSM gets scrambled, which has strangely happened a couple of times, or switches over to air “Wheel of Fortune” when half of LeFlore County is about to get blown away, have started using “safe place”. I even heard it on the radio.
It used to be “get in the (insert dirty word) storm cellar or bathroom…and duck!” Is that our safe place?
I asked Trish where our “safe place” is, but she was too busy watching the same “Sister Wives” for the 15th time and did not give me directions.
Personally, I trust Garrett. In Garrett we trust, even though he, like every other announcer needs to realize it is R-I-C-H-A-R-T, not R-I-K-E-R-T. We have also been blessed with the butchering of Bokoshe and Pocola, but not by Garrett, by gosh!
Weather technology has come a long way. Now, we know just how big the blasted hail is going to be that is going to dent our heads, hoods and houses.
“See this purple mass!” a weather person announces. “That is hail! Let’s take a look at just how big the hail is!”
When they say “Whoa!” or use hail in another tone, it is not a good sign. Softball size? Please no. I don’t much care for the green pea size, let alone softball.
I do believe some of our weather guys have gotten a little carried away with all the technology available. “Say weather sidekick, let’s check out the vortex of that storm and before anybody figures out what the hail they are looking at, switch to something else right before we tell the good people of some community I have never heard of to duck because we missed that tornado which is about to wipe the community off the map while playing with our weather technology!”
And what makes it even worse is, as some of you are aware, my Clark Kent duties are working at an insurance agent before I put my cape on and become Journal Man.
Let’s just say the downtime around the office has been slim. Claims, claims and more claims.
The people have suffered enough. Heck, Molly turned a year old the other day and couldn’t even celebrate with a game of fetch since every time we tried to go outside, it rained and the wind blew hard enough to even mess my hair up.
Okay, it was nostril hairs, but it was still bad. Fortunately, that same weather technology is predicting good weather for the next few days. So we can all come out of our “safe place” and return to living.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Baseball LCT was a good one
The 2011 edition of the baseball LeFlore County Tournament ended approximately at 4 p.m. Saturday.
This is one of my favorite events of the season, even though temperatures this past week went from freezing to hot.
Spiro capped off the week with a 4-1 victory over defending champion Wister in the finals behind a gutsy pitching performance by junior Joe T. Ross and some timely hitting.
As Spiro coach Paul Croft said after the win, “Baseball can be a funny game.”
How else can one describe the events over the tournament?
On Friday, Wister pounded Spiro 10-0 and most people probably expected a repeat performance in the championship game.
But it was a different Spiro team on Saturday. The Bulldogs looked nothing like the team that got blown out on Saturday.
You could tell by their enthusiasm level even before the game started. On Friday, the Bulldogs were just there and appeared to be intimidated by Wister.
If there was any intimidation, it disappeared overnight. Facing a team which had dominated county baseball for the last year, Spiro jumped ahead and most of Wister’s hard hits found a defender in the right spot.
True, the Bulldogs did get a little benefit as the wind was blowing in and two Wister hits which might have been a home run the night before, turned into long outs.
But Spiro earned this win behind its junior pitcher, who along with Whitesboro’s Dexter Morgan, showed that indeed, good pitching does beat good hitting.
You also can’t blame the Wildcats if they were a little worn out after winning four straight over the previous two days to force a second championship game. Yes, they are a bunch of teenagers, but the loss to Whitesboro on Wednesday forced Wister to win three times in less than 24 hours to just get into the first championship game.
This was definitely a tournament to remember.
And, it should get better next year. Spiro only loses two seniors. Wister will be missing three seniors, but returns all its pitching. Poteau has most of its players back and Pocola and Cameron will both be better.
So…how can the tournament get better? One idea some of the coaches have discussed is having the last two or three days played at Carl Albert. That would be an excellent idea and hopefully this can be implemented.
Some schools will be against that, but always having the most important games at a central location will increase the size of the crowds, as was evidenced during the games at Wister.
There were good crowds all week, much bigger than the ones that attended the games the previous year at Talihina.
Arkoma is scheduled to be the host next year. Hopefully Arkoma will give this a try, at least for one year. The field at CASC is great and would give the tournament an even bigger atmosphere.
And now, the attention turns to the girls slowpitch LCT, starting Monday at the PARC in Poteau.
This is one of my favorite events of the season, even though temperatures this past week went from freezing to hot.
Spiro capped off the week with a 4-1 victory over defending champion Wister in the finals behind a gutsy pitching performance by junior Joe T. Ross and some timely hitting.
As Spiro coach Paul Croft said after the win, “Baseball can be a funny game.”
How else can one describe the events over the tournament?
On Friday, Wister pounded Spiro 10-0 and most people probably expected a repeat performance in the championship game.
But it was a different Spiro team on Saturday. The Bulldogs looked nothing like the team that got blown out on Saturday.
You could tell by their enthusiasm level even before the game started. On Friday, the Bulldogs were just there and appeared to be intimidated by Wister.
If there was any intimidation, it disappeared overnight. Facing a team which had dominated county baseball for the last year, Spiro jumped ahead and most of Wister’s hard hits found a defender in the right spot.
True, the Bulldogs did get a little benefit as the wind was blowing in and two Wister hits which might have been a home run the night before, turned into long outs.
But Spiro earned this win behind its junior pitcher, who along with Whitesboro’s Dexter Morgan, showed that indeed, good pitching does beat good hitting.
You also can’t blame the Wildcats if they were a little worn out after winning four straight over the previous two days to force a second championship game. Yes, they are a bunch of teenagers, but the loss to Whitesboro on Wednesday forced Wister to win three times in less than 24 hours to just get into the first championship game.
This was definitely a tournament to remember.
And, it should get better next year. Spiro only loses two seniors. Wister will be missing three seniors, but returns all its pitching. Poteau has most of its players back and Pocola and Cameron will both be better.
So…how can the tournament get better? One idea some of the coaches have discussed is having the last two or three days played at Carl Albert. That would be an excellent idea and hopefully this can be implemented.
Some schools will be against that, but always having the most important games at a central location will increase the size of the crowds, as was evidenced during the games at Wister.
There were good crowds all week, much bigger than the ones that attended the games the previous year at Talihina.
Arkoma is scheduled to be the host next year. Hopefully Arkoma will give this a try, at least for one year. The field at CASC is great and would give the tournament an even bigger atmosphere.
And now, the attention turns to the girls slowpitch LCT, starting Monday at the PARC in Poteau.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Wister, Whitesboro was a classic
I seldom like to throw around clichés and sound like a cheesy sport’s broadcaster, but pardon me for saying the Wister and Whitesboro game Wednesday evening was indeed a classic.
The game was a winner’s bracket semifinal in the baseball LCT, coming shortly after Spiro defeated Poteau, 10-9, in the earlier game.
Wister is the defending tournament champion and had been virtually unbeatable since winning the LCT last year. The Wildcats’ only loss this season coming into the tournament was by…Whitesboro in the season opener.
But the Wildcats had reversed the previous loss in the Wister Tournament a couple of weeks ago and appeared poised to cruise through this year’s tournament just like they did last year.
However, it was soon evident this was not going to be another Wister slugfest. Typically, opposing pitchers need counseling after undergoing the battering by the Wildcats’ hitters.
On this beautiful spring evening, Whitesboro pitcher Dexter Morgan mixed his pitches well and kept the lethal Wister hitters off balance.
He wound up striking out 13 and allowed only three hits, all to Caleb Hill. Wister pitcher Clint Crane was almost as good.
The two teams battled back and forth, playing the game like it should be played. Neither team ridiculed the other or hollered out any silly chants to try and rattle the opponent. When Crane hit one of the Whitesboro batters, he apologized.
Think that would happen in many other games? I don’t.
After Hill’s solo shot in the bottom of the fourth, Whitesboro rallied for two runs in the top of the fifth on Morgan’s double down the left-field line.
But nobody thought this one was over, not with Wister having at least nine outs. But Morgan stayed calm and the Wildcats’ only chance was a one-out triple by Hill in the bottom of the seventh.
Morgan struck out the next batter and got the final out on a grounder to first.
Many teams would have rushed the mound and celebrated like school had been cancelled for the rest of the year. But while the Bulldogs were pleased with the win, they also realized this tournament is far from over.
Whitesboro, one of the smallest schools in the county, will play longtime power Spiro tonight and Wister is still lurking, not yet ready to give up its championship.
But for at least one night, Whitesboro was at the top of the baseball world in LeFlore County.
This was a surprise, but the win improved Whitesboro to 16-4 overall and the Bulldogs reached the state tournament in the fall, so it is no fluke.
The game was a winner’s bracket semifinal in the baseball LCT, coming shortly after Spiro defeated Poteau, 10-9, in the earlier game.
Wister is the defending tournament champion and had been virtually unbeatable since winning the LCT last year. The Wildcats’ only loss this season coming into the tournament was by…Whitesboro in the season opener.
But the Wildcats had reversed the previous loss in the Wister Tournament a couple of weeks ago and appeared poised to cruise through this year’s tournament just like they did last year.
However, it was soon evident this was not going to be another Wister slugfest. Typically, opposing pitchers need counseling after undergoing the battering by the Wildcats’ hitters.
On this beautiful spring evening, Whitesboro pitcher Dexter Morgan mixed his pitches well and kept the lethal Wister hitters off balance.
He wound up striking out 13 and allowed only three hits, all to Caleb Hill. Wister pitcher Clint Crane was almost as good.
The two teams battled back and forth, playing the game like it should be played. Neither team ridiculed the other or hollered out any silly chants to try and rattle the opponent. When Crane hit one of the Whitesboro batters, he apologized.
Think that would happen in many other games? I don’t.
After Hill’s solo shot in the bottom of the fourth, Whitesboro rallied for two runs in the top of the fifth on Morgan’s double down the left-field line.
But nobody thought this one was over, not with Wister having at least nine outs. But Morgan stayed calm and the Wildcats’ only chance was a one-out triple by Hill in the bottom of the seventh.
Morgan struck out the next batter and got the final out on a grounder to first.
Many teams would have rushed the mound and celebrated like school had been cancelled for the rest of the year. But while the Bulldogs were pleased with the win, they also realized this tournament is far from over.
Whitesboro, one of the smallest schools in the county, will play longtime power Spiro tonight and Wister is still lurking, not yet ready to give up its championship.
But for at least one night, Whitesboro was at the top of the baseball world in LeFlore County.
This was a surprise, but the win improved Whitesboro to 16-4 overall and the Bulldogs reached the state tournament in the fall, so it is no fluke.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
OTRD not broke
Well, the movement to save the Runestone State Park has developed more into a mud slinging battle between the Democrats and Republicans and comments on how Heavener needs a good spring cleaning.
Thanks to alert reader Cody Smith, it appears like the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department isn’t exactly hurting for money.
According to a recent story by The Daily Oklahoman, the OTRD only has, uh, $39,256,883 set aside in a revolving fund.
In case you missed it, that was $39 million, not thousands. So the OTRD really needs to save that $4,000 it will realize by closing the Runestone.
The OTRD is not mentioned in the story, but if you look to the graph which I just happened to copy and post here, all state agencies are broken down.
And there is a link below the story to check out the individual agencies. Since I am a curious person, I hit the link and was more than surprised to find that the balances for a couple of different funds for the OTRD has increased over the last two years, instead of shrinking, which is what you would expect from a state agency needing to close seven state parks.
In the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Fund, there was $2.4 million in the account in December of 2008. In December of 2010, that fund has grown to $5.7 million.
The State Park Improvement fund grew from $423 thousand to $544 thousand. There is $13,911 million in the Oklahoma Tourism Capital Improvement Fund.
In case you missed it, the state closed seven state parks, but got Carl Albert State College to take over operations of the park. But a private organization has been formed to raise what is expected to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $100,000 a year to run the park.
No state funds or money from the bloated OTRD will be used to operate the park. It will come from the good people and businesses from LeFlore County.
Also, as has been mentioned, the state rushed to close the parks before the state governing bodies had a chance to discuss the issue and see if something could be done.
This isn’t about who is democrat or republican, or the condition of a small, rural community in southeastern Oklahoma. Money is available and should be used to save the Runestone along with the other six state parks.
Thanks to alert reader Cody Smith, it appears like the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department isn’t exactly hurting for money.
According to a recent story by The Daily Oklahoman, the OTRD only has, uh, $39,256,883 set aside in a revolving fund.
In case you missed it, that was $39 million, not thousands. So the OTRD really needs to save that $4,000 it will realize by closing the Runestone.
The OTRD is not mentioned in the story, but if you look to the graph which I just happened to copy and post here, all state agencies are broken down.
In the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Fund, there was $2.4 million in the account in December of 2008. In December of 2010, that fund has grown to $5.7 million.
The State Park Improvement fund grew from $423 thousand to $544 thousand. There is $13,911 million in the Oklahoma Tourism Capital Improvement Fund.
In case you missed it, the state closed seven state parks, but got Carl Albert State College to take over operations of the park. But a private organization has been formed to raise what is expected to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $100,000 a year to run the park.
No state funds or money from the bloated OTRD will be used to operate the park. It will come from the good people and businesses from LeFlore County.
Also, as has been mentioned, the state rushed to close the parks before the state governing bodies had a chance to discuss the issue and see if something could be done.
This isn’t about who is democrat or republican, or the condition of a small, rural community in southeastern Oklahoma. Money is available and should be used to save the Runestone along with the other six state parks.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Runestone continued
Concerning the whole Runestone closing/CASC running the park episode, my blog Friday about the changes and the meeting drew a lot of comments regarding the situation.
Somehow, the situation developed into a fight between the Democrats and Republicans, which was not my goal of the blog. It was to discuss my feelings about the meeting and several questions I had about CASC running the park.
*First off, I did not in any way, shape or form want anybody to think I was critical of Carl Albert State College. I appreciate CASC taking on the additional responsibilities and helping to keep the park open.
But, like I mentioned in the blog, CASC is a college and its goal is to educate students, not run museums or former state parks. I know nothing about how the Kerr Conference Center and Museum are being operated, just repeated a comment at the meeting.
*I am also thankful that Sen. Mark Allen worked hard to try and keep the park open. I just feel, like many others, there should have been meetings held to come up with a better situation instead of rushing into doing something.
*I hope there isn’t a lawsuit concerning the park. That would meddle the situation, but it would not surprise me if this did happen.
*The crowd was unruly at times. I can understand the frustration and appreciate Heavener city manager Mike Kennerson’s handling the meeting. As for the lady who complained about her water...
*Partisan politics! The democrat and republican supporters started slinging comments back and forth in the comments. This should not have happened. We should be spending our efforts in doing what is best for the park. The criticism of Gov. Fallin and Deby Snodgrass seemed to offend supporters of the republicans. They need criticism of the way this was handled. And as I mentioned, I voted for Gov. Fallin because at the time, I thought she was the best candidate. Would I vote for her again? Hmm…
*One writer talked about the criticism of Snodgrass. Yes, she stepped into a bad situation. I do feel her salary needed to be mentioned, along with the fact that she was appointed to the job not because of her work experience (she was Gov. Fallin’s inaugural chairwoman and previously worked for Chesapeake as a lobbyist). But this is probably a problem we have with most state departments. As for the remark about school educators and teachers, the superintendents are hired by the school boards. They must have a certificate and be educators. Snodgrass does not.
*One person commented that the previous tourism director was appointed by the former governor. What I was told was the former director was appointed by the tourism committee, not the governor. Not that it probably matters, just wanted to get that straight.
*Rep. James Lockhart was not notified of the meeting and had to find out from a friend. One writer said he should not have left his office early. The house was not in session Friday. He came to Heavener to meet with people. His cell phone number is widely known and he should have been involved.
*There was also a comment about how the state had planned to close the park two years ago. I asked former Sen. Kenneth Corn about this. He said if it was true, it was an internal memo and was never discussed with him.
*Yes, we do have to tighten our belts and look at all areas of the state government. The Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department had to make a five percent cut. How was this done? Not by cutting each park by five percent, which seemed like the logical thing, but by closing seven state parks. Each of the parks is vital to the local, rural communities. I wonder what would have happened if the OTRD tried to close one of the parks in Tulsa or Oklahoma City?
*The park will now be funded by private donations. A non-profit group has been formed, under CASC, to raise funds to keep the park open. It will cost around $80,000 a year. No state money will be used. Instead, our tax money will be spent on parks elsewhere. But the metro areas were spared, don’t want to upset them.
Hopefully the state’s governing body will revisit this issue. The way it is set up is not the answer, in my opinion. Corn said there are funds available for the OTRD to keep all the parks open and that would be the best option for everybody.
Somehow, the situation developed into a fight between the Democrats and Republicans, which was not my goal of the blog. It was to discuss my feelings about the meeting and several questions I had about CASC running the park.
*First off, I did not in any way, shape or form want anybody to think I was critical of Carl Albert State College. I appreciate CASC taking on the additional responsibilities and helping to keep the park open.
But, like I mentioned in the blog, CASC is a college and its goal is to educate students, not run museums or former state parks. I know nothing about how the Kerr Conference Center and Museum are being operated, just repeated a comment at the meeting.
*I am also thankful that Sen. Mark Allen worked hard to try and keep the park open. I just feel, like many others, there should have been meetings held to come up with a better situation instead of rushing into doing something.
*I hope there isn’t a lawsuit concerning the park. That would meddle the situation, but it would not surprise me if this did happen.
*The crowd was unruly at times. I can understand the frustration and appreciate Heavener city manager Mike Kennerson’s handling the meeting. As for the lady who complained about her water...
*Partisan politics! The democrat and republican supporters started slinging comments back and forth in the comments. This should not have happened. We should be spending our efforts in doing what is best for the park. The criticism of Gov. Fallin and Deby Snodgrass seemed to offend supporters of the republicans. They need criticism of the way this was handled. And as I mentioned, I voted for Gov. Fallin because at the time, I thought she was the best candidate. Would I vote for her again? Hmm…
*One writer talked about the criticism of Snodgrass. Yes, she stepped into a bad situation. I do feel her salary needed to be mentioned, along with the fact that she was appointed to the job not because of her work experience (she was Gov. Fallin’s inaugural chairwoman and previously worked for Chesapeake as a lobbyist). But this is probably a problem we have with most state departments. As for the remark about school educators and teachers, the superintendents are hired by the school boards. They must have a certificate and be educators. Snodgrass does not.
*One person commented that the previous tourism director was appointed by the former governor. What I was told was the former director was appointed by the tourism committee, not the governor. Not that it probably matters, just wanted to get that straight.
*Rep. James Lockhart was not notified of the meeting and had to find out from a friend. One writer said he should not have left his office early. The house was not in session Friday. He came to Heavener to meet with people. His cell phone number is widely known and he should have been involved.
*There was also a comment about how the state had planned to close the park two years ago. I asked former Sen. Kenneth Corn about this. He said if it was true, it was an internal memo and was never discussed with him.
*Yes, we do have to tighten our belts and look at all areas of the state government. The Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department had to make a five percent cut. How was this done? Not by cutting each park by five percent, which seemed like the logical thing, but by closing seven state parks. Each of the parks is vital to the local, rural communities. I wonder what would have happened if the OTRD tried to close one of the parks in Tulsa or Oklahoma City?
*The park will now be funded by private donations. A non-profit group has been formed, under CASC, to raise funds to keep the park open. It will cost around $80,000 a year. No state money will be used. Instead, our tax money will be spent on parks elsewhere. But the metro areas were spared, don’t want to upset them.
Hopefully the state’s governing body will revisit this issue. The way it is set up is not the answer, in my opinion. Corn said there are funds available for the OTRD to keep all the parks open and that would be the best option for everybody.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Tigers take gold ball
We can all learn something from the Talihina boys basketball team.
The Tigers had made three straight trips to the state tournament going into this year, and finished second the last two years, losing to Pawnee both times by one point in overtime.
When the OSSAA announced the classes for the state, perennial power Oklahoma City Millwood was dropping into 2A and was given the top ranking.
Also, Pawnee was back and would probably be in Talihina’s way.
But despite the disappointment of coming up short the last two years, the Tigers were focused on winning this time, not satisfied with another second-place finish. Somebody once said it wasn't about winning or losing, but how you played the game.
For this group of players, after all the blood, sweat and tears, it was about winning. And then meant winning state.
Talihina took care of business, losing only two games during the regular season, one to eventual Class 5A state champion Tulsa Washington and the other to Tulsa Edison.
The Tigers won the LeFlore County Tournament and dominated in the postseason, winning all four games to qualify for another trip to Oklahoma City.
In the state tournament, Talihina defeated Chouteau and then Stratford. All that was left was another appearance in the finals, another shot at winning the elusive state championship.
And that is exactly what happened Saturday morning when the Tigers won state with a 42-27 win over Preston, a team which Talihina defeated in the area tournament last week.
Preston sent Pawnee and Millwood packing in reaching the finals. But despite a double-digit win over Preston last week, this was not easy for Talihina.
The Tigers trailed 25-22 in the third quarter. Senior Chris Capsey hit his lone basket of the day, a three pointer to tie the score. Taggart Lockhart followed with a pair of free throws and Talihina had the lead for good.
Things were still tight at 29-27 before Talihina went on a 13-0 run to finish the game and capture the first boys state basketball championship.
The Tigers’ great group of seniors capped off their fabulous career with the win they wanted the most. Lockhart and Jordan EagleRoad were four-year starters. Jace Chancellor and Capsey started the final two seasons.
Michael Bugos played most of the finals while Taylor Hubbard and Garrett Williams also contributed.
It is doubtful we will ever see a group of seniors like this again in LeFlore County and a fitting going away present for coach Chris Gillespie, who has announced he is hanging up his coaching whistle.
This was also Gillespie’s first state championship after 30 years of coaching. He will also be missed.
The Tigers had made three straight trips to the state tournament going into this year, and finished second the last two years, losing to Pawnee both times by one point in overtime.
When the OSSAA announced the classes for the state, perennial power Oklahoma City Millwood was dropping into 2A and was given the top ranking.
Also, Pawnee was back and would probably be in Talihina’s way.
But despite the disappointment of coming up short the last two years, the Tigers were focused on winning this time, not satisfied with another second-place finish. Somebody once said it wasn't about winning or losing, but how you played the game.
For this group of players, after all the blood, sweat and tears, it was about winning. And then meant winning state.
Talihina took care of business, losing only two games during the regular season, one to eventual Class 5A state champion Tulsa Washington and the other to Tulsa Edison.
The Tigers won the LeFlore County Tournament and dominated in the postseason, winning all four games to qualify for another trip to Oklahoma City.
In the state tournament, Talihina defeated Chouteau and then Stratford. All that was left was another appearance in the finals, another shot at winning the elusive state championship.
And that is exactly what happened Saturday morning when the Tigers won state with a 42-27 win over Preston, a team which Talihina defeated in the area tournament last week.
Preston sent Pawnee and Millwood packing in reaching the finals. But despite a double-digit win over Preston last week, this was not easy for Talihina.
The Tigers trailed 25-22 in the third quarter. Senior Chris Capsey hit his lone basket of the day, a three pointer to tie the score. Taggart Lockhart followed with a pair of free throws and Talihina had the lead for good.
Things were still tight at 29-27 before Talihina went on a 13-0 run to finish the game and capture the first boys state basketball championship.
The Tigers’ great group of seniors capped off their fabulous career with the win they wanted the most. Lockhart and Jordan EagleRoad were four-year starters. Jace Chancellor and Capsey started the final two seasons.
Michael Bugos played most of the finals while Taylor Hubbard and Garrett Williams also contributed.
It is doubtful we will ever see a group of seniors like this again in LeFlore County and a fitting going away present for coach Chris Gillespie, who has announced he is hanging up his coaching whistle.
This was also Gillespie’s first state championship after 30 years of coaching. He will also be missed.
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