June 25, 2009 - 9 Years of Online News from the Birthplace of Will Rogers
This Week's Headlines
FIREWORKS FUSE READY TO LIGHT
By CHRIS EDENS, City Editor
Fireworks will explode over Oologah Lake on the Fourth of July to celebrate the nation’s birthday. The best place to watch the show is from Hawthorn Bluff park or on the water. The show will begin at dusk, about 9:30 p.m.
The show will take place because of generous donations from the community, but more is needed. The fundraising goal for this year was $3,700. As of press time, about $3,000 had been donated. Donation jars have been placed at area businesses.
Redbud Marina owner Mike Fawcett volunteers his time each year to put on the fireworks show. He is licensed in pyrotechnics.
With the holiday falling on a weekend and a good weather forecast, large crowds are expected on the lake.
PERSONAL FIREWORKS
Oologah Police Chief Novale Thompson said fireworks are banned in town for safety reasons. Thompson said officers have some discretion in issuing citations.
“If it’s kids with sparklers that’s one thing. With the big firecrackers and aerial rockets, we’ll enforce those strictly,” Thompson said. “If they’ve been warned and we’ve gotten complaints, we’ll issue tickets.”
It is legal to shoot fireworks in the city limits of Talala. Police Chief Phillip Coe asked people to be respectful of neighbors and not shoot fireworks late at night.
NO TORNADO NEEDED TO WREAK HAVOC
By JOHN M. WYLIE II, Editor
It wasn’t a tornado, but that was little consolation to residents in a square-mile area west of Oologah.
The neighborhood looked like a war zone Sunday morning and the misery spread to more than 1,200 homes and businesses that lost power for seven hours.
The same storm system also knocked out much of Oologah’s cell phone service for 36 hours and smashed two signs six miles east of the primary damage area.
A freak downdraft or microburst packing winds of up to 150 miles an hour hit about 3 a.m. Sunday, damaging homes, outbuildings and ranch equipment in an area three-quarters of a mile wide and a mile-and-a-half long about four miles west of Oologah, officials said. There were no injuries.
The same storm system apparently tore down a highway sign and the large handcrafted billboard directing motorists on Oklahoma 88 to the Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch. Both signs are near S. 4110 Road, about six miles from the other storm damage. Nothing else in the area was harmed.
WEATHER MYSTERY
The storm has left weather and emergency management officials baffled. Rogers County Emergency Management Director Bob Anderson said the National Weather Service issued no warnings about the storm. He said the NWS told him that nothing severe, only a “little blip,” had been observed on radar in the area.
DAMAGE EXTENSIVE
Anderson said five homes suffered roof or siding damage, two outbuildings were destroyed and two more were damaged, one large utility trailer was destroyed and another was damaged, and many trees lost limbs. Power poles also were downed, but service was restored by late Sunday morning. In all cases, he noted, the damage pattern indicated a violent downward force with no rotation.
The most dramatic example was a large utility trailer that was bounced end over end along a 200-yard path before it slammed into a tree, leaving wreckage that looked like the aftermath of a high speed vehicle crash.
Anderson said damage will likely exceed $200,000. The damage extended from north of the 2500 block of E. 390 Rd. to an area behind the Rabbs Creek Baptist Church, located on S. 4060 Rd.
UTILITY OUTAGES
Kimberly Loffer of Verdigris Valley Electric Cooperative said Monday, “About 1,250 members were affected by the outages. Four 3-phase feeder poles were destroyed. The wire was okay and was just untangled and put back up when the structures were replaced. The line went off at 3 a.m. and was restored at 10:08 a.m.”
Cell service in Oologah on the AT&T network was disrupted for about 36 hours after the storm. AT&T spokesman Andy Morgan said lightning struck a cable serving the Oologah cell tower, located near Oklahoma 88 and S. 4110 Rd. The lightning blew out a surge protector and damaged equipment that works with the cell tower. Repairs were completed Monday afternoon, Morgan said.
ACADEMIC TEAM SHINES IN DC DEBUT
By CHRIS EDENS, City Editor
A brilliant group of Oologah eighth graders made a run at an academic national championship last month. The eighth grade academic team finished in the top eight in the country at the 2009 Junior National Academic Championship, June 5-7, in Washington, D.C.
It was the first time Oologah qualified for the national tournament. Coach Scarlett Sellmeyer said she was extremely proud of the team’s performance.
“They’re an amazing group of kids. They’re just a great team. I’m really proud of everyone one of them,” she said.
Thirty-seven middle school and junior high teams competed at the Junior Nationals. Oologah won all six preliminary matches with relative ease. The team knocked off the defending national champions in the opening round. The Mustangs were undefeated after the first two days and made the playoffs as the number two seed.
Oologah faced Hawken A from Ohio in the quarterfinals. The Mustangs lost 365-285. Hawken A was defeated in the semifinals by the eventual national champion, Longfellow A from Falls Church, Virginia.
“It was a great tournament. We loved every minute of it,” Sellmeyer said. “We plan on making the tournament again next year and we’ll be prepared. There won’t be any surprises.”
Team members Amy Allbritton, Drew Dietlin, Tyler Hudson, Mark Ingram, Allyson Nall, Luke Sterling and captain Luke Stringer gained valuable experience at the tournament. Almost 20 family members made the trip with the team. Stringer’s grandparents came down from Canada to watch him compete.
The trip to the nation’s capitol wasn’t all about the academic competition. The students took a tour of the capitol building courtesy of U.S. Representative Dan Boren’s office.
They went to several of the Smithsonian Museums, the Lincoln Memorial, Ford’s Theatre, the Holocaust Museum, Mt. Vernon and Arlington National Cemetery. Because of the students’ knowledge of history they had an appreciation for the historic sites they visited.
CYCLIST KILLED IN WRECK NEAR CLERMONT RAMP
A Chelsea motorcyclist who authorities believe had been drinking was killed late Saturday night in a wreck on East County Road 385 near Clermont Ramp on the East side of Oologah Lake.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said Earl Wesley Wilson, 59, was pronounced dead at the scene. OTEMS ambulance responded to the accident but the victim was already dead when the paramedic unit arrived.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Matt Sullivan of the Troop B Rogers County Detachment said Wilson ran off the left side of the road while riding his 1988 Honda Gold Wing Trike. Sullivan’s report said the cycle struck three trees, ejecting Wilson into the last tree.
The report said Wilson, who was not wearing a helmet, died of head, trunk, leg, arm and internal injuries. The trooper listed the cause of the accident as unsafe speed on a curve or turns and said there was an odor of alcohol on the victim.
Sources said the victim may have been in a ditch for several hours before the accident was discovered.
The Oologah Lake Sun, Fun and Fishing Derby Day was a huge success with 211 kids and 145 fish caught.
Click here to see video, photo albums and winners.
FIREWORKS FUSE READY TO LIGHT
NO TORNADO NEEDED TO WREAK HAVOC
The same storm system apparently tore down a highway sign and the large handcrafted billboard directing motorists on Oklahoma 88 to the Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch. Both signs are near S. 4110 Road, about six miles from the other storm damage. Nothing else in the area was harmed.
Anderson said five homes suffered roof or siding damage, two outbuildings were destroyed and two more were damaged, one large utility trailer was destroyed and another was damaged, and many trees lost limbs. Power poles also were downed, but service was restored by late Sunday morning. In all cases, he noted, the damage pattern indicated a violent downward force with no rotation.
ACADEMIC TEAM SHINES IN DC DEBUT