March 3, 2010 - 9 Years of Online News from the Birthplace of Will Rogers - Call us at 918-443-2428
This Week's Headlines
JOHN DIRICKSON NAMED CITIZEN OF THE YEAR
Oologah Vice Mayor John Dirickson was named Oologah Citizen of the Year at the Oologah Area Chamber of Commerce Banquet on Saturday night, March 6. See all the details in the next issue of the Oologah Lake Leader.
TWO OOLOGAHNS HURT IN OVERNIGHT WRECK
Two young men from Oologah were injured in a one-car crash at 3:51 a.m. Thursday on Corley Road about ½ mile west of Oklahoma 88.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said Guy Patrick Miller, 17, was driving a 1986 Chrysler Fifth Avenue four-door east on Corley Road when he went off the road to the right, overcorrected, ran off the roadway to the left and slammed into a tree.
He was treated at the scene by OTEMS ambulance and taken to St. John Medical Center where he was released after treatment for a leg injury.
His passenger, 26-year-old Zachery Shawn Ward, was also treated by OTEMS and taken to St. John, where he was admitted in stable condition with trunk internal and arm injuries.
Trooper Andy Floyd's report said neither man was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. His initial report did not include a cause for the accident or the condition of the driver at the time it occurred.
FAULTY INSULATOR CAUSES POWER OUTAGE IN TALALA AND NOWATA By CHRIS EDENS, City Editor
Over 2,500 customers in Talala and Nowata lost power Wednesday morning when an insulator failed on a PSO line near Northeast Station in Oologah.
The insulator that failed was on a 138,000 volt transmission line, according to PSO spokesperson Ed Bettinger. He said the failure disturbed service to the substation in Nowata.
Bettinger said 1,397 PSO customers were affected by the outage which occurred just after 8:30 a.m.
Northwest Fire Department received calls about a grass fire at the same time on the north side of the PSO plant near Hwy. 88.
"The line dropped down and made contact with a guide wire. That caused a short in the ground that went through three telephone boxes and set fires in three different places," Northwest Fire Chief David Puckett said.
All power was restored to PSO customers by 12:23 p.m. Bettinger said. VVEC was also affected by the outage.
VVEC spokesperson Kimberly Loffer said the outage affected 1,269 VVEC customers when power was lost at the Watova substation. She said all power was restored at 1:20 p.m.
NEXT WEEK'S QUESTION FOR OUR YOUTH READERS:
What is your favorite thing in the Leader? Any ideas for new features in the Leader?
In honor of Newspaper in Education week, we request responses from readers age 20 and below E-mail your response to oologahspeaks@sbcglobal.net.
SENIOR CITIZENS TO MEET MARCH 9
The Oologah Senior Citizens will meet for lunch at the Oologah Community Center from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday, March 9. Mexican food will be served. No potluck. The cost is $5. They hope to have an election for a new board to take over in April.
NEWSPAPER IN EDUCATION WEEK
COMMUNITY ENCOURAGES READING, CITIZENSHIP IN STUDENTS By FAITH WYLIE, Leader writer
This is National Newspaper in Education week. But in Oologah-Talala Schools, classroom newspapers make a difference all year long.
National studies have found that young people who work with newspapers become more involved in civic activities as they mature. They are more likely to volunteer and make donations, to participate in civic expression, and to become involved in political activity including voting.
Reading newspapers engages young people in both their local community and the world community. It results in more active citizens.
The local Newspaper in Education program is a partnership involving teachers, community members and the newspaper.
Teachers request weekly newspapers for their classrooms. Students interact with the newspaper at all grade levels. The Oologah Lake Leader makes the newspapers available at a discount. Classroom newspapers are funded by community donations and special events such as the Around Town Urban Golf Tournament. There is no cost to the schools or students.
This year's NIE Week celebration includes a serial story about Will Rogers carried in newspapers across Oklahoma. The final chapter runs during NIE Week.
Carolyn Estes, the Leader's marketing director and NIE coordinator, wrote the serial story for the Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation.
Estes has received comments on the story from across Oklahoma. One person who read the story in the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise discovered that her husband's grandfather was one of the real-life characters in the story. Several said that they clipped and saved the chapters for their children or grandchildren.
"It's been really great to hear from people who enjoyed the story," Estes said.
Last week, Estes spoke about writing the story with Laura Long's students at Oologah Middle School. She told the students that one of her teachers told her she would be an author. She explained how she writes and encouraged students who are writing their own stories.
"I like that I got to meet a real writer for the newspaper," Larry said.
Estes said she liked working with middle school students because that's an age where NIE can make a big difference.
One national study found that students in schools with at least some NIE programs did 10 percent better than students in schools that had no NIE program. Significant increases in performance were more likely to occur in middle schools.
Community partnership is an important part of NIE according to John M. Wylie II, Leader publisher.
"We couldn't do it without the help of the community and the teachers," he said. "We all benefit from literate graduates who are involved in the community."
This year's sponsors are AEP PSO Northeastern Station, All Smiles Dental Clinic, AT&T, Bank of the Lakes, Burns Propane, Cherokee Data Systems, Generations, Family Clinic, Green Country Septic, Rod Henry Construction, State Rep. Tad Jones, Lakeside State Bank, Dr. Joe Maltsberger, McDonalds of Owasso, Pam Moeller, NDS Used Cars and Monograms, Northwest Firefighters, Omni Medical Group Oologah, Oklahoma Natural Gas, Oolagah Dolton Funeral Home, Overhead Door of Tulsa, P&K Equipment, S&L Martin Homes, Celeste Tillery, Totah Telephone & Totel CSI, Karen Weeks Coldwell Banker Select, Mary West Oologah Tag Agency, Will Rogers Heritage Trust and Don and Beverly Wofford.
In addition, many Leader subscribers contribute to NIE by adding $6 to their subscription renewal. That $6 provides a newspaper for one student during the school year.
National studies have found that young people who work with newspapers become more involved in civic activities as they mature. They are more likely to volunteer and make donations, to participate in civic expression, and to become involved in political activity including voting. 
