Beat the heat
The extreme heat has set in and forecasters say it’s going to be around a while. So now is a good time to use caution and act appropriately with steps to battle heat-related situations.
EMSA officials have these words of advice:
* Remember, PRE-HYDRATION is key in preventing heat related illness. Drink plenty of water or electrolyte replacement drinks several hours prior to long exposure to the summer heat.
* Wear light-colored, loose-fitting clothing and a wide-brimmed hat if working outdoors and take plenty of shade breaks.
Kids in Cars
There is no “safe” amount of time kids can be left in a hot car. How quickly a child becomes ill varies widely based on a number of conditions, including:
* The child’s hydration level to begin with the temperature in the car (which can vary based on car interior, temperature outdoors, whether there is shade, etc.)
* The child’s weight
* The child’s overall health (diabetes and other chronic medical conditions can make a child less able to tolerate the heat), and any medications the child may be taken.
The Centers for Disease Control presents these key points:
A heat advisory or warning has been issued. Now what do you do?
Before Exposure
* Stay indoors and avoid extreme temperature changes. If your home does not have air conditioning, go to a shopping mall or public library — even a few hours spent in air conditioning can help your body stay cooler when you go back into the heat.
* If air conditioning is not available, stay on the lowest floor out of the sunshine.
* Keep your electric fans running.
* Drink cool liquids often, particularly water, even if you do not feel thirsty, to help your body stay cool.
* Avoid alcoholic beverages, which dehydrate the body.
* During heavy exercise in a hot environment, drink two to four glasses (16-32 ounces) of cool fluids each hour.
* Eat small, frequent meals. Avoid foods that are high in protein, which increase metabolic heat.
* Keep pets indoors; refill their water bowls frequently.
During Exposure
* If you must go out, wear lightweight, light-colored clothing to reflect the sun’s energy.
* Slow down, avoid strenuous outdoor activity. If you must engage in strenuous activity, limit exposure during mid-day hours.
* Cover all exposed skin with a high SPF sunscreen, and wear a wide-brimmed hat to protect your face and head.
* Drink plenty of fluids.
* Never leave infants, children, or pets in a parked car.
After Exposure
* Continue drinking plenty of water.
* Never take a cool shower immediately after becoming overheated. You may cool too quickly and become ill, nauseous, or dizzy.
* Know the symptoms of heat disorders and overexposure to the sun, and be ready to give first aid treatment.
These are just some of the ways you can combat extreme heat. For more information, go to KNOWIT.NEWSOK.COM/SEVERE-WEATHER-OKLAHOMA and click on the INFORMATION area in the header.
Thunder fever hits the street corners
Noticing the other day that the one Thunder t-shirt stand in Midwest City has blossomed into three stands overnight. Impressive growth!
I guess if there is ever a time to sell Thunder merchandise on the street corner, now is the time. I haven’t stopped to look at the t-shirts yet, but I will say the ones that I can read from my car are pretty clever and colorful.
Someone told me that some of these stands are operating illegally due to NBA merchandising laws, but I say more power to them. Making people proud of their community team by selling a few t-shirts, nothing wrong with that.
I hope the Thunder continue to win and bring home a World Championship, that would be incredible. It’s amazing the power of a sports team to bring together a community. I wish that we could bottle that and use it year round, maybe do something crazy like eliminate homelessness or help cure poverty or crime.
I wonder how much money is being made by local stores and outlets on Thunder merchandise, I bet it is astronomical. I hope at least a small part of the proceeds are being put back into the community.
You know, do some good.
Summer job hunting tough going
My daughter graduated high school last week. She has began her search for a summer job.
She has had one job in her life at a sandwich shop in Midwest City last summer. She enjoyed the work, and it was a great experience for her. I loved the look on her face when she received her first check. She was floating on cloud nine. When she asked me why she had to pay taxes, I almost fell out of my chair laughing!
This summer, it seems a little harder for her to find work. Everyone keeps telling her that she doesn’t have enough work experience.
I’m no genius, but how does she get work experience when no one will hire her due to her not having work experience? I’m chuckling as I type this, but underneath the chuckle is frustration and a papa bear that wants to protect his cub.
I know eventually someone will “take a chance” on her. She is a great kid, wonderful work ethic, always does what she is asked to do, very loyal. Intelligent and funny.
I just wish folks would remember when they were first looking for a job, how nervous they were, how hard it was to get out of the car and walk into a place and talk to total strangers.
I told her to keep her chin up and keep on trucking. I told her to be herself, be honest, and look people in the eye. I told her to be persistent and to check back with anyone who showed interest in her.
I told her these things, but I didn’t tell her the most important thing about all this. I didn’t tell her that what she’s going through is a part of life. I wish I could be with her and help her with this, but some things she will just have to overcome on her own, it’s what will make her who she is.
I wonder if my parents felt the same way when I was looking for my first job.
Heritage Park Mall
We have a mall in Midwest City.
You can’t shop there.
You can’t go inside and walk anymore.
Why is it still there? There is a church where Dillards used to be. Sears still anchors the other end. Why is it still there?
Why doesn’t someone have some vision and do something! Lots of traffic all around it, surely something can be done!
The mall used to be the place to be for teenagers here, but now nothing goes on at the mall. No shopping. No walking. Nothing.
I’ve got it! This is where the movie theater could go! Perfect place for one! Large parking lot, lots of space. Hello, Warren Theaters, are you listening? What a great addition to this community, and what a perfect location!
Maybe someday, but for now, the sad old mall sits abandoned, waiting for new life. Waiting for someone with vision to make something out of nothing. Cold and lonely. But not forgotten.
Memorial Day: time to remember
Memorial Day always has been one of my favorite holidays.
It’s the first holiday of summer, even though the change of seasons doesn’t occur for nearly a month. That means it’s time to enjoy those warm-weather activities.
Of course, in Oklahoma, warm weather sometimes arrives early, which can sure play havoc with those of us who have allergies.
Memorial Day is a confirmation in many communities that school is — or nearly is — out. Like most people, when I was a student, I looked forward to those weeks when I got a break from the books and assignments.
I also enjoyed my summer job, earning a little money while spending time with people I knew well. I was lucky in having that opportunity.
Much of time in the summers was spent playing baseball. The older I got, the more fun it became. Again, it was spending time with people I knew well, traveling to ballparks and working together.
I always enjoyed watching the Indianapolis 500, from the prerace pageantry to the dueling on the track to the final lap. When I got to take a lap around the Brickyard while on vacation one year, I thought about all those drivers I had seen competing on that very same track.
That also made watching the race on TV more enjoyable because I was able to recall certain areas of the race course.
Taking a trip, even a short venture to the lake, to relax and check out the scenery or play in the water also has been something I have tried to do.
And I always remember those who no longer are with us, including those who gave their lives in service to our country so that we might have those opportunities such as I mentioned above. “Thank you” never could adequately cover that debt.
We should all remember them … always.
See more about those in our armed forces in KNOWIT.NEWSOK.COM/MILITARY-OKLAHOMA, as well as in The Oklahoman.
An introduction is in order
Hello! My name is Ken Tate and I am your new blogger for Midwest City!
I have lived in Midwest City for most of my life, graduated a Bomber, and still live there with my three beautiful daughters.
I will be talking about everything Midwest City, including past, present and future goings on. I am very passionate about my home town and I hope to bring some insight into Midwest City from someone who not only grew up here, but also from someone who is raising children here as well.
I am new to this blogging thing, but I’m very excited about the opportunity to share my love of Midwest City.
I look forward to hearing from you all, and I look forward to sharing my thoughts about this wonderful city!
New for you: News From You
“Have I got news for you.”
Ever heard that phrase? Most of us either have said that, heard it, or done both during our lives. There’s always something we think is important enough to share with others and they with us.
A few years ago, when we established our “know it” communities we offered readers a chance to share news releases, alerts, recognitions and other information (including photos) by sending their items by email to any or all of the five sites:
edmond@newsok.com
mid-del@newsok.com
norman@newsok.com
okc@newsok.com
yukon@newsok.com
Many groups and individuals have participated. You can see what they are sending by going to the reader-submitted area (upper right) of each community:
http://knowit.newsok.com/edmond
http://knowit.newsok.com/midwest-city
http://knowit.newsok.com/norman
http://knowit.newsok.com/oklahoma-city
http://knowit.newsok.com/yukon
(Note: You can see all of them by going to: http://knowit.newsok.com/)
The instructions also advise that editors at The Oklahoman will consider items submitted for publication in the newspaper. That has happened.
But now, that has been enhanced by using a page, labeled News From You, each Saturday in the Local/State section of the newspaper.
We even include posted blog material.
So how can you get your information to us for consideration?
You can send to the communities, as mentioned above, by following the directions for emailing.
Or, you can send email to Metro reporters Vallery Brown (vbrown@opubco.com), Matt Patterson (mpatterson@opubco.com), Jane Glenn Cannon in Norman (jcannon@opubco.com), or Diana Baldwin in Edmond (dbaldwin@opubco.com).
It’s your news to share and be shared.
The new breed of the construction worker
When you think of the downtown street construction worker, does the kind of dirty wolf whistling at the ladies stereotype pop into your head?
Well that was yesterday. Today, the street construction worker will barely look at a woman … I know! Good news, bad news? Of course, good news.
They’re actually polite, respectful, and working their butts off! They barely have time to look up and whistle. The only whistling they do is to each other to get their attention for assistance.
I’m working in the middle of the Project 180 construction, right by the Civic Center, Oklahoma City Museum of Art and City Hall. I can be real patient with construction because I’ve learned it will be over with before you know it and that sometimes you have to get through a lot of ugly to get pretty. So I try to show respect back to the worker.
I’ve seen people yell at them. I hate that! Maybe that’s not the person you should be yelling at … you yeller.
One thing I kid them about is saying things like, “Are you guys almost done with this?” When clearly, they are not! They look at me like, “Are you craz?”y and I give them this look that says “I’m so kidding you, silly!”
I’ve seen them very concerned when a “downtown dummy” is going the wrong way down a one-way. It really upsets them. They want to help them. I’ve learned from the many years downtown, a downtown dummy will quickly learn they’re going the wrong way. Hey! I’ve been there.
Currently, they are replacing sewage pipes down Walker between Main and Robert S. Kerr. They dig way down deep. The deepness into the street kind of freaks me out. So I like to bend a little bit and look down the hole and go, “Whoa!”
I look at the dirt as a part of history — is that dirt from 1889?? The construction workers humor me. One time they let me look down into the sewage tunnel — you know, the kind where super heroes nemesis live? Freaky!
For spring break, the Oklahoma City Museum of Art held its art camps. The instructor for the class with ages 8-10 decided to take the kids outside and have them sketch the construction of Hudson at Couch and also the new Devon tower. Little did they know it would be AWESOMENESS!!!
They happened to be demolishing Hudson that day. The kids with their sketching pads proceeded to draw what they were seeing then — the cranes lifted up, then hammered down on the concrete breaking it apart. The kids started chanting ‘Tear it up! Tear it up!”
The construction workers were laughing. One even talked to the teacher, asking about the students. He said he was an artist himself! That was an exciting day for the kids … and me too. I totally get why little boys love those toy tractor, crane-type trucks. I would love to handle one — just once … just the little one.
In a world where business people are teamed with construction crews, it’s nice to just all get along. Respect each others’ jobs. The mess will go away, flowers and green grass will come back. The jarring of your office will stop. And while you’re looking out your office window, you’ll think, “Wonder what their next project will be?”
Here’s a video of the kids screaming “Tear it up!” It’s very short because I thought I was taking a photo. (New iPad dummy here)
Here, I’m taking a photo of their finished sketches but I actually took a two second video
This is the deep ditch being dug on Walker at Robert S. Kerr
Stuck on ‘up’
Have you noticed how so many things are on the rise these days? We definitely seem to be in an increase mode.
Start with the weather. Here it is mid-March and we’re experiencing temperatures you would expect in late spring or early summer. Pushing — or passing — 80 degrees. We’ve seen little of the normal winter weather conditions, such as snow or bitter-cold temperatures.
I’m not complaining, you understand. Last year’s January-February snow created some significant problems and I’m happy we didn’t have the same this year. Could this be a start to an extremely hot summer?
So with warmer weather, many people feel like doing a little traveling. But current economic conditions may cause them to do a little thinking before setting out. The increase continues at the gas pump and it doesn’t appear to be slowing.
Many times recently I’ve had to make a trip to a pharmacy, a grocery store, or another such location, only to find on my return that the price board at the filling station has new, higher numbers than were there when I first passed by it. And if you dream that you saw a big jump at the pump, it might be more true than you think. Jumps of a dime or more overnight have not been unusual.
With higher gas prices come higher costs for many other items, such as many of our food products. The experts remind us that the costs of many items are “connected” through transportation expenses. That’s one reason alternative fuels are a hot topic.
If you’re a cable TV subscriber, you may have seen an increase in your bill recently. Someone has to pay for all those major technological breakthroughs and excellent service. Right? Paying more to hear experts say you’re paying more.
As an aside here, you might ask that if you pay less, do you hear less of such expertise? The answer is “yes,” but only because you will lose your service when it’s disconnected.
I mentioned the pharmacy. There actually have been some moves to reduce costs for some prescriptions. In some instances, there have been major moves resulting in substantial reductions in cost. Generic medicines have spurred some strong competition.
Obviously, these and many other price increases hitting at the same time put a strain on our personal finances. We realize prices do go up over time, but how much and how soon they do has a great effect on our lives.
Meanwhile, we’ll have to do some comparative shopping. And you can check out the experts in KNOWIT.NEWSOK.COM/MONEY-OKLAHOMA for information on how to reduce the effects of price increases. They just might save you a few bucks.
We have a problem here?
Recent news stories:
* A man is charged with second-degree rape, admits having sex with a woman he met while he was working.
* Another man is picked up for driving under the influence.
* A third man is charged with drunken driving after an auto accident.
* A woman is charged with filing a false police report and child endangerment.
You’ve heard these kinds of stories before, you say? Most likely, you have. But there is something a little different with each of these.
The man facing the rape charge was an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper who stopped the alleged victim, then drove her home, where the sexual incident occurred. He since has resigned, but still has the legal issues to battle.
The man picked up for driving under the influence is the well known, former president of a noted, religion-based university which his father founded
The third man, who was arrested after the traffic accident and faces a felony drunken driving charge, is a sitting city council member. Whether the incident will cost him his job is unknown at this time.
The woman is an attorney, who claims she was under the influence of crystal methamphetamine and caring for a small child when she reported a home invasion to officers. She is facing action from the Oklahoma Bar Association.
There were other stories, involving individuals not so high profile.
Such as …
* A young couple were found passed out in a car, with the engine running, while sitting in a urine-soaked back seat was a toddler.
* Officers and workers at a health care charity allegedly paid themselves big bonuses while they were in the business of helping others in need.
* Several physicians, who took oaths to doctor those with health issues, were disciplined by the state medical board for their actions, ranging from drug use to drug supplying to poor practices.
In each case, a person or people with a responsibility who acted poorly. In some instances, dangerously.
Whatever their reasoning, they violated rules and standards. Each has a problem they must face.
These are some of the challenges addressed in our “know it” topics, assembled through our multimedia resources.
From knowit.newsok.com/addiction-oklahoma to knowit.newsok.com/mental-health to knowit.newsok.com/religion-faith-oklahoma, knowit.newsok.com/chairty-oklahoma and more, there’s information for you.
Check them out.
