Notes from the Newsroom NewsOK.com Blogging Community

The Oklahoma City Police Department will host on Aug. 11 a test day, part of the department’s continuing effort to reach out to the city for entry-level police officer applicants. Check-in for the event begins at 8 a.m. in Room 101 at the Oklahoma City Police Department Training Center, 800 N Portland.

“By testing on a day outside of the normal work week, we hope to accommodate qualified individuals who would otherwise not be able to attend a regularly scheduled test day,” said police Lt. Pat Pollman, who oversees recruiting.

Applicants need to bring a valid driver’s license and should wear appropriate clothing for a physical fitness evaluation. Those successfully completing a physical fitness evaluation will take the academy’s aptitude test. Persons that pass the aptitude test will be considered for an entry-level police officer.

Applications will be provided, but applicants are encouraged to bring a completed application. Applications may be downloaded from www.ocpd.com or picked up from one of the following locations:

— Police headquarters, 701 Colcord
— Recruiting office, 800 N Portland
— Hefner Briefing Station, 3924 NW 122
— Santa Fe Briefing Station, 9000 S Santa Fe
— Springlake Briefing Station, 4014 N Prospect
— Will Rogers Briefing Station, 3112 N Grand

For more information, call 297-1116 or visit the police department’s Web site.

Brian Sargent
Staff Writer

It looks like Rupert Murdoch’s deal to acquire Dow Jones Inc., publisher of Wall Street Journal, will go through. Some journalists have expressed concern about perceptions that Murdoch meddles in the news coverage of some of his media properties such as Fox News and The New York Post.

But one aspect of the deal hasn’t received as much attention. The historic Dow Jones Industrial Index, which tracks stocks of 30 of the nation’s largest companies, is part of the sale. Mr. Murdoch now has the option of renaming the most important, most reported stock index. How do you like the sound of “Fox News Industrial Average” or “MySpace Industrial Average” or even “Rupert and Wendi’s Stock Index?”
It may sound strange, but we’ve learned how to adapt to new commercial monikers, such as AT&T Bricktown Ballpark, previously SBC Bricktown Ballpark and originally Bricktown Ballpark.

Don Mecoy
Business Writer

Last week, I posted an item about what I thought of TNT’s new police drama, “Saving Grace.” Despite the many flaws I saw (too many sterotypes, scattershot story development, etc.), I said I’d give it one more shot. So I did last night. And quite frankly, I’m done with it.

No disrespect to Holly Hunter, the accomplished actress who holds the title role. But this just isn’t very good TV. The opening scene — again, trying too hard to be Okie without being the least bit genuine — pretty much poisoned the pot. Two cops out deer hunting, dressed in jeans, cowboy boots and flannel shirts. Come on. Even the unitiated are going to know this is no way to bag a 10-point buck (cammo and deer stands, anyone?). From there, the show sprayed various plot elements in shotgun-blast style that left me and my wife wondering what was going on. And since when did Oklahoma City police head out into the oil patch to investigate crimes? With a deer tied down on the hood of their truck?

Maybe I’m being too harsh. But what about plot lines from real parts of the city? Bricktown? South side? Northeast? Asian District? Settings in these places will at least get us out of the oil fields and honky tonks and into the places where most of us actually live, work and play.

Perhaps George Lang, our assistant features editor and entertainment guru, was right. I’m from here, so my view of the show will be forever tainted by my knowledge of the city. I know from some posts we’ve had here, there are people who like the show. Others don’t. As for me, I’ll find something else to do at 9 p.m. on Mondays.

You want a good crime drama with a female lead? Tune in to TNT at 8 p.m. Mondays for “The Closer.” Looking to lose an hour of your life you’ll never get back? Keep watching “Saving Grace.”

Bob Doucette

Assistant City Editor

NewsOK readers were recently asked if they felt children should spend more time in the classroom. The responses printed in The Oklahoman indicate most do feel this is necessary to compete in a global economy.

I am torn on this issue.

I feel if teachers would teach more skills that were relevant in a global economy, more classroom time might be valid.  Let’s teach finance, investing, marketing, diplomacy and the laws of importing and exporting. Or how about architecture, engineering and salesmanship. Those are the skills they’ll need in the work world.

I know I’ll get nasty notes from teachers, but I can’t tell you the last time I pulled out a Shakespearean phrase or used a line from my 18th Century poetry class, and I’m a writer! I also could have done without several years of math I never use and history that I can’t remember.

More time in the classroom, though, might prepare children for the reality that grownups have to work everyday for a living without the benefit of spring, summer, fall and holiday breaks.

 I feel, however, that children can learn as much outside of the classroom as in it. This summer, my children went to several camps where they learned team-building activities, were encouraged to spend time alone reading and developing their personal relationship with God, wrote and acted in skits, and yes they got to play a lot. As important, they had to learn how to get along with annoying peers while trying not be annoying themselves.

We’ve taken on home-improvement projects. We’ve visited the library frequently for books to keep their minds busy. They’ve kept their bodies active in the pool and on bikes and the trampoline.

They’ve had to come up with creative ideas to keep themselves from getting bored. This is perhaps the best skill of all. They’ve made home movies, written songs, played their instruments, kept journals. They’ve explored the universe thanks to pictures from NASA on the Internet. They’ve watched movies and asked a billion important questions. And they’ve gotten a glimpse of the world outside of themselves by helping with flood relief in Miami, OK, and going with their youth group to feed the homeless on Saturday mornings.

Not bad, for time spent outside of the classroom.

Tricia Pemberton

Staff Writer  

One of filmmaking’s true masters, Ingmar Bergman, has passed away at the age of 89. The great Swede could be dark and foreboding or even mystifying for casual film viewers, but for those who got to sample his greatest works, it added another layer to their love of film. At least it did for me.

A brief rundown of five of my favorite Bergman works.

Smiles of a Summer Night: This romantic romp was one of his earliest films and seems quite uncharacteristic when compared to his later works, but its charms are legion and it even inspired the great Stephen Sondheim musical “A Little Night Music.” Still a joy to behold more than 50 years later.

The Seventh Seal: Probably his best-known work for its central setpiece and imagery as a knight returning home from the Crusades (Max von Sydow) challenges Death to a game of chess in hopes of sparing his own life.

Wild Strawberries: A  moving piece about an old professor off to receive an award and reflecting on his life during the train ride there.

Scenes From a Marriage: Originally made for Swedish television, this story about the life of a couple was trimmed into a feature. Both versions are great and a pseudo-sequel to it, Saraband, reuniting its stars came out in 2005.

Fanny and Alexander: Bergman said this film would be his last feature and talk about going out on a high note. A semiautobiographical tale of two children from a large theatrical family terrorized when their mother marries a sadistic minister, it’s haunting and entertaining and one of the most lush productions in terms of costumes, cinematography and sets ever placed on celluloid.

By Scott Schuldt, Staff Writer

I just returned from two days in Miami, OK, where I went with my daughters to help with flood relief.

 We got there at noon Friday just in time to eat lunch and get assigned to a crew with the Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief mud-out crew. I was in for the hardest 1 1/2 days of work in my life.

The first assignment was to tear out plaster walls. For this, my daughters and I were handed crowbars and were dressed out in rubber boots, gloves, dust masks, hardhats and goggles. It was probably over 100 degrees in the house we worked in and it felt unbearable with all that gear on.  We had to take frequent breaks for water and fresh air.

Before we started, we signed a waiver stating we had our own insurance. I didn’t really think much of that until I saw a veteran crew member with a bandaged nose from falling plaster. Another man cut his finger on a nail while we worked. That made me, a total amateur, very nervous, but other than some very sore muscles and a few bruises, my daughters and I came out unscathed.

I wish I could say the same for the homeowners whose houses we helped demolish. The first home had plaster walls that had to be completely ripped out, even the ceiling tiles had to go. I couldn’t believe the homeowner was actually thanking us profusely for our help as he stood outside his gutted home. One of the workers explained, however, that we’d just saved him thousands of dollars and dozens of hours of sweat labor.

One of the workers asked the homeowner if he was going to heaven and he accepted Jesus as his savior right there on the street while the crew prayed and cried. The mansion in heaven surely will make up for this.

At the second home, we only had to tear out four feet of sheetrock and then powerwash and bleach the exposed walls. The water had even left its mark on the exterior brick.

At the third home, we tore out hardwood floors — the hardest job I’ve ever done and the most sweat I’ve ever produced. The sub-floor would have to be ripped out later as it was completely rotted through in spots. Again, I felt horrible leaving the family without even a safe floor to stand on. And, again, they were thanking us for our work saying they had been at it themselves for several weeks with little progress until we showed up. The woman who lived there said they had insurance but had not seen a dime of it yet.

As we finished work Saturday, it was pouring rain again. 

I left feeling good for having helped and awful for having made so little impact. I helped at three homes, but there are hundreds more damaged. Some of the people with the Baptist organization had already been in Miami for three weeks. Some had driven from as far away as North Carolina. Some were staying through this week and maybe into the next. The Red Cross was on hand and the First Christian Church was housing everyone.

They have a good system worked out. They have crews who cook and crews who run a shower trailer, where fresh towels and toiletries are provided and they’ll even do your laundry.

This is a staggering effort, and I am grateful to have gotten a firsthand look.

 Tricia Pemberton

Staff Writer

It’s time to see how much attention you’ve been paying to the news in the past week or so. From The Oklahoman’s news copy editors and designers, here’s a quiz.

1. Who helped negotiate the freeing of six medical people from a prison in Libya?
a) Jesse Jackson
b) British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
c) French first lady Cecilia Sarkozy
d) Fidel Castro

2. On Sept. 30, Continental Airlines will offer nonstop flights from Oklahoma City to what city?
a) St. Louis
b) Cleveland
c) New York
d) Boston

3. What state was struck by a series of devastating mudslides?
a) Alabama
b) Colorado
c) Delaware
d) Nevada

4. Assistant Secretary of State Maura Harty took responsibility for a backlog in what?
a) Aid to hurricane victims
b) Candidates for the presidency in 2008
c) Getting citizens needed passports
d) Tax refunds

5. A four-hole sudden death playoff in the British Open ended with a victory for whom?
a) Bob Barker
b) Sergio Garcia
c) Happy Gilmore
d) Padraig Harrington

6. In a two-year series beginning in 2012, the University of Oklahoma will meet Notre Dame on the football field. The teams have battled nine times in the past with the Irish winning how many of the games?
a) 2
b) 4
c) 6
d) 8

7. What Oklahoma university is building a $70 million science research building?
a) University of Oklahoma
b) Oklahoma State University
c) Oklahoma Panhandle State University
d) Southeastern Oklahoma State University

8. About how much did the state generate in investment earnings last year after shifting money from its checking account to investments that earn more?
a) 50 cents
b) $100 million
c) $150 million
d) $175 million

9. What Oklahoma City-based band took the Oklahoma Centennial spirit to Japan and Thailand and returned with a high-definition documentary about the three-week trip?
a) Horseshoe Road
b) Dirt Road Band
c) Pinkie & the SnakeShakers
d) Waffle

10. What was blamed for causing an outbreak of mold that closed dorm rooms for law enforcement cadets at the Council on Law Enforcement Training center in Ada?
a) Faulty humidity sensors
b) Months of rainfall
c) Unqualified housekeepers
d) Piles of sweaty clothing

11. What class did Miss America Lauren Nelson tell a Senate committee to establish?
a) Beauty pageantry
b) Tap dancing
c) Internet safety
d) Oklahoma history

12. Oklahoma parents will get a break from Aug. 3-5. What will be happening?
a) Local and state sales tax will be eliminated for back-to-school shopping.
b) The price of popcorn at theaters will be reduced by $3.
c) Children will agree to do everything they are told to do, immediately.
d) School will open early.

13. An Oklahoma school teacher is among the finalists for ABC’s “American Inventor” with his HC Custom Build Racer set. Where does Rick DeRemmaux teach?
a) Oklahoma City
b) Putnam City
c) Mustang
d) Bethany

14. Manuel Noriega, once president of Panama, has completed 10 years of a 30-year sentence (20 years off for good behavior), and was back in federal court. Why?
a) He wants to be sent back to Panama and not be sent to France.
b) He wants to stay in the U.S. and not be sent back to Panama.
c) He wants to be sent to France and not sent back to Panama.
d) He wants to be sent back to prison.

15. A teenager in Seattle was charged in the murder of a cab driver and was arrested in Chicago because:
a) His picture was taken by a concealed camera in the cab.
b) A trail of pennies led from the burning taxi to his house.
c) He was seen by a passer-by.
d) He dropped his billfold in the taxi.

16. Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Robert Lavender retired last week after becoming the longest-serving member of the court. How many years was he on the court?
a) 32
b) 42
c) 52
d) 62

17. What’s approaching a 20-year low in Oklahoma County?
a) Number of people who go to church
b) Number of kids at public swimming pools
c) Number of marriage license applications
d) Amount of trash collected from residents

18. Oklahoma farmers and ranchers are being urged to:
a) Vaccinate their horses against the West Nile virus.
b) Grow less corn because it causes more thunderstorms.
c) Donate bales of hay to veterinarians caring for rescued animals.
d) Teach their children how to rope a calf because there are no good rodeo cowboys anymore.

19. What popular New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornet was signed by Milwaukee?
a) Chris Paul
b) Tyson Chandler
c) Chris Andersen
d) Desmond Mason

20. Per capita, what is Oklahoma’s rank in terms of federally declared disasters?
a) First
b) Second
c) Third
d) Fourth

How did you do on the quiz? Here are the correct answers:
1-C; 2-B; 3-B; 4-C; 5-D; 6-D; 7-B; 8-C; 9-A; 10-A; 11-C; 12-A; 13-D; 14-A; 15-B; 16-B; 17-C; 18-A; 19-D; 19-D; 20-A

Stopped in at the Edmond Farmers Market on Saturday and was almost too late to score a home-grown watermelon sold by one of the vendors. I didn’t get there until 11 a.m. and the seller had only two left from what she told me was a half-trailer load when the morning started. So, I bought one and another customer bought the other before I could snap this photograph. What I like about the Farmers Market — aside from the great fruit and vegetables on sale — is the people. I got there in late morning and still had to park across the railroad tracks to the West of downtown. The place was swarming with people loading up on tomatoes, sweet corn, watermelons and all the rest of the garden menu that was on display. I walked around and enjoyed watching all the commerce going on.

Jim Stafford
Business News reporter

Another week has passed, and here is your chance to catch up with what you may have missed.

• The Lawson family from Claremore was among 280 people stranded atop the Gateway Arch in St. Louis by a three-hour power outage. About 200 people on the observation deck, 630 feet above the ground, and 80 people in the small pods that carry onlookers to the top, were trapped in the landmark that overlooks the city and Mississippi River.

• A Yukon woman, Shannon Wilson, 27, died of complications from injuries she suffered while working during Piedmont’s city fireworks show July 7. She was burned over about one-third of her body in the accident and had been battling a fever and pneumonia-like symptoms.
• A judge ruled that Oklahoma State University has eminent domain power to take the final piece of property in Stillwater to complete its athletic village. Unless an appeals court intervenes, a jury will decide the value of a rental house owned by Kevin and Joel McCloskey in the nearly one-year court battle.
• Federal Election Commission documents showed several thousand people political contributors have given to multiple candidates this year, a tilt that favors the Democrats.
• Assistant Secretary of State Maura Harty took responsibility for the passport backlog, saying her office miscalculated the demand for passports after rules were changed to require them for most re-entry to the country from abroad.
• Doctors removed five small growths from President Bush’s colon after he temporarily transferred the powers of his office to Vice President Dick Cheney under the rarely invoked 25th Amendment.
• Helicopter and boat crews rescued hundreds of trapped people after storms whipped through Great Britain, flooding towns and villages and sending thousands to emergency shelters.
• India chose its first female president in an election hailed as a victory for women in a country where gender discrimination is deep-rooted and widespread.
• The U.S. and Iran planned to have their second high-level talk concerning the future of Iraq.
• Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair prepared for his first trip to the Mideast in his new role as envoy of the Quartet hoping to bring about peace in the region.
• After three days on the run, a 33-year-old man suspected in the shooting deaths of two Tulsa youths surrendered to authorities east of Lawton. Joshua Elijah Muller had been spotted near Lawton on Monday, which led to a massive manhunt involving hundreds of law enforcement officers.
• The wreckage of a small airplane and the body of its pilot were found in the Ouachita National Forest in Eastern Oklahoma. Curtis Leroy Hazen of Muse had been missing for five days when the wreckage was found about 10 miles west of the Oklahoma-Arkansas state line.
• The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the death sentence given to Kenneth Barrett in connection with the shooting death of a state trooper during a raid at Barrett’s home near Sallisaw. Barrett was convicted in 2005 of fatally shooting David “Rocky” Eales.
• The director of the Department of Human Services is under investigation because of burns his 13-year-old son suffered while they were burning brush at a lake house during the Fourth of July holiday.
• Speaking to governors about early childhood education, Gov. Brad Henry said he plans to revive his proposal for voluntary learning programs for 3-year-olds.
• Miss America Lauren Nelson urged the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation to make Internet safety education mandatory in schools to protect children from online predators.
• Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Robert E. Lavender retired after serving 42 years on the bench.
• A grand jury in Louisiana refused to indict Dr. Anna Pou, who was accused of injecting terminally ill patients with a “lethal cocktail” of drugs after Hurricane Katrina stranded them at Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans.
• Continental Airlines announced it will offer direct flights from Oklahoma City to Cleveland starting Sept. 30.
• Faulty humidity sensors were blamed for not preventing an outbreak of mold that closed the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training dorm rooms in Ada.

• e Republicans and Democrats worked together to devote an additional $3 billion toward getting control of the U.S. southern border. The deal, which was passed 89-1, puts Congress on a path to override the president’s threat to veto a $38 billion homeland security funding bill.
• Wall Street had one of its worst losses for the year.
• A Bethany High School special education teacher, Rick DeRennaux became a top-three finalist Wednesday night on ABC’s “American Inventor” TV competition.
• Disgraced former prosecutor Mike Nifong acknowledged there is “no credible evidence” that three Duke lacrosse players committed any of the crimes he accused them of more than a year ago.
• The number of marriage licenses issued in Oklahoma County has declined over the past 20 years, and if this year’s numbers hold steady, the fewest number of licenses could be issued since 1987.
• The Irish are coming to face the Sooners in a two-year series of football showdowns between the University of Oklahoma and Notre Dame beginning in 2012.
• An independent panel said that NASA let astronauts fly drunk on at least two occasions, despite safety warnings from its own doctors and concerns raised by fellow astronauts.
• Large chunks of ice, one of them reportedly about 50 pounds, fell from the sky in Iowa, smashing through a woman’s roof and tearing through nearby trees.
• An Indian doctor was freed from custody after Australia’s chief prosecutor said that a charge linking him to failed terrorist bombings in Britain was a mistake.

Applications are being accepted for the Student Police Academy, sponsored by the Oklahoma City Police Department’s Police Athletic League.

The free program is open to boys and girls, ages 14 to 18 (18 year-old students must have one year of high school remaining).

The academy allows participants to get an overview of how the police department operates and interact with officers. Hands-on activities will be used.

The academy’s goal is to offer useful knowledge to the next generation of how law enforcement works.

“Recruiting has become more difficult, possibly due to lack of interest in the law enforcement profession or a lack of knowledge in the field. We want to make ourselves available to those who may be interested in one day becoming one of Oklahoma City’s finest,” Sgt. Paco Balderrama said. “This is not a ‘scared straight’ program. We want the best students who will stay focused and keep an interest in law enforcement.”

The academy will be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Aug. 6 to 10. Most classes will be at the police department’s pistol range, 8500 S Air Depot Blvd., but other sites will be visited.

For more information, call 297-1137 or e-mail Lt. David Williams at david.williams@okc.gov.

Brian Sargent
Staff Writer