The news quiz
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
Farmers Market: No Middleman Needed
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
Week in review
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.
Student Police Academy accepting applications
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
Citizens Caring for Children
During the past few years, I’ve written stories about Citizens Caring for Children, a nonprofit organization that serves foster children in the Oklahoma City metro area. Every year, volunteers hold a back-to-school drive in which the foster children can take home a new outfit and a new pair of shoes to wear on their first day of school.
This year, the foster children will be receiving a pair of Stephon Marbury’s Starbury One shoes during the back-to-school drive that will be held throughout August.
I was fortunate to attend last year’s back-to-school drive, and it was a complete frenzy. The children all raced in the building with a big smile on their faces eager to pick out a new outfit and new shoes. I remember some of them acted as if they had won the million dollar lottery. It was at that moment that I realized how often I take simple things for granted.
When I was child, I would get upset whenever my parents would buy me clothes. After all, I wanted toys and the latest video games instead. These foster children aren’t searching for toys and games. All they wanted was the basic necessities like clothes and shoes.
Some of the children who wear old worn out clothes to school are often teased by their peers. I can only imagine the joy they feel when they walk into the classroom wearing new clothes.
Citizens Caring for Children is still accepting donations for new clothes and new shoes. For donation information, call 348-9034. It’s important that we don’t forget about the children living in the foster care system.
Tim Henley, staff writer
Golf tournament benefits homeless children
As many as 1,100 children are expected to benefit from $33,000 was raised during the seventh annual Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) Open Golf Tournmant at Coffee Creek Golf Club in Edmond.
Money raised will purchase Christmas gifts for every Oklahoma child staying in a homeless shelter during the holiday season. Gifts totaling more than $27,000 were distributed to 756 children last year.
The tournament was sponsored by Santa’s Sleigh Inc., a nonprofit organization comprised of OHFA employees.
“It’s a huge blessing that we were able to raise even more money this year because we anticipate buying Christmas presents for the largest group of homeless children in our organization’s history. We are very thankful for the dedication of our sponsors and volunteers,” Santa’s Sleigh Inc. president Nelson Morgan said.
People and organizations interested in playing or being a sponsor in next year’s tournament may call the OHFA Open golf line at 419-8297.
Brian Sargent
Staff Writer
Third project begins on new Crosstown Expressway
Construction has started on a $14 million project to build a north-south railroad bridge in downtown Oklahoma City serving Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and the Heartland Flyer Amtrak train. It’s Phase 3 of a seven-year, $557 million project that will replace a 4 ½-mile stretch of Interstate 40 along downtown Oklahoma City’s southern edge.
The railroad bridge will go over the new Crosstown near Shields Boulevard. It replaces a temporary bridge that was built to make sure railroad traffic would not be interrupted.
Construction on the new railroad bridge is expected to be completed in fall 2008, state transportation officials said.
Reconstruction of the Crosstown began in late 2005. It will be a 10-lane highway between May Avenue and I-235 and will carry about 120,000 vehicles a day, state transportation officials said. A four- to six-lane boulevard will be built under the old Crosstown. The 42-year-old elevated roadway won’t be torn down until the new Crosstown is completed.
Click to read more about and see pictures of the Crosstown Expressway project.
Brian Sargent
Staff Writer
“Grace” gives us something to talk about
“Saving Grace,” the TV show about an Oklahoma City police woman who encounters an angel, premiered July 23 and it has been already become a hot topic of conversation in our office.
The show stars actress Holly Hunter as detective-on-the-edge, Grace Hanadarko. Actor Leon Rippy portrays a scruffy-looking angel named Earl who claims God sent him to help Grace turn her life around.
What sparked the conversations around our office water cooler?
For starters, the show is based on a character who is supposed to be living in Oklahoma City. There’s a scene where Grace and her nephew are at the Oklahoma City National Memorial discussing the April 19, 1995 tragedy.
Then there are the racy sex scenes, alcohol consumption to excess and lots of cursing.
This is a show with two central themes, as I see it. It’s a crime drama and Grace is obviously dedicated to her work. It is also a show that will focus on faith (She can’t deny that there’s an angel popping in and out of her life).
I’m wondering if viewers turned off by the raunchy antics, drinking and swearing will give Grace and Earl the time of day. There’s also a question about whether the faith aspect will cause folks to shy away, particularly those who just tuned in to see a simple crime show (are there any simple crime shows anymore?).
TV editor Penny Hanley, former religion editor Pat Gilliland, police reporter Augie Frost and I will discuss our observations about the show in a NewsOK.com podcast on Monday, (July 30) the day the second episode of “Saving Grace” is to air on TNT.
Stay tuned.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
There is no joy in Roswell, freaky Bat Boy has struck out
A publication that features a particular form of short fiction soon will issue its final edition. Weekly World News, home of Bat Boy, the eternally angry Ed Anger and Lester the typing horse (”Once a Sideshow Attraction, Now the Nation’s Leading Wellness Expert”), soon will disappear from supermarket checkout aisles and newsstands.
The Associated Press reported that the tabloid’s publisher, American Media Inc., issued a brief statement announcing that the Aug. 27 issue would be Weekly World News’ last. It called the closure necessary “due to the challenges in the retail and wholesale magazine marketplace that have impacted the newsstand.”
However, the exploits of Elvis and assorted extra-terrestrials will continue to be reported by the self-styled “World’s Only Reliable Newspaper” on its Web site.
Of course, it all could be a hoax. This is, after all, the same publication that five years ago shut down its Web site until readers bought more issues off newsstands.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Save it, ‘Grace’
Okie stereotypes? Check.
Obligatory tornado references in casual conversation? Check.
Other assorted cornpone flavor in the storyline, just to let the viewer know this show has Oklahoma City as its setting? Check.
Yes, that’s what we got with Monday’s premiere of TNT’s “Saving Grace.” My wife and I watched with interest, just because we wanted to see how an Oklahoma-raised screenwriter would treat a storyline that has Oklahoma City as its backdrop. The show wasn’t all bad, and there were some interesting story lines that popped up at the end with a nice scene at the Oklahoma City National Memorial. But crime lab specialists living on the farm (possible), 10-gallon hat-wearing police detectives (never seen one in OKC) and a bunch of other superficial references to Oklahoma dragged the show down in spots (I won’t get into how needlessly raw portions of the show, mainly the opening scene, really were). The topper? Following a teen crime suspect who, quite naturally, was spotted and subsequently arrested at a cattle auction. Come on, now.
I know, I know. The show is about Grace, the hard-living detective who apparently is being given one last chance by God to reconcile with Him before it’s too late (the archangel Earl is sent to nudge her back on the straight and narrow). But my advice is for the writers to keep it real and not beat us over the head with “F5 tornado” quips. There is still time.
Bob Doucette
Assistant City Editor
