Author Archive

Stop the madness

I’ve been in this business a long time and have seen plenty, but in the last couple years I’ve either been out of touch with reality or drifted conservative.

A few months ago we started running stories about a Tulsa woman having sex with dogs. The stories made the rounds on the Web and I think may have ended up No.1 for page views for 2008.

Today, the top article: The octuplets’ mother is offered $1 million for a porn film.

  http://www.newsok.com/octuplets-mom-nadya-suleman-offered-1m-porn-contract/article/3348551

I know I can’t put my three young daughters in a bubble. They’re avid online and newspaper readers. But my  explanations to them are getting trite.     


tornado damage

There have been at least two tornado touchdowns thus far in OKC. One near NW Expressway and Rockwell. A tornado also is on the ground near Covell and the Broadway Extension.


A great expose on children in trouble

Take a look at what the Philadelphia Inquirer did on the problems that state’s Department of Human Services is having taking care of children. Sound familiar? Rest assured, the Wathdog Team at The Oklahoman will continue to monitor activities here. Contact us if you have a similar story.

   http://www.philly.com/inquirer/special/child_welfare/Inquirer_Investigation___Bury_Your_Mistakes_.html


Handicapped parking is important to all

I’ve never parked in a handicapped spot until recently. But I’ve seen so many able bodied folks use and abuse them. It always made me angry. For years I witnessed people in wheelchairs and wondered how they could do it. How devastating, not being able to walk, run, ski, climb that mountain.

In August 2007 I had a devastating spinal cord injury after a fishing accident. I tried to climb down a 30-foot embankment to get to the Glover River in McCurtain County. It didn’t work.

I’m now in a wheelchair and I use the handicapped parking so I can drop the lift on my van and roll out. I’ve not encountered many problems, but before Christmas at Penn Square Mall. I pulled into a handicapped spot, leaving ample room on the right in the “striped area.” This is where my ramp needs to drop and I get out. I need 8-feet of clearance.

A woman in a hurry roared in beside me and parked in the yellow striped area. I rolled the window and told  her to move. She uttered a few obscenities and obliged.

Yes, I guess you can say I have an agenda now. I just want the disabled like me to have access to restaurants, games, shopping, etc., without feeling inadequate. For those of you able-bodied folks that use our spaces, come live a day in our life, look in a mirror at night and if you can sleep well, your soul is beyond reparation.

 As my reporter pointed out in a recent article, if you see someone you think is illegally parked in a handicapped spot:

In Oklahoma City, call the Action Center at 297-2535 or the Handicap Parking Enforcement Specialist program at 316-4050.
• Outside of Oklahoma City, contact a local police department, action center or parking enforcement program.

    


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