Sand Springs man celebrates birthday at Wheeler Dealers Camping Club November campout

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Wheeler Dealers Camping Club members gather for the traditional campout group photo at Hulah Lake. SUBMITTED.

“An Oklahoma Thanksgiving” was the theme for the final Wheeler Dealers Camping Club campout of 2020 held the second weekend of November at Hulah Lake Wah-Sha-She campground near Bowring, OK. 

Hosts for the November campout were Bartlesville members Joe and Pat Brown and Ponca City members Lowry and Rebecca Blakeburn. Members were glad to once again greet each other including new members this year Bill and Pam Doyle, Sand Springs and Vie and Charley Bottger, Ponca City.

 Everyone attending gathered on Thursday and enjoyed a blazing campfire that evening. Carrying on with the Oklahoma Thanksgiving theme Friday afternoon members made pine cone turkeys to use in Thanksgiving decorations. That evening the group met up with three other Bartlesville members who weren’t camping this time, but joined the others for steak dinners at Buck’s BBQ in Sedan, KS. While there the group celebrated Bill Doyle’s birthday.

Saturday members began working on their special dishes for that evening’s Oklahoma Thanksgiving dinner served pot luck style. The menu included ham, turkey and dressing, mashed and sweet potatoes, and a variety of other sides and desserts. That afternoon members sampled various Oklahoma brewed beers provided by the hosts and voted on their favorite. Also drawings were held for door prizes provided by Bell Camper Sales, Bartlesville.

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Bill Doyle, Sand Springs, celebrated his birthday over dinner at Buck's BBQ in Sedan, KS during the Wheeler Dealers November campout. SUBMITTED.

Sunday morning following a potluck breakfast, the business meeting was held with Lowry Blakeburn, president, presiding. He shared information from Gary and Nancy Shepard about the annual Christmas Party to be held at the McCord Senior Center in Ponca City. Since that time the group, concerned about rising Covid rates, has decided to postpone the party this December and look at gathering again in February.

Wheeler Dealers monthly campouts usually are held weekends from March to August with a lunch or breakfast gathering in February and a special Christmas Party in December.  Members can make their own reservations at many of the Corps lakes through recreation.gov, the Corps of Engineers reservation service. 

Current members are from Bartlesville, Ponca City, Sand Springs and Norman.  However, anyone from northern Oklahoma or southern Kansas is invited to join.

Persons interested in joining or knowing more about the Wheeler Dealers Camping Club should contact Lowry, president, at 580-304-5445 in Ponca City or Joe, secretary, at 918-977-0805 in Bartlesville.

Sand Springs couple joins Wheeler Dealers Camping Club

Four new couples at the Wheeler Dealers Camping Club October campout were from left Bill and Pam Doyle, Sand Springs; Larry and Elaine Stevens, Bartlesville; Mark and Donna Metevia, Norman; and Charley and Vie Bottger, Ponca City.

Wheeler Dealers Camping Club members created gnomes during their craft time at the monthly campout. Pictured from left are Ellen Cobb, Ponca City; Pam Doyle, Sand Springs and Linda Long, Ponca City.

Sand Springs residents Bill and Pam Doyle enjoy a pot luck dinner during the Wheeler Dealers Camping Club campout at El Dorado State Park in October.

Story and photos submitted by Kathy Tippin.

Sand Springs residents Bill and Pam Doyle joined the Wheeler Dealers Camping Club at the El  Dorado State Park in Kansas this month. 

 Hosts for the October campout were Bartlesville members Clarence and Karla Hill and Gary and Charlotte Piersall. The campout had an Oktoberfest theme. Fifteen couples from Ponca City, Norman, Sand Springs, Wichita and Bartlesville pulled into the campground including three new couples, Bill and Pam Doyle, Sand Springs; Mark and Donna Metevia, Norman; and Larry and Elaine Stevens, Bartlesville. Also joining was Charlotte Piersall’s brother from Wichita. 

Some members arrived on Wednesday with the majority arriving on Thursday and the rest on Friday.  Thursday evening the group feasted on Mexican food served pot luck style with more than enough food for everyone from tamales and enchiladas to taco’s and queso.

Friday morning some of the Wheeler Dealers visited the Kansas Oil Museum in El Dorado while others participated in making gnomes. The Kansas Oil Museum is one of the state’s largest museums focusing on the history of the early 20th century oil industry. The history of Butler County KS is preserved from the earliest days of Native American tribes and pioneers, to small-town and ranch life. The group enjoyed exhibits both inside and outside.

Gnomes were the craft project for others organized by Karla Hill and Charlotte Piersall. A Styrofoam cone wound with yarn placed on top of a wine bottle formed the hat with a beard of fur placed below covering the bottle topped off with a small wood nose.  Inside each gnome was placed a string of lights that when turned on shines through the beard making a festive fall German style gnome.

Friday afternoon members challenged each other with games of Corn Hole and Horse Shoes. Saturday evening prizes were awarded to Ellen Cobb, Women’s Corn Hole champion and Joe Brown, Men’s Corn Hole Champion.          

Friday evening the Hills and Piersalls continued with the Oktoberfest theme with a German Oktoberfeast preceded by sampling of various German beers. On the menu were various sausages grilled by Gary Piersall. Also featured were German potato salad, red cabbage, and a cucumber salad. Members enjoyed sitting around the campfire that evening getting to know the newer members.

Saturday Wheeler Dealers spent the day in nearby Wichita. First stop was the Nifty Nut House, established in 1937. Known for its vast assortment of nuts and candies, members shopped for various specialty nuts and candies to take home. From there some of the members ate lunch in Wichita’s Old Town and met up with the rest of the group at the Old Cowtown Museum. There they toured this version of early day Wichita from 1865-1880 including houses to churches to various businesses. The 54 historic and recreated buildings tell the story of Wichita’s early days. Wheeler Dealer member Nancy Murdock Shepard enjoyed reading about her relative Marshall M. Murdock, the founder and editor of the Wichita Eagle in the Wichita City Eagle Print Shop.

Saturday night each couple prepared a soup, salad or dessert to be served to the group pot luck style.  This was followed by three tables playing Mexican Train. 

Sunday morning following a potluck breakfast, the business meeting was held with Lowry Blakeburn, president, presiding. Joe Brown told about the upcoming November Wheeler Dealers campout at Wa Sha She, Hulah Lake’s campground hosted by Joe and Pat Brown and Lowry and Rebecca Blakeburn. The group will eat at Buck’s Steakhouse in Sedan, KS Friday night. The campout theme will be Oklahoma Thanksgiving with a Saturday night pot luck dinner featuring various traditional Thanksgiving dinner foods.

Wheeler Dealers monthly campouts usually are held weekends from March to August with a lunch or breakfast gathering in February and a special Christmas Party in December. Members can make their own reservations at many of the Corps lakes through recreation.gov, the Corps of Engineers reservation service. 

Current members are from Bartlesville, Ponca City, Sand Springs and Norman. However, anyone from northern Oklahoma or southern Kansas is invited to join.

Persons interested in joining or knowing more about the Wheeler Dealers Camping Club should contact Lowry, president, at 580-304-5445 in Ponca City or Joe, secretary, at 918-977-0805 in Bartlesville.

Senate approves bill to enable Oklahoma to import lower cost prescription drugs from Canada

OKLAHOMA CITY – A bill to help Oklahomans strapped by the ever-increasing costs of prescription drugs has cleared the full Senate. State Senator Rob Standridge, R-Norman, is principal author of Senate Bill 940, creating the Prescription Drug Safety and Cost Reduction Pilot Program Act. The bill was approved on Thursday.

Standridge said the bill will begin the process for Oklahoma to create a state prescription importation program to purchase lower cost prescription drugs from Canada, saving money for consumers and taxpayers. In the last five years, the average cost of prescription drug treatment jumped by 57.8 percent, while Oklahomans’ annual income only rose 2.6 percent. Standridge said the use of Canadian prescription imports to save on drug costs has been championed by President Donald Trump.

“Americans can pay twice as much compared to what people in other countries pay for the same name brand drugs,” Standridge said. “These drugs are safe but cost much less. With one in four Oklahomans reporting they’d skipped a prescription drug because of the cost, it’s clear this relief is greatly needed.”

If the measure becomes law, SB 940 will direct the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to apply to the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to create a prescription drug importation pilot program for the state Medicaid program to import pharmaceutical drugs from one or more countries approved by the FDA. The program will import the top 20 prescription drugs in the state that have a large cost difference between those available in the U.S. compared to those in Canada. Six months after the application is submitted, licensed retail pharmacies can begin participating in the program.

“The pharmaceutical market in this country is already global. The U.S. imports more than 40 percent of its finished products and 80 percent of the active pharmaceutical ingredients used in medications, and the FDA imported drugs from other countries in response to U.S. drug shortages,” Standridge said. “This simply gives us the opportunity to take advantage of these less expensive, but equally safe and effective prescription drugs.”

SB 940 now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.

Editor’s Note: SB940 passed the Senate by a 41-4 vote. District 37 Senator Allison Ikley-Freeman, representing Sand Springs, voted in favor.

Click here to read the full bill.

Senator Rob Standridge files bills to combat domestic violence in Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY – State Senator Rob Standridge, a Republican representing the Norman district, filed four bills Monday aimed to tighten sentences for domestic violence offenders, increase accountability for their actions and further protect their victims.

Headlining the domestic violence bill package is Senate Bill 1103, which cracks down on offenders of assault and battery with intent to cause great bodily harm by strangulation or attempted strangulation. According to the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention, strangulation victims are 750 percent more likely to be killed than victims who have never been strangled.

SB 1103 increases the penalties associated with strangulation or attempted strangulation by removing the mandatory minimum sentence of one year for a person found to have committed these crimes and increases the maximum term of imprisonment to 10 years in the custody of the Department of Corrections (DOC). Additionally, the measure increases the maximum fine from $3,000 to $5,000. Similarly, SB 1103 removes the minimum sentence of 3 years for a second offense, but increases the maximum sentence from 10 to 20 years of imprisonment.

“Strangulation is a gateway offense that can lead to grim outcomes for victims,” Standridge said. “National research says women who are the victims of homicide or attempted homicide are far more likely to have a history of being strangled, compared to abused women with no history of strangulation. There is no ‘pass’ when it comes to strangulation and I’m working to ensure we hold offenders accountable.”  

Standridge paired the strangulation bill with three additional domestic violence bills to further protect victims and increase the penalty associated with domestic assault and battery.

SB 1105 adds domestic assault and battery that results in great bodily injury to the list of 85 percent crimes, meaning a person convicted of this offense must serve 85 percent of his or her sentence before receiving consideration for parole. Additionally, the measure removes a provision requiring a person convicted on this charge to be sentenced up to one year in a county jail. A person convicted of this crime shall be sentenced up to 10 years in prison. Finally, SB 1105 defines domestic assault and battery that results in great bodily injury to the victim as a violent crime.

SB 1104 adds the crime of domestic assault and battery against a known pregnant woman resulting in miscarriage to the list of 85 percent crimes.

SB 1102 authorizes district attorneys to refer persons accused of domestic abuse or assault to a deferred prosecution program. This would require the accused to attend a batterers’ intervention program certified by the Attorney General or other certified treatment program as currently required for defendants with suspended or deferred sentences for the same or similar offenses. The accused would be required to participate in the counseling or treatment for a minimum of 90 days and could not reside with or be in contact with the victim or his or her family.

“We must send the message that domestic assault will not be tolerated in Oklahoma,” Standridge said. “We must do a better job to protect the victims of these crimes and hold those who commit them accountable for their actions.”

Standridge will host an open town hall meeting on Dec. 9 to address domestic violence issues in Oklahoma, discuss his proposed legislation and give an opportunity for attendees to ask questions about the upcoming legislative session. The town hall will be hosted from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Redbud Room at the Norman Public Library, 103 W. Acres Street.

ODOC Adult Basic Education receives CareerTech's 2019 Outstanding Overall Achievement Award

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Jeana Ely, Oklahoma Department of Corrections correctional school superintendent, poses for a photo with, at left, Clint Castleberry, acting director of Populations, Programs and Strategic Planning, and Nate Brown, at right, ODOC Programs Director, on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019, at the Oklahoma Adult Basic Education State Conference at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Norman.

Oklahoma Department of Corrections’ Adult Basic Education program has received CareerTech’s Outstanding Overall Achievement award.

The agency received the award Thursday during the annual Oklahoma ABE State Conference at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Norman. ODOC received the award out of the 119 ABE sites in Oklahoma.

Accepting the award for ODOC was Jeana Ely, correctional school superintendent.

The ODOC Education Program serves inmates at 24 facilities in the state, and helped 5,736 student inmates in 2019.

Over 58 percent of students improved overall skills after assistance from the program as shown in reports to the US. Department of Education. That is well above the state’s target of 42 percent for measurable skill gains.

Additionally, 949 inmates received their high-school equivalency in 2019.

Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Educations funding helps support the ABE program at ODOC and other sites through federal ABE grant and state funding.

Through the program, inmates can earn an education while they’re incarcerated to ease their transition to life on the outside once they release, helping them avoid returning to prison.

Senate Democratic Leader John Sparks Issues Comments On Governor’s Call for a Special Session to Spend “Extra Money”

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OKLAHOMA CITY – Senate Democratic Leader John Sparks (D-Norman) issued the following comments in response to the report that Governor Fallin is considering calling the Legislature into special session to use “extra money” to fund a pay raise for public school teachers:

“Once again, Governor Fallin and the Republican majority in the legislature are showing how bad they are at public finance and how good they are at election year political pandering – because that is all this proposal for a special session on teacher pay raises is.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: a special session to figure out what to do with the $140.8 million in ‘extra money’ the Governor’s finance team found back in June is unlawful and unnecessary. We don’t need to spend taxpayer dollars we don’t have to pass a new law to determine how and where this money should be spent. We passed a budget in May of 2015 which directed how this money was to be spent. The Governor’s finance team needs to simply re-allocate this money back to the agencies to which it was originally appropriated.

“In addition, I find the timing of this call for special session curious. To suddenly want to come to the table to pass a teacher pay raise plan in the midst of a heated campaign season where educators and parents are not only concerned but motivated and active wreaks of political pandering.

“Finally, the idea that using one-time ‘extra money’ to fund an ongoing expense like teacher salaries is fiscally unsound. To use one time money for a recurring budget item is short sighted at best and sets our teachers up for serious disappointment in the future when there isn’t more one-time money to keep funding their new, higher salaries.

“We need to address the issue of teacher pay and our ongoing teacher shortage. But, this isn’t the way to do it. If the Republicans in the legislature really cared about teachers, they would have passed a pay raise bill during the regular session. But to spend $30,000 a week for a special session to address this issue now using one-time funds is unlawful, unnecessary, inappropriate, and pandering fiscal mismanagement.”

Full Senate approves proposed state question on repealing Oklahoma’s Blaine Amendment

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The full Senate has approved legislation allowing Oklahoma voters to decide whether to repeal Article II, Section 5 of the Oklahoma Constitution, known as the “Blaine Amendment,” forbidding the use of public monies or property for sectarian or religious purposes. It was cited by the majority of the Oklahoma Supreme Courting in a 2015 ruling that forced the removal of a Ten Commandments Monument from the grounds of the Capitol. 

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 Sen. Rob Standridge, R-Norman, is the author of Senate Joint Resolution 72.

“The Blaine amendment represented an effort to suppress Catholic education while allowing state funding of protestant-oriented schools. Many Oklahomans felt the amendment never should have applied to the Ten Commandments Monument case, and have expressed dismay such a discriminatory provision was still in our constitution,” Standridge said. “This measure will give the final say to the citizens of our state.”

Senate President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman praised Monday’s 39 to 5 vote in favor of SJR 72.

“The court’s recent interpretation of the Blaine Amendment could have much broader implications, including threatening millions of dollars in state aid to hospitals, child care centers and schools catering to children with special needs. It’s time for the Blaine Amendment to be repealed from the Oklahoma Constitution. I appreciate Senator Standridge’s efforts to secure passage of SJR72 to allow Oklahomans to weigh in on this important issue.” 

SJR 72 now moves to the House of Representatives for further consideration.