Tonkawa Historical Society is Restoring the Tonkawa Santa Fe Train Depot

By ELIZABETH GOLLIVER

Reporter

 

Do you like history? Do you want to be involved in restoring a historic building? Do want community service hours for your club, organization or class? Get your working clothes on and your paint brush in hand because you can do just that right here in Tonkawa.

The Tonkawa Historical Society is restoring the Tonkawa Santa Fe train depot and is asking for volunteers to help with the restoration. Volunteers can help in numerous ways. They can help by cleaning up the grounds around the building, painting, providing refreshments to workers on work days, sawing, hammering and providing assistance to professional workers.

The depot was built in 1899 as a 24 by 80 foot standard depot. Wheat, scrap metal, oilfield supplies and other merchandise were hauled by train cars to the depot. An average of 800 railroad car loads of oilfield supplies were shipped in and 120 tank cars of crude oil was shipped out each month. The freight room addition on the north end was built in 1922 because of the increase in freight coming in and out of the depot.

In the 1930s the depot became an integral part of the Three Sands Oil Field south of town. The depot shipped oil field supplies to the oil field and oil was shipped out of the depot. The depot also played an important part in the Prisoner of War camp north of town. The German prisoners were brought to and from town by train. The train brought the prisoners to town to work on local farms and ranches and at the alfalfa dryer plant in town. In 1946 the waiting room addition on the south end of the depot was added to the depot for the increase in passengers.

Through the years the depot served as a bus station, a telegraph station and a museum. Now the depot sits vacant and is threatened by deterioration. It has been placed on the 2008 Most Endangered Historical Places List by Preservation Oklahoma, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting, promoting and preserving Oklahoma’s historical and cultural landmarks.

The Santa Fe Depot Renovation Project Committee wants to make the depot an attraction to the community. Some ideas that the committee is considering are a community room, a youth education center, a dining establishment, a farmer’s market or an office space while maintaining the atmosphere of the train station.

Phase 1 of the renovation project is to preserve the structure by repairing the roof and giving the outside of the building a fresh coat of paint. It will be painted cotton yellow with dark green trim since that is the original color of the Santa Fe depot. Phase 1 is estimated to cost $50,000. The committee has already raised $20,000 through local businesses and private donors.

It is hard to imagine that before mass communications and the automobile, the only way to get mail, livestock and supplies to town is to have them arrive and leave via the town depot. The depot now stands as a silent reminder of an era gone by. There is still an aura about the train whistle that lingers in the memories of those who remember the good old days of the depot.

Those interested in volunteering with the project may contact the Tonkawa Historical Society, P.O. Box 27 Tonkawa, OK 74653 or the Tonkawa Chamber of Commerce at 580-628-2220.

Money woes: Oklahoma State Will Finish Football Stadium, Postpone Rest of ‘Athletic Village’

By SEAN HARKIN

August 19, 2008

Source: Daily O’Collegian, Oklahoma State U.

Construction at Boone Pickens Stadium is on schedule and operating within budget, but all other projects planned for Oklahoma State University’s Athletic Village must wait until the BP Capital hedge fund grows, Athletic Director Mike Holder said.

“Our goal is for the new facilities to have a positive impact on the recruitment of prospective students,” Holder said. “These facilities are not just about the athletic department but the entire university. We are building toward a better future for everyone associated with OSU and Stillwater.”

Holder said Cowboy Athletics, Inc. has acquired all but two of the structures contained in the proposed site of the Athletic Village.

The next phase of the construction schedule calls for the demolition of streets, movement of utilities and grading of the site south of McElroy Road, Holder said.

He said these preparations are for future construction of the grass practice fields for football and the Sherman Smith Training Center.

Cowboy Athletics, Inc. initially invested $202 million at BP Capital in early 2005, and the investment needs to surpass $400 million for construction of the Sherman Smith Training Center to begin, Holder said.

Holder said the mission is to attract the brightest young people, give them a quality education and convince them that the state of Oklahoma is where they should live and pursue their dreams.

Architect Gary Sparks of Sparks Sports said the next projects that construction crews will complete are the outdoor fields and the indoor practice facility.

Sparks said he is unaware of any similar projects like OSU’s Athletic Village in the country.

“When all of that is completed, I think it’s going to be spectacular,” Sparks said.

Psychology junior Leah Roper said she is eagerly awaiting the village’s completion.

Holder said Boone Pickens has given OSU an opportunity to create a brighter future. With Pickens’ generosity comes a tremendous responsibility, he said.

Holder said a lot of work still needs to be done and many more donors need to step forward to support the cause.

“This is the time for everyone to ask the question ‘What can I do to make a difference in the future of my university?’ and there is no better place to create positive energy than Saturday afternoons in Boone Pickens Stadium cheering for the Cowboys,” Holder said. “Everyone needs to put on their game face, saddle up and ride for the OSU brand.”

Oklahoma State works on $710M sports Xanadu

April 30, 2008

By JUSTIN SMITH

 

Daily O’Collegian, Oklahoma State U.

For Oklahoma State University, getting the new Athletic Village from dirt mounds to sports complexes is a matter of time and money.

The fund invested into BP Capital needs be worth at least $400 million before beginning more complexes in the Athletic Village.

“At the end of 2007, it was [worth] $330 million,” said Mike Holder, OSU athletic director and president of Cowboy Athletics Inc.

Cowboy Athletics Inc., a nonprofit organization, holds the investment fund started with the $165 million donation that oil tycoon and OSU alumnus Boone Pickens made to the athletic department in January 2006.

Bank of America will credit up to 60 percent of the net asset value of the fund, Holder said.

“We’ve got about $240 million worth of stuff on the books right now,” he said. “We haven’t spent all of it, but by the time we finish the west end zone, finish buying all the properties for the Athletic Village and reconstruct Hall of Fame Avenue, we will have spent $240 million.”

At the fund’s target return rate of 20 percent annually, it will reach $400 million before May 2009, Holder said.

Further increases to $710 million will be needed before the village can be completed, which he expects to happen by March 2012, he said.

The Sherman E. Smith Indoor Practice Facility is the next major structure to be started in the Athletic Village and will cost $40 million, said John Houck, general manager of Cowboys Athletic Facilities LLC.

OSU alumnus Smith donated $20 million toward the practice complex in January 2007.

It features a playing field, which can be a football field, a soccer field, two baseball or softball infields or a track with infield, according to plans and renderings from Sparks Architecture of Tulsa.

The architecture firm hasn’t released any figures on the size of the indoor practice complex.

According to Master Plan maps and renderings, the complex appears to be about half the square footage of Boone Pickens Stadium.

Plans for the other buildings that will replace about 330 residential properties are still in the works, Houck said.

A schedule for the next year is in place, he said.

The general admission seating on the west end of Boone Pickens Stadium should be finished in late August, and the suites and other accommodations should be wrapped up in about a year, Houck said.

Landscaping issues in the Athletic Village, including regrading the dirt south of McElroy Road and managing the floodplain and the creek that runs under the road will also start in the fall, he said.

Other developments in the village include a soccer/track complex, tennis complex and a baseball stadium and practice field, he said.

The equestrian center, which will be built on Highway 51 about one-half mile west of Western Road, will also be a part of athletic development, he said.

“I haven’t even gotten to initial developments yet of those last projects,” Houck said. “I’ll be busy for the next 10 years, probably.”

Hall of Fame Avenue is scheduled to reopen in August and will be for the city’s use, he said.

The city and the university had some issues over the ownership of Hall of Fame Avenue north of the stadium after the university closed it in February 2005.

The matter was resolved in an agreement on July 28, 2006, between city and university officials where the university created an easement for the city to maintain control of Hall of Fame Avenue, according to a university press release.

Now that only a few residents remain in the area, the attention has turned to making the Athletic Village a reality.

All the coaches were optimistic about the Athletic Village.

Coach Mike Gundy said he thinks that when Boone Pickens Stadium is completed a lot more recruits will be attracted to the program.

“Young people want something that’s new and shiny,” Gundy said. “They want to feel like that you have everything that they can take advantage of in order to make themselves a better player.”

The national media coverage that Pickens received after his donation acted as a marketing tool to attract attention to what was happening with the Athletic Village, regardless of whether it was meant to, Gundy said.

“I think everybody in the country now is aware of Oklahoma State University,” Gundy said. “That’s just a fact, the way it is. People know who Donald Trump is; people know who Boone Pickens is.”

Baseball coach Frank Anderson is in his fifth year as coach of the Cowboys and doesn’t know all the details of the planned baseball stadium.

“We don’t know exactly the timetable or anything like that, but no, we’re excited about what they’re doing and what Coach Holder and the athletic department have done to this point and what’s going to be done in the future,” Anderson said.

The Cowboys’ stadium, Allie P. Reynolds Stadium, opened in 1982.

Anderson said the members of the athletic programs got to meet with Sparks Architecture in 2006 to describe what they would like to have at the indoor practice complex.

“I think they’ve taking a little bit of everybody’s (suggestions) and I think it will be just a tremendous facility,” Anderson said.

He said some details about the new baseball stadium, such as offices and workout rooms, have been talked about but nothing has been set.

Softball coach Rich Wieligman said the indoor practice complex will help the team during cold and rainy weather.

“That’s gonna be huge because we do have inclement weather in January and February,” Wieligman said. “And, with the way the size of this building is going to be, we’re gonna be able to have a full-field practice.”

The height of the building is also impressive, he said.

“We won’t be able to hit the ceiling with a fly ball,” he said.

Wieligman, in his second year at OSU, said Cowgirl Stadium is one of the newest sports venues on campus, completed in 2004, so other sports will be focused on first.

He said he thinks the village will set a precedent.

“When you talk about an athletic village, of putting all the sports in one area and the way it’s gonna be developed, I think it’s gonna be beautiful,” he said. “I don’t think it’s like that [at any other college].”

Equestrian coach Larry Sanchez said the new equestrian center’s location will provide more visibility to the program.

The Animal Science Arena has an indoor arena that seats 1,000 and an outdoor arena.

Sanchez said the new center will have double the seating area and a covered outdoor arena.

The athletic improvements will open up many doors for OSU sports, he said.

“In order to compete nationally like Coach Holder is wanting to do in all our sports, we definitely needed to address some facility concerns,” Sanchez said. “And so, I see it as a being a very big positive to the opportunities that all sports are going to have to compete nationally.”

Outdoor Risk Includes Snake Bites

 OKLAHOMA CITY — With the arrival of warm weather, people are starting to spend more time outdoors. This increases their risk of being bitten by a variety of creatures, including snakes.

 Last week, the Oklahoma Poison Control Center received its first call of the season for a snake bite. Nationwide, poison centers receive about 7,000 calls each year for snake bites.

Oklahoma has three varieties of poisonous snakes — copperhead, cottonmouth (also known as a water moccasin) and rattlesnake. Poisonous snakes typically have slitted eyes, a triangular-shaped head and a facial pit on each side of the head between the eye and the nostril.

 ”Most pit viper bites are painful within five minutes and swelling begins within 30 minutes,” said Scott Schaeffer, assistant managing director for the Oklahoma Poison Control Center, adding that common symptoms of a snakebite include bruising, blurred vision, dizziness, excessive sweating, fainting, localized pain and burning, nausea and vomiting, numbness and tingling, a rapid heart rate, swelling, thirst, tissue damage and weakness.

 The Oklahoma Poison Control Center offers the following tips to help prevent snakebite:

 * DO NOT handle or play with snakes. Even dead snakes can bite reflexively.

 * Keep your landscape or campsite well manicured.

 * Wear boots and long pants in areas known to have snakes and avoid walking alone in these areas.

 * Avoid swimming in water where poisonous snakes might be found.

 * Watch where you step and place your hands when outdoors. Do not put your hands or feet into places you cannot see. Carry a flashlight, and wear shoes when walking outside after dark.

 * Stay on open ground; walk on clear paths and avoid sleeping on the ground. Place your sleeping bag away from caves and rock piles.

 Snakebite Treatments

 The following first-aid tips are recommended in the treatment of snakebites:

 * Keep calm and limit the victim’s physical activity. Keep the bitten area at heart level.

 * Remove jewelry or constricting clothing before swelling begins. Remove shoes if bitten on the leg.

 * Clean the wound with soap and water, if possible.

 * Go to a hospital as soon as possible.

 When it comes to a snake bite, there are things that should not be done. A list of the “do not do” follows:

 Do and Don’ts

 * Do not waste time capturing or killing the snake. Knowing the type of snake is helpful but not necessary.

 * Do not cut into the bite area or attempt to suck out the venom: this may cause further damage.

 * Do not apply a tourniquet or other restrictive devices.

 * Do not pack in ice.

 * Do not give the victim a sedative or alcohol.

 * Do not use a stun gun or electric shock.

 The Oklahoma Poison Control Center operates 24 hours a day, every day. Highly trained pharmacists and nursing staff provide free confidential poison information and treatment advice to Oklahoma residents and health care professionals. The poison center is a program of the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy at OU Medical Center. For more information visit the Web site at www.oklahomapoison.org. To contact the poison center call: 1-800-222-1222. Oklahoma City residents may call 405-271-5454.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Slams Bush on Environment in University of Oklahoma Speech

04/21/2008

By ELLIS GOODWIN

Oklahoma Daily (U. Oklahoma)

(U-WIRE) OKLAHOMA CITY — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke in front of an enthusiastic capacity crowd Friday on the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center campus.

 Kennedy has dedicated much of his career to environmental causes.

“We are protecting the environment because we recognize that nature is the infrastructure of our communities,” he said. “We’ve got to start by protecting our environmental infrastructure — the air we breath, the water we drink, the wildlife, the fisheries, the public lands — the shared resources of our society.”

Kennedy currently is a senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, chief prosecuting attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper and president of the Waterkeeper Alliance.

He criticized the Bush Administration for not attacking the problems facing the environment aggressively enough.

“You can’t talk honestly about the environment in any context today without speaking critically of the current administration in the White House,” Kennedy said. “This is the worst environmental White House we have ever had in American history.”

The Bush Administration worked hard to “eviscerate” environmental law by hiring polluters and lobbyists to run almost all of the environmental government agencies, Kennedy said, and Bush has subverted the American people in order to fill the wallets of his corporate cronies.

The head of the forest service is a timber industry lobbyist, and the head of public lands until recently was a mining industry lobbyist. Even President Bush’s top environmental adviser, Phil Cooney, was at one time a lobbyist for the petroleum industry, Kennedy said.

“[Cooney's] job essentially was to lie to the American people,” he said. “He suppressed 12 major studies on global warming, that you and I the taxpayers paid for, because he felt they might threaten industry profits.” Cooney was forced to resign from the White House in 2005, but two days later he was hired by the Exxon corporation, Kennedy said.

He said he did not want his kids to grow up in a country where there were not any family farmers, and he commended Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson for going after the commercial chicken and pig farms in western Oklahoma.

“It is a catastrophic industry, and [Edmondson] is one of the few attorney generals that have been willing to take on that industry,” Kennedy said. “It’s a powerful industry with powerful friends.”

He also listed many industries that continually pollute the environment. One industry he focused on was coal burning power plants, claiming 400 U.S. plants currently are operating with illegal levels of air pollution.

“If you go to the federal EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] Web site, you will see that a single decision alone by Bush, which allows the ‘new source rule,’ kills 18,000 Americans a year,” he said. “That is three times the amount of people who died in 9/11, not just once but over and over and over.”

In order to protect our democracy and the environment, dramatic changes must be made, he said.

“We need an informed public that is able to recognize all the milestones of tyranny, and we need to have an independent and aggressive press that is willing to stand up and speak the truth,” Kennedy said. “We are not protecting the environment for the sake of the birds and the fishes — we’re protecting it because it enriches us.”

Police arrest former U. Oklahoma student for threatening fliers

04/21/2008

By BAXTER HOLMES
Oklahoma Daily (U. Oklahoma)

 (U-WIRE) NORMAN — A former OU student was arrested Sunday, two days after the university filed a restraining order against him for making threatening fliers.

Robert Lien Anderson, 38, was picked up between late Saturday night and Sunday afternoon and is being held in the Cleveland County Detention Center. Officials at the center could not release information regarding the actual time of the arrest, stating information could only be released to family members.
A warrant was issued for Anderson’s arrest Friday after he was charged with advocating unlawfulness on school grounds in the Cleveland County District Court.

OU filed a restraining order against Anderson after it was determined he was the creator of two threatening fliers.

“While we believe that it is likely this is his idea of a prank, out of an abundance of caution, we have obtained an order to keep him off the campus, and the university is prepared to deal with the situation should he attempt to come on the campus,” said Blake Rambo, spokesman for OU President David L. Boren.
Rambo added OU has “coordinated [its] efforts with other authorities.”

OU also has taken security precautions for Monday, the date mentioned in the first of Anderson’s two threatening fliers. The first flier states, “On April 21, 2008, all operations at OU Norman will cease.”
“The university is prepared to deal with the situation,” Rambo said.

According to the Norman Transcript, April 21 is a significant date for Anderson because it is his birthday, Boren’s birthday and also the anniversary of Anderson’s previous break-in to a former OU president’s office. Repeated calls made to OUPD to substantiate this information were not returned.

Anderson reportedly had sent threatening e-mails to OUPD stating, “We would like your cooperation in the transfer of power. No one needs to get hurt,” according to the Transcript.

Kay County Officials Discuss Lack of Property Appraisal

04/15/08

 

By SHARON ROWEN

News Staff Writer

 

PONCA CITY NEWS

 

NEWKIRK — Resident Pat Branch hit Kay County Commissioners with strong questions Monday concerning the property purchased from the Lloyd Gelmers family for the purpose of building a new jail.

Branch noted that the property purchased extends from Dry Road along Highway 77 to Leaming Construction and abuts her property on three sides.

 

She said she does not understand why the county purchased 55 acres when it was reported that only 10 acres was needed.

 

During a July 2007 Jail Trust Authority meeting, AIP architect Ben Graves stated that he “believed the hope would be to find a site with 10 acres and maybe a pond and build a new jail.”

 

Branch questioned why the county did not appraise the property purchased. “Research has shown that land in this area typically sells for between $759 and $1,005 per acre,” said Branch.

 

“The county has agreed to pay in excess of $1,800 per acre for the property with no documentation to validate this value.”

 

Branch said that the contract between the county and the Gelmers states that the county will pay all of the sellers’ real estate closing expenses such as abstracting, doc stamps, closing fees and real estate commission to Bilger Real Estate at a cost of $6,000.

 

“Most of the costs listed are not normally paid by the buyer, but by the seller,” said Branch.

“I do not understand why we as taxpayers are paying costs that should be paid by the seller. The true cost of the 55 acres is still unknown as far as I can see. Commissioner Laile Wilson signed this contract and I feel we, as taxpayers, should ask for accountability from our commissioners.”

 

Branch also raised the question of the environmental impact of building the facility and whether or not it would affect the water quality.

 

“I have been asked to seek advice from the Kaw Nation Environmental Department on the potential environmental impact this project may have on my property,” she said.

 

“I have also been asked to seek advice on the issue of “regulatory taking of land” and “inverse condemnation.”

 

Commissioner Dee Schieber said that no matter where a jail is built someone will be unhappy.

“I feel sorry for you Mrs. Branch I really do,” he said. “That is kind of getting to be like an industrial park out there. I don’t think there would be any environmental issues.”

 

Branch asked if an environmental study has been done to which Schieber replied “no.” “Everything will be built and constructed following Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality regulations,” he said.

Branch then asked what happens if a tax to build a jail doesn’t pass, and if the land purchased would be put on property taxes.

 

Contract Negotiations

Commissioner Steve Austin said the county will pay the bill. He said that the contract was negotiated between the Gelmers family and the Jail Trust Authority.

 

Branch asked authority chairman Bruce Robinson to address her concerns.

 

Robinson said that the authority looked at 10 acres for $150,000, which would have been their first choice. “We immediately ruled that one out as not a suitable site,” said Robinson. We looked at others but ultimately your site made the best sense to us.”

 

Branch asked if any of the properties looked at were appraised and Robinson said “no.” “You paid the asking price,” said Branch. “Yep,” replied Robinson.

 

“I’m asking $300,000 for my home will you purchase it,” asked Branch. “That’s my asking price. Your buying this piece of property with no appraisal. You did not have this 55 acres appraised. Why are we paying all of the real estate cost? Does anyone know that,” she asked.

 

Commissioner Wilson said that it was a condition in the contract agreed to by the authority.

 

Branch asked why the county is closing on the deal before the election and why a deal breaker is not in the contract.

 

The closing date is set for April 30.

 

Wilson said the property belongs to the county. “As far as appraisals go,” said Wilson. “I guess you could appraise anything. If I want the property I’m going to give you your asking price.”

 

Wilson said he knows what Branch is going through. He said that school property near his home is going to be sold. “I don’t know what is going to go in, trailer houses or what,” said Wilson.

 

“Well you were lucky enough to be told, I wasn’t,” she replied.

Branch said that ultimately the tax payers will pay for the property. She said if she were asked to use her brother’s money to purchase him a home or land, she would have it appraised because it is his money being used.

New Oklahoma State Basketball Coach

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) – Travis Ford was introduced as the new Oklahoma State basketball coach today and says he took the job to lead OSU to a national title. Ford comes to the Cowboys from Massachusetts where his teams were 62-35 in three seasons including 25-11 last season and reached the final of the NIT before losing to Ohio State.

House Passes Term Limit Bill

04/17/08

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Voters would decide whether to place a 12-year limit on statewide officeholders under legislation passed by the Oklahoma House.

The House voted 56-44 for the legislation on Thursday and sent it to the Senate for consideration.

Currently, state lawmakers are limited to 12 years in office and the governor is limited to two 4-year terms.

The measure by Rep. Trebor Worthen of Oklahoma City proposes 12-year limits on all other statewide elected officials, like the lieutenant governor and the attorney general.

The resolution would appear on the ballot in November. If approved, it would apply to officeholders first elected in the 2010 election.

State Regents Conduct Tuition Hearing

04/17/08

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The president of Southwestern Oklahoma State University says large tuition and fee increases are being considered by state colleges and universities.

John Hays told state higher education regents that the schools have no other option because the Legislature isn’t expected to provide more money in the upcoming budget.

Hays says school officials will try to keep tuition increases below 10%.

The regents asked lawmakers for an increase of $145 million for higher education but the Legislature has 114 million fewer dollars to spend than last year. A budget agreement among legislative leaders and the governor calls for a standstill budget during the coming year.