Submitted to the Central Oklahoma REACT Team 6023 Board of Directors:
At 17:41 pm, I was driving south on S. May, crossing underneath the I-240 bridge, when I saw flashing lights ahead of me. I noticed that EMSA and fire were on the scene of an injury accident, but OCPD had not arrived yet. The left hand lane going south bound on S. May was blocked by the accident (I was in the right-hand lane), so I signaled, moved over to the left-hand lane, turned on my emergency strobes....and just sat there. My main purpose was to block the left-hand lane just before the accident scene so that motorists would have plenty of time to move over to the right-hand lane. OCPD arrived at the scene, but they were mainly concerned about working the accident, so I stayed stationary, assisting in traffic control.
As I watched in my rear-view mirror, I noticed that drivers were indeed heeding my emergency lights and moving over at a safe distance behind me. I never had to get out of my truck. Once the wrecker arrived, he loaded the damaged vehicle and pulled off. Once he pulled off, the officer in front of me turned off his overheads, so I turned off my strobes and left the scene at 18:13 pm.
www.okcentralreact.org
CERT Training
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
It's FRIDAY!!!!
I am so glad it is Friday because this has indeed been a long week.
We had an awesome time Wednesday night at Trunk or Treat. This is the third year in a row that we have held Trunk or Treat at our church (instead of a Fall Festival). It seems as if we get more participation from the adults at our church when we do trunk or treat. The Fall festival is ok, but it takes so much more planning and so many more bodies to make it work…..and right now, we are short on bodies. We did have a great turnout for trunk or treat and I saw many people there I had not seen in a long time. The kids had lots of fun and there were no incidents.
Yesterday was a very tough day for me. One of our dispatchers had taken off Monday and Tuesday to care for his sick wife……well, he made it back to work Wednesday, but came to work sick on Thursday (he caught what his wife had). I had not planned on working his radio yesterday, but I had no choice. The main downfall to working his radio is I also have to answer our main dispatch phone line. I am not much for talking on the phone anyway, so this is absolutely no fun for me. It rang off the wall yesterday and my radio was extremely busy. To top it off, we were shorthanded, so I had to work through my lunch hour. I did not receive any kind of relief until I left at 4 pm.
Last night was the graduation of the current Citizen’s Fire Academy class (class #15). The CFAAA provided cupcakes and punch for the graduation. While the fire chief handed out the certificates, I took pictures of each graduate as they accepted their certificates. Graduation night is always fun because the class is excited about graduating and looking forward to continuing on with the CFAAA. It’s our night, as an organization, to recruit new members from the graduating class. I had the opportunity to get in front of the class and make a final presentation to the students, urging them to join and continue on with their learning. There were 25 participants in the class and we signed up at least 19 of them, so that was good for us….and them. Many of them were excited about joining the alumni association because they had enjoyed the class so much. We also got the privilege of seeing the fire department's mascot..."Sparky."
T
Today is a new day. Fortunately, the phones aren’t as busy as they were yesterday and neither is the radio. This gives me time to do some relaxing because I am having to work through my lunch again. This evening, we are taking the students of our church to Judgment House at Wilmont Place Baptist Church. We have taken our students to this for the past several years and it has been great every year. It’s a Christian alternative to Halloween. The students go through several different rooms with several different scenarios and the actors in these scenarios have to make a decision…..do they choose Christ and choose heaven, or do they choose to deny Christ and go to hell. We actually go through a room that is designated as hell…..which is creepy, dark and scary and we go through a room designated as heaven, which is very bright and cheery. It’s a great eye-opener for the students.
After Judgment House, we are having a lock-in at the church, so it will not only be a long day today, but a short night tonight. I do plan on getting some sleep tonight.
http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/OCFD_Citizens_Fire_Academy_Alumni_Association/home
We had an awesome time Wednesday night at Trunk or Treat. This is the third year in a row that we have held Trunk or Treat at our church (instead of a Fall Festival). It seems as if we get more participation from the adults at our church when we do trunk or treat. The Fall festival is ok, but it takes so much more planning and so many more bodies to make it work…..and right now, we are short on bodies. We did have a great turnout for trunk or treat and I saw many people there I had not seen in a long time. The kids had lots of fun and there were no incidents.
Yesterday was a very tough day for me. One of our dispatchers had taken off Monday and Tuesday to care for his sick wife……well, he made it back to work Wednesday, but came to work sick on Thursday (he caught what his wife had). I had not planned on working his radio yesterday, but I had no choice. The main downfall to working his radio is I also have to answer our main dispatch phone line. I am not much for talking on the phone anyway, so this is absolutely no fun for me. It rang off the wall yesterday and my radio was extremely busy. To top it off, we were shorthanded, so I had to work through my lunch hour. I did not receive any kind of relief until I left at 4 pm.
Last night was the graduation of the current Citizen’s Fire Academy class (class #15). The CFAAA provided cupcakes and punch for the graduation. While the fire chief handed out the certificates, I took pictures of each graduate as they accepted their certificates. Graduation night is always fun because the class is excited about graduating and looking forward to continuing on with the CFAAA. It’s our night, as an organization, to recruit new members from the graduating class. I had the opportunity to get in front of the class and make a final presentation to the students, urging them to join and continue on with their learning. There were 25 participants in the class and we signed up at least 19 of them, so that was good for us….and them. Many of them were excited about joining the alumni association because they had enjoyed the class so much. We also got the privilege of seeing the fire department's mascot..."Sparky."
T
Today is a new day. Fortunately, the phones aren’t as busy as they were yesterday and neither is the radio. This gives me time to do some relaxing because I am having to work through my lunch again. This evening, we are taking the students of our church to Judgment House at Wilmont Place Baptist Church. We have taken our students to this for the past several years and it has been great every year. It’s a Christian alternative to Halloween. The students go through several different rooms with several different scenarios and the actors in these scenarios have to make a decision…..do they choose Christ and choose heaven, or do they choose to deny Christ and go to hell. We actually go through a room that is designated as hell…..which is creepy, dark and scary and we go through a room designated as heaven, which is very bright and cheery. It’s a great eye-opener for the students.
After Judgment House, we are having a lock-in at the church, so it will not only be a long day today, but a short night tonight. I do plan on getting some sleep tonight.
http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/OCFD_Citizens_Fire_Academy_Alumni_Association/home
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
I Hate Politics...But They are Part of life..
Although I am not a political person, I am really interested in this year’s election.
I am so happy that our current governor is finally having to step down because of term limits. He was very instrumental in bringing in the “education” lottery, which has done NOTHING to help or improve our schools. He will always be known as the lottery governor, a title I would not want to have. He seems satisfied with the way he has destroyed our families. So many of them now have gambling addictions and can’t support their families, thanks to all the promises he made during the election….that people would get rich and support the school system if they played the lottery. Now, the churches and other support groups are having to pick up the pieces and counsel those that got addicted to the lottery (gambling).
We have a very qualified candidate who will make an excellent governor and get this state back to its morals. Mary Fallin has proven that she has what it takes to move this state forward….and she is a very conservative, Christian lady (and a republican)who puts faith and family first. That’s something we have not had in the governor’s office in eight years. The other candidate, Jari Askins, has been the Lt. Governor for the last several years, but I have not seen any accomplishments on her behalf. As a matter of fact, she did very little as Lt. Governor…..and now she wants to lead us? I don’t think so. Another reason not to vote for her is the fact the our current governor, his wife and Barry Switzer, support her. That alone gets my NO vote.
I am also supporting James Lankford, who is running for the 5th Congressional Seat. He has come a long way since he first beat out his fellow republicans. Now, he is the republican front-runner for that seat and is facing a democrat who nobody has heard of and knows nothing about. James has had many commercials and has no problem telling the media what he believes in. With him as our congressman and Fallin as our governor, maybe we can get our state back on the right track of Christian morals. I know he is a great leader because he lead Falls Creek for many years and has great leadership abilities.
Another thing we have on the ballot are state questions. One question I am really interested in is SQ 751. A yes vote makes English the common language of Oklahoma. I hope it passes. If these immigrants want to reside in Oklahoma, then they need to learn English. If I moved to their country, I would have to learn their language, so it is high time they learn ours. SQ 756…a yes vote allows OK residents to opt-out of Federal Health Care, otherwise known as Obama-Care. I am definitely voting yes on this one. I want nothing that Obama offers. SQ 744 is the education question. A yes vote would mandate the state spend up to $1 billion more per year on common education to meet a regional average. This would be done by either raising taxes at least 32% statewide, or cutting all other state agencies and services by at least 20% each. NO NO NO!!! The governor screwed everything up with the education lottery by promising more money for the schools and it did not happen. I refuse to allow them to raise my taxes and I refuse to allow them to cut other state agencies to fund something else that we won’t be able to control. We do not need this.
As far as the other questions are concerned, I will just have to read up on them because I am not sure how to vote on them yet. Unfortunately, this state has been run by democrats for the past 8 years and everything is all screwed up. The morals are way down and will continue to do so until we get some good, Christian, Republican, leaders in place.
http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/OCFD_Citizens_Fire_Academy_Alumni_Association/home
I am so happy that our current governor is finally having to step down because of term limits. He was very instrumental in bringing in the “education” lottery, which has done NOTHING to help or improve our schools. He will always be known as the lottery governor, a title I would not want to have. He seems satisfied with the way he has destroyed our families. So many of them now have gambling addictions and can’t support their families, thanks to all the promises he made during the election….that people would get rich and support the school system if they played the lottery. Now, the churches and other support groups are having to pick up the pieces and counsel those that got addicted to the lottery (gambling).
We have a very qualified candidate who will make an excellent governor and get this state back to its morals. Mary Fallin has proven that she has what it takes to move this state forward….and she is a very conservative, Christian lady (and a republican)who puts faith and family first. That’s something we have not had in the governor’s office in eight years. The other candidate, Jari Askins, has been the Lt. Governor for the last several years, but I have not seen any accomplishments on her behalf. As a matter of fact, she did very little as Lt. Governor…..and now she wants to lead us? I don’t think so. Another reason not to vote for her is the fact the our current governor, his wife and Barry Switzer, support her. That alone gets my NO vote.
I am also supporting James Lankford, who is running for the 5th Congressional Seat. He has come a long way since he first beat out his fellow republicans. Now, he is the republican front-runner for that seat and is facing a democrat who nobody has heard of and knows nothing about. James has had many commercials and has no problem telling the media what he believes in. With him as our congressman and Fallin as our governor, maybe we can get our state back on the right track of Christian morals. I know he is a great leader because he lead Falls Creek for many years and has great leadership abilities.
Another thing we have on the ballot are state questions. One question I am really interested in is SQ 751. A yes vote makes English the common language of Oklahoma. I hope it passes. If these immigrants want to reside in Oklahoma, then they need to learn English. If I moved to their country, I would have to learn their language, so it is high time they learn ours. SQ 756…a yes vote allows OK residents to opt-out of Federal Health Care, otherwise known as Obama-Care. I am definitely voting yes on this one. I want nothing that Obama offers. SQ 744 is the education question. A yes vote would mandate the state spend up to $1 billion more per year on common education to meet a regional average. This would be done by either raising taxes at least 32% statewide, or cutting all other state agencies and services by at least 20% each. NO NO NO!!! The governor screwed everything up with the education lottery by promising more money for the schools and it did not happen. I refuse to allow them to raise my taxes and I refuse to allow them to cut other state agencies to fund something else that we won’t be able to control. We do not need this.
As far as the other questions are concerned, I will just have to read up on them because I am not sure how to vote on them yet. Unfortunately, this state has been run by democrats for the past 8 years and everything is all screwed up. The morals are way down and will continue to do so until we get some good, Christian, Republican, leaders in place.
http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/OCFD_Citizens_Fire_Academy_Alumni_Association/home
Monday, October 25, 2010
Gotta Love Mondays!!
It was a nice, restful, weekend.
Since Karla, Gayla and Monica took a road trip to Tulsa for the day, I really had no plans for Friday evening. There was a threat for severe weather in the metro Friday afternoon, but by 3 pm, it was very evident that nothing was going to happen. All the severe weather was in north Texas and was not going to make it to the metro. Since I had no plans, I was actually going to contact mom and dad and go eat dinner with them. Before I could call them, one of my REACT team members contacted me and invited me to dinner with him and two other REACT members……so I decided to have dinner with them. We met at Joe’s Crab Shack at NW Expressway and MacArthur. I am not much of a seafood person, so I was hesitant to go at first, but they assured me I would be able to find something to eat. While we waited for everyone to show up at Joe’s, I contacted my son and invited him to join us. It was a free meal for him, so he joined us. After we ate, we all went our separate ways and I headed home. Within 30 minutes of getting home, Karla and Gayla arrived from their one day trip.
I was up early Saturday morning for our men’s prayer breakfast. We had breakfast at 8 am and then a work day until noon. We had previously planned to have the students pass flyers out for Sunday’s service, but the weather did not cooperate. It rained lightly off and on all morning….which I believe kept the students from showing up to pass out the flyers……and then about 12:30 pm, it rained pretty steady for most of the afternoon. During the morning, we did do some weedeating and edging between the rain drops. I left the church at 12:30 pm and stayed inside the house the rest of the afternoon, watching football and logging onto my computer. During the course of the evening, I worked on the powerpoint for Sunday’s services and sent text messages out to the youth, inviting them to Sunday School.
My alarm went off at around 6:30 am, so I got up, got showered, dressed and ready to go to church. It was “back to church” day at our church and many of us had invited people to come. We had a church goal of 150 in Sunday School….and praise the Lord we surpassed that goal and had 201. We were all so happy and pumped! Plus, I had the privilege of baptizing three young ladies. Since our interim pastor did not feel comfortable baptizing, then he asked one of the other laymen to do it. The layman that was asked to do it really did not want to do it, so he asked me to. I had no problem doing it and the baptismal went very well.
After church, Karla and I took the chairman of deacons and his wife out to lunch. Karla’s and Eddie’s birthdays are the same day, so we decided to all celebrate together. Afterwards, we all went home and I laid down for a long afternoon nap. Gayla had taken control of the TV in the living room, so I watched the one in the bedroom (actually slept through a football game) and woke up at about 4:15 pm. I was still tired and did not want to do anything, so I chose not to go back to church and just rest. While resting, I watched some TV and worked on the CFAAA website.
Speaking of the website, I am finally getting used to the new format. Our host changed the format on us, so I had to learn a whole new way of adding and editing items. One thing we could not do before was add pictures to the website….but now we can. We had our CFAAA meeting on Thursday evening and had a great time. We had a decent crowd and the meeting went well. I had informed everyone that my son and I were working on the website. I was trying to update it and add pictures and he was trying to change the templates and settings. It is still a work in progress, but you can see it at
http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/OCFD_Citizens_Fire_Academy_Alumni_Association/home
Today has been a so-so day. We had one dispatcher that was scheduled off and another dispatcher called in sick, so I had to work a radio today. It hasn’t been all that bad and the day has gone by quickly. I have no plans this evening, so I may try to find someone that will be watching the Monday Night Football game…and join them.
www.okcentralreact.org
Since Karla, Gayla and Monica took a road trip to Tulsa for the day, I really had no plans for Friday evening. There was a threat for severe weather in the metro Friday afternoon, but by 3 pm, it was very evident that nothing was going to happen. All the severe weather was in north Texas and was not going to make it to the metro. Since I had no plans, I was actually going to contact mom and dad and go eat dinner with them. Before I could call them, one of my REACT team members contacted me and invited me to dinner with him and two other REACT members……so I decided to have dinner with them. We met at Joe’s Crab Shack at NW Expressway and MacArthur. I am not much of a seafood person, so I was hesitant to go at first, but they assured me I would be able to find something to eat. While we waited for everyone to show up at Joe’s, I contacted my son and invited him to join us. It was a free meal for him, so he joined us. After we ate, we all went our separate ways and I headed home. Within 30 minutes of getting home, Karla and Gayla arrived from their one day trip.
I was up early Saturday morning for our men’s prayer breakfast. We had breakfast at 8 am and then a work day until noon. We had previously planned to have the students pass flyers out for Sunday’s service, but the weather did not cooperate. It rained lightly off and on all morning….which I believe kept the students from showing up to pass out the flyers……and then about 12:30 pm, it rained pretty steady for most of the afternoon. During the morning, we did do some weedeating and edging between the rain drops. I left the church at 12:30 pm and stayed inside the house the rest of the afternoon, watching football and logging onto my computer. During the course of the evening, I worked on the powerpoint for Sunday’s services and sent text messages out to the youth, inviting them to Sunday School.
My alarm went off at around 6:30 am, so I got up, got showered, dressed and ready to go to church. It was “back to church” day at our church and many of us had invited people to come. We had a church goal of 150 in Sunday School….and praise the Lord we surpassed that goal and had 201. We were all so happy and pumped! Plus, I had the privilege of baptizing three young ladies. Since our interim pastor did not feel comfortable baptizing, then he asked one of the other laymen to do it. The layman that was asked to do it really did not want to do it, so he asked me to. I had no problem doing it and the baptismal went very well.
After church, Karla and I took the chairman of deacons and his wife out to lunch. Karla’s and Eddie’s birthdays are the same day, so we decided to all celebrate together. Afterwards, we all went home and I laid down for a long afternoon nap. Gayla had taken control of the TV in the living room, so I watched the one in the bedroom (actually slept through a football game) and woke up at about 4:15 pm. I was still tired and did not want to do anything, so I chose not to go back to church and just rest. While resting, I watched some TV and worked on the CFAAA website.
Speaking of the website, I am finally getting used to the new format. Our host changed the format on us, so I had to learn a whole new way of adding and editing items. One thing we could not do before was add pictures to the website….but now we can. We had our CFAAA meeting on Thursday evening and had a great time. We had a decent crowd and the meeting went well. I had informed everyone that my son and I were working on the website. I was trying to update it and add pictures and he was trying to change the templates and settings. It is still a work in progress, but you can see it at
http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/OCFD_Citizens_Fire_Academy_Alumni_Association/home
Today has been a so-so day. We had one dispatcher that was scheduled off and another dispatcher called in sick, so I had to work a radio today. It hasn’t been all that bad and the day has gone by quickly. I have no plans this evening, so I may try to find someone that will be watching the Monday Night Football game…and join them.
www.okcentralreact.org
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Motorist Assist on I-44
It’s finally hump day…a brand new day.
Yesterday evening, I went up to Lake Hefner right after work and rode around the lake on my bicycle. It was a little chilly, but it was a good ride. Unfortunately, the rain earlier in the day brought out the gnats, so I fought with them when I reached the north side of the dam. They kept hitting me in the face and hitting my jacket and bouncing off. When I finally finished my ride, I drove on home and did not do anything but watch TV and get on my computer. I was really tired, so I went to bed at 9 pm. Karla and Gayla drove to Shawnee to watch Gayla’s boyfriend play a basketball game at OBU.
This morning, Karla went back to work. Gayla is on Fall break, so she will not go back to school until next Monday. Since Gayla was out of school, she took Karla to work. Since Karla’s foot was re-injured when she had her accident last Monday, she was going to the doctor this afternoon to have it looked at and to get some more pain medication.
It’s strange how, when we lived over by 44th and Blackwelder, I took the city streets everywhere and very seldom got on the highway. Since we have moved, I take the highway everywhere and seldom take city streets. As a matter of fact, now that I am on the interstate more, I have come upon more accidents and more motorists that need assistance. I don’t mind because that’s what I do as a REACT member. This morning was no different….here is a summary of this morning’s motorist assist.
I was northbound on I-44 this morning at around 6:10 am. As I passed the SW.29th street exit, I noticed traffic slowing down, almost stopping. For that time of the morning, it is very unusual because traffic isn’t usually heavy that early. As I approached the turn lane that takes you eastbound on I-40, I noticed a car just sitting in the middle lane of I-44. At first I thought it was an accident, but then I noticed the car was sitting by itself. I carefully changed lanes and turned on my emergency strobes. I pulled in behind the vehicle and cautiously got out of my truck and approached the car. The occupant was a young Hispanic lady and she informed me that she ran out of gas.
I went back to my truck, grabbed my cell phone and called OHP. I informed them she was blocking the middle lane and causing a traffic hazard. I let them know I was with Central Oklahoma REACT and that I was behind her with my emergency lights on. They informed me that it had already been reported and that a trooper was on his way. At around 6:20 am, an OHP trooper pulled up behind me and lit up. I got out of my truck and explained that she was out of gas. He thanked me for stopping and told me he was going to push her over to the shoulder and that I could leave. As I was attempting to pull into traffic, he stopped me and asked me to block the right hand lane of I-44, so he could push her to the shoulder. I cautiously moved over to the right-hand lane, making sure traffic was stopping and watched as he pushed her car off onto the shoulder. Only one jerk went around me. He actually almost hit my truck because he was in such a big hurry. I honked, he gave me the ‘sign” and drove off. Once I saw that the trooper and the disabled vehicle were safely off the interstate, I turned off all my emergency lights and went on to work…it was 6:25 am.
This report was submitted to the Central Oklahoma REACT Team 6023 Board of Directors
In other news….
We are short two dispatchers today, so all of us are having to work through our lunches and I am working the sewer radio, which is one of the busier radios. This evening, I have a meeting to attend at the church at 5:45 pm and then we have a business meeting at the church I need to attend at 6:30 pm. I usually give a report at our business meetings on what the youth department is doing, so I am getting prepared for that. Tomorrow is Thursday and tomorrow night is our monthly CFAAA meeting.
http://www.okcentralreact.org/
Yesterday evening, I went up to Lake Hefner right after work and rode around the lake on my bicycle. It was a little chilly, but it was a good ride. Unfortunately, the rain earlier in the day brought out the gnats, so I fought with them when I reached the north side of the dam. They kept hitting me in the face and hitting my jacket and bouncing off. When I finally finished my ride, I drove on home and did not do anything but watch TV and get on my computer. I was really tired, so I went to bed at 9 pm. Karla and Gayla drove to Shawnee to watch Gayla’s boyfriend play a basketball game at OBU.
This morning, Karla went back to work. Gayla is on Fall break, so she will not go back to school until next Monday. Since Gayla was out of school, she took Karla to work. Since Karla’s foot was re-injured when she had her accident last Monday, she was going to the doctor this afternoon to have it looked at and to get some more pain medication.
It’s strange how, when we lived over by 44th and Blackwelder, I took the city streets everywhere and very seldom got on the highway. Since we have moved, I take the highway everywhere and seldom take city streets. As a matter of fact, now that I am on the interstate more, I have come upon more accidents and more motorists that need assistance. I don’t mind because that’s what I do as a REACT member. This morning was no different….here is a summary of this morning’s motorist assist.
I was northbound on I-44 this morning at around 6:10 am. As I passed the SW.29th street exit, I noticed traffic slowing down, almost stopping. For that time of the morning, it is very unusual because traffic isn’t usually heavy that early. As I approached the turn lane that takes you eastbound on I-40, I noticed a car just sitting in the middle lane of I-44. At first I thought it was an accident, but then I noticed the car was sitting by itself. I carefully changed lanes and turned on my emergency strobes. I pulled in behind the vehicle and cautiously got out of my truck and approached the car. The occupant was a young Hispanic lady and she informed me that she ran out of gas.
I went back to my truck, grabbed my cell phone and called OHP. I informed them she was blocking the middle lane and causing a traffic hazard. I let them know I was with Central Oklahoma REACT and that I was behind her with my emergency lights on. They informed me that it had already been reported and that a trooper was on his way. At around 6:20 am, an OHP trooper pulled up behind me and lit up. I got out of my truck and explained that she was out of gas. He thanked me for stopping and told me he was going to push her over to the shoulder and that I could leave. As I was attempting to pull into traffic, he stopped me and asked me to block the right hand lane of I-44, so he could push her to the shoulder. I cautiously moved over to the right-hand lane, making sure traffic was stopping and watched as he pushed her car off onto the shoulder. Only one jerk went around me. He actually almost hit my truck because he was in such a big hurry. I honked, he gave me the ‘sign” and drove off. Once I saw that the trooper and the disabled vehicle were safely off the interstate, I turned off all my emergency lights and went on to work…it was 6:25 am.
This report was submitted to the Central Oklahoma REACT Team 6023 Board of Directors
In other news….
We are short two dispatchers today, so all of us are having to work through our lunches and I am working the sewer radio, which is one of the busier radios. This evening, I have a meeting to attend at the church at 5:45 pm and then we have a business meeting at the church I need to attend at 6:30 pm. I usually give a report at our business meetings on what the youth department is doing, so I am getting prepared for that. Tomorrow is Thursday and tomorrow night is our monthly CFAAA meeting.
http://www.okcentralreact.org/
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Accident Assistance @ I-240 & Santa Fe, 10-15-10
Last Friday evening, Oct 15th, I was east bound on I-240, heading to Rib Crib for dinner (my wife was with me). We came up on an accident at I-240 and Santa Fe at the exit ramp. It came upon us so quickly, I could not safely stop. I exited the highway and my wife told me we needed to go back and check on them.
We arrived on the scene at 17:30 pm, I turned on my emergency strobe lights and grabbed my reflective vest. One of the cars was still partially on the interstate in a bad spot. My wife and I got out and checked for injuries. When it was apparent there were no injuries, we made sure they had called 911. Unfortunately, we were advised there were 6 accidents working at the time and OHP only had 4 units on the road...so, it would be a while before they arrived on the scene.
Since there were no injuries, I used my truck to block the exit ramp so the driver of the vehicle that was still on the roadway could move it to the shoulder. I also advised each driver to find their drivers license and insurance verifications and exchange information with each other. That would speed up the process once OHP showed up. One driver and his friends were from Potaeu, Okla. and were on their way to a concert. The other vehicle was headed home. The lady that was driving the truck was 36 years old and had never had an accident or ticket. She was in a little shock.
She started crying, so I put my arm around her and told her everything would be ok. Then my wife came over and took over the consoling part. While my wife spoke with the drivers, i carefully removed debris (car parts) off the exit ramp.
Finally, at around 18:30 pm, OHP arrived on the scene (found out he was in Chickasha when he got the call). I filled him in on the accident and gave him my REACT card. He thanked me for stopping and for clearing the car off the highway. Since everyone had already exhanged information and had their licenses and insurance verifications ready, the process took very little time. I also gave the two drivers my REACT card and they were both very appreciative that we stopped. Neither of them had any idea what to do in case of an accident.
At 18:45 pm, the trooper released me from the scene.
Central Oklahoma REACT Unit 706
http://www.okcentralreact.org/
We arrived on the scene at 17:30 pm, I turned on my emergency strobe lights and grabbed my reflective vest. One of the cars was still partially on the interstate in a bad spot. My wife and I got out and checked for injuries. When it was apparent there were no injuries, we made sure they had called 911. Unfortunately, we were advised there were 6 accidents working at the time and OHP only had 4 units on the road...so, it would be a while before they arrived on the scene.
Since there were no injuries, I used my truck to block the exit ramp so the driver of the vehicle that was still on the roadway could move it to the shoulder. I also advised each driver to find their drivers license and insurance verifications and exchange information with each other. That would speed up the process once OHP showed up. One driver and his friends were from Potaeu, Okla. and were on their way to a concert. The other vehicle was headed home. The lady that was driving the truck was 36 years old and had never had an accident or ticket. She was in a little shock.
She started crying, so I put my arm around her and told her everything would be ok. Then my wife came over and took over the consoling part. While my wife spoke with the drivers, i carefully removed debris (car parts) off the exit ramp.
Finally, at around 18:30 pm, OHP arrived on the scene (found out he was in Chickasha when he got the call). I filled him in on the accident and gave him my REACT card. He thanked me for stopping and for clearing the car off the highway. Since everyone had already exhanged information and had their licenses and insurance verifications ready, the process took very little time. I also gave the two drivers my REACT card and they were both very appreciative that we stopped. Neither of them had any idea what to do in case of an accident.
At 18:45 pm, the trooper released me from the scene.
Central Oklahoma REACT Unit 706
http://www.okcentralreact.org/
A Really Bad Monday Evening...
Had a great weekend!
After enjoying a catfish lunch at the church on Saturday, Karla and I (along with Gayla), spent about 3 hours working in our garage. You see, we have not done much with the stuff in our garage since we moved in a couple of months ago. We barely had a pathway made from the garage door to our back door. There was so little room and we needed to do some condensing. I opened both garage doors and started setting all the boxes and stuff outside the door. We had three different piles. Pile one was garage sale stuff….pile #2 was stuff we needed to keep, but we needed to sit down and go through it……pile #3 was stuff that we would not be using for a long time, so it would be put back in the garage first and put further in the back. Karla would tell us which pile it went in and Gayla would put it in the proper pile.
After three hours of working on the garage, we got lots accomplished. We now have more room in the garage and we have things stacked in categories. The garage sale stuff is in front so it will be easier to get to once we decide when we are having our garage sale. It looks better organized and we now know what we have in storage because we practically opened every box. After we finished, I went to Tires Plus and had a couple of new tires put on the back of my truck. All I can say about Sunday is church, lunch, football, nap and then back to church.
Yesterday started out as a very nice day, but it ended on a very sour note. It was Linda’s (my co-worker) birthday, so I bought her a big pack of peanut M & M’s, which are her favorite. I had big plans to treat her to lunch and my plans almost got changed. Our mid-shift dispatcher called in sick, so it meant we would be one person short. Fortunately, my boss covered my radio for me and allowed me to take Linda to lunch. One of our clerks brought a pineapple cake for Linda’s birthday, so I had a big piece….and it was good.
Since our mid-shift dispatcher called in sick, I volunteered to stay and assist the evening dispatcher. All was going well for a couple of hours….until I got the dreaded call from my wife. Yep, she was involved in yet ANOTHER accident. It has been only three weeks since her last accident….and the car we have has not been totally paid for …..and, we just applied for the title, but we don’t have it yet. I left my office at around 6:30 and headed down to the scene of the accident. Once again, it was her fault (she rear-ended someone). The person she rear-ended wound up going to jail because he was a Hispanic without a driver’s license. They promptly towed his car off and he went to jail. Fortunately, there were no injuries and once again, Karla was at fault, but they did not give her a ticket. Her car was not damaged too severely, but the radiator was busted, so we did have to have it towed.
I was highly upset, but I did not want to show it. I was there to show concern for my wife, but I was also upset, trying to figure out how she could wreck two cars in three weeks. I know the insurance is either going to go sky high, or our insurance company may drop us. I hope not. I did not take any pictures because it was her fault. The pictures would not help us….they would just be a reminder that she wrecked yet another car. We had the car towed to Pucketts and we went home. The foot she injured in the last wreck was re-injured again, but we did not go to the ER. After we got home, I left to get us something to eat. With all that happened, I had just about lost my appetite. We both finally ate, watched a little TV and went to bed.
Today, she is staying home from work to make phone calls and to get the process started on the other car. I am working today, although, I do have a lot on my mind…the main thing is our car insurance. I hope they don’t drop us. I am hoping to go to Lake Hefner this evening and ride my bicycle.
After enjoying a catfish lunch at the church on Saturday, Karla and I (along with Gayla), spent about 3 hours working in our garage. You see, we have not done much with the stuff in our garage since we moved in a couple of months ago. We barely had a pathway made from the garage door to our back door. There was so little room and we needed to do some condensing. I opened both garage doors and started setting all the boxes and stuff outside the door. We had three different piles. Pile one was garage sale stuff….pile #2 was stuff we needed to keep, but we needed to sit down and go through it……pile #3 was stuff that we would not be using for a long time, so it would be put back in the garage first and put further in the back. Karla would tell us which pile it went in and Gayla would put it in the proper pile.
After three hours of working on the garage, we got lots accomplished. We now have more room in the garage and we have things stacked in categories. The garage sale stuff is in front so it will be easier to get to once we decide when we are having our garage sale. It looks better organized and we now know what we have in storage because we practically opened every box. After we finished, I went to Tires Plus and had a couple of new tires put on the back of my truck. All I can say about Sunday is church, lunch, football, nap and then back to church.
Yesterday started out as a very nice day, but it ended on a very sour note. It was Linda’s (my co-worker) birthday, so I bought her a big pack of peanut M & M’s, which are her favorite. I had big plans to treat her to lunch and my plans almost got changed. Our mid-shift dispatcher called in sick, so it meant we would be one person short. Fortunately, my boss covered my radio for me and allowed me to take Linda to lunch. One of our clerks brought a pineapple cake for Linda’s birthday, so I had a big piece….and it was good.
Since our mid-shift dispatcher called in sick, I volunteered to stay and assist the evening dispatcher. All was going well for a couple of hours….until I got the dreaded call from my wife. Yep, she was involved in yet ANOTHER accident. It has been only three weeks since her last accident….and the car we have has not been totally paid for …..and, we just applied for the title, but we don’t have it yet. I left my office at around 6:30 and headed down to the scene of the accident. Once again, it was her fault (she rear-ended someone). The person she rear-ended wound up going to jail because he was a Hispanic without a driver’s license. They promptly towed his car off and he went to jail. Fortunately, there were no injuries and once again, Karla was at fault, but they did not give her a ticket. Her car was not damaged too severely, but the radiator was busted, so we did have to have it towed.
I was highly upset, but I did not want to show it. I was there to show concern for my wife, but I was also upset, trying to figure out how she could wreck two cars in three weeks. I know the insurance is either going to go sky high, or our insurance company may drop us. I hope not. I did not take any pictures because it was her fault. The pictures would not help us….they would just be a reminder that she wrecked yet another car. We had the car towed to Pucketts and we went home. The foot she injured in the last wreck was re-injured again, but we did not go to the ER. After we got home, I left to get us something to eat. With all that happened, I had just about lost my appetite. We both finally ate, watched a little TV and went to bed.
Today, she is staying home from work to make phone calls and to get the process started on the other car. I am working today, although, I do have a lot on my mind…the main thing is our car insurance. I hope they don’t drop us. I am hoping to go to Lake Hefner this evening and ride my bicycle.
Friday, October 15, 2010
TGIF!!!
I made it to Friday! Man, this has been one long week.
Yesterday, I did what I could to stay busy at work and not be bored. The thing is, we have actually had a full staff the last few days and it has been slow….that makes for a long day. Karla and I are still dealing with the insurance company regarding her car accident and we are also trying to provide all the documents we need to get a mortgage loan. We have made so many phone calls and have sent so many emails, I am hoping all the stuff on the car gets resolved real soon. I was finally able to get the insurance verification for her new car faxed over to me this afternoon.
Last evening, we had our REACT board meeting and met at Oz, a business that builds tornado safe rooms. One of our REACT members works with Oz and invited us over to take a tour of their business. It was exciting and very interesting. The safe rooms they have are so sturdy and strong that they guarantee they can withstand tornadic winds. A normal size safe room is around $7,500.00, where a custom made one could be as high as $10,000.00. There is plenty of room in them, so there is room to move around. After our tour, we had our business meeting, discussed our by-laws and made changes where changes needed to be made. It was a long process, so we did not get out of there until around 9:40 pm.
Since our REACT team does assist stranded motorists on the city streets and interstates, I decided to go ahead and get a CB radio installed in my truck. Since we have moved south of the college, I am taking the interstate everywhere, so I spend a lot of time on it….that’s the main reason for the CB….is to monitor traffic and give everyone a heads up when there is an accident or road construction ahead. I can receive real well on it, but am having a problem transmitting. I have to get the SWR’s set so the radio will transmit better. I borrowed an SWR meter from one of our REACT members, but have not had the time to use it yet. After monitoring the CB for a while last evening, I finally realized why I did not like CB’s anymore. There is way too much profanity transmitted over the air ways and I don’t care to listen to it.
This morning started out real well. So far, it has been a really good day. I went home at lunch to get a few things done and, while I was there, I bent over and ripped a big hole in my shorts. Bummer! So, I had to change my shorts and then head downtown for our benefits fair. Once a year (at this time), we have a benefits fair where we talk to a representative and make sure our benefits are correct for the upcoming year. It only took me about 30 minutes to take care of everything.
I am not real sure what we are doing this evening, but I would not mind going through some of the stuff we have in our garage. We have to get it done soon. Tomorrow, I am hoping to get a couple of new tires put on my truck. They are also having a catfish lunch at the church for the senior citizens, but I may show up (even though I am not that old) anyway because I LOVE catfish.
Yesterday, I did what I could to stay busy at work and not be bored. The thing is, we have actually had a full staff the last few days and it has been slow….that makes for a long day. Karla and I are still dealing with the insurance company regarding her car accident and we are also trying to provide all the documents we need to get a mortgage loan. We have made so many phone calls and have sent so many emails, I am hoping all the stuff on the car gets resolved real soon. I was finally able to get the insurance verification for her new car faxed over to me this afternoon.
Last evening, we had our REACT board meeting and met at Oz, a business that builds tornado safe rooms. One of our REACT members works with Oz and invited us over to take a tour of their business. It was exciting and very interesting. The safe rooms they have are so sturdy and strong that they guarantee they can withstand tornadic winds. A normal size safe room is around $7,500.00, where a custom made one could be as high as $10,000.00. There is plenty of room in them, so there is room to move around. After our tour, we had our business meeting, discussed our by-laws and made changes where changes needed to be made. It was a long process, so we did not get out of there until around 9:40 pm.
Since our REACT team does assist stranded motorists on the city streets and interstates, I decided to go ahead and get a CB radio installed in my truck. Since we have moved south of the college, I am taking the interstate everywhere, so I spend a lot of time on it….that’s the main reason for the CB….is to monitor traffic and give everyone a heads up when there is an accident or road construction ahead. I can receive real well on it, but am having a problem transmitting. I have to get the SWR’s set so the radio will transmit better. I borrowed an SWR meter from one of our REACT members, but have not had the time to use it yet. After monitoring the CB for a while last evening, I finally realized why I did not like CB’s anymore. There is way too much profanity transmitted over the air ways and I don’t care to listen to it.
This morning started out real well. So far, it has been a really good day. I went home at lunch to get a few things done and, while I was there, I bent over and ripped a big hole in my shorts. Bummer! So, I had to change my shorts and then head downtown for our benefits fair. Once a year (at this time), we have a benefits fair where we talk to a representative and make sure our benefits are correct for the upcoming year. It only took me about 30 minutes to take care of everything.
I am not real sure what we are doing this evening, but I would not mind going through some of the stuff we have in our garage. We have to get it done soon. Tomorrow, I am hoping to get a couple of new tires put on my truck. They are also having a catfish lunch at the church for the senior citizens, but I may show up (even though I am not that old) anyway because I LOVE catfish.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Earthquake in OKC?
I highly doubt that I will catch up on all the sleep I missed the last couple of days.
Monday morning I had to go into work at 4 am and did the same thing yesterday. The fact is, it’s hard for me to go to bed at 8 or 9 pm and try to sleep, knowing that I will have to be up by 3:15 am. For one thing, the rest of the family is still up and I am trying to go to sleep with all the extra noise. Then, I just toss and turn during the night because I am afraid I will oversleep. When the alarm does go off, I am the only one that seems to hear it. Even the dogs and cat don’t wake up. One good thing about getting up that early is there is no traffic on the interstate. All the smart motorists are still in bed asleep.
After work yesterday, I went by and mowed Anita’s lawn and then mowed mine and my neighbor’s lawn. Afterwards, I watched TV for about an hour, went online for awhile. Karla came home in her new car. Well, it’s not a brand new car, but it is new to her…it is a 2005 Suzuki Farron. When she got home, she started cleaning out the inside of it.
Monday morning I had to go into work at 4 am and did the same thing yesterday. The fact is, it’s hard for me to go to bed at 8 or 9 pm and try to sleep, knowing that I will have to be up by 3:15 am. For one thing, the rest of the family is still up and I am trying to go to sleep with all the extra noise. Then, I just toss and turn during the night because I am afraid I will oversleep. When the alarm does go off, I am the only one that seems to hear it. Even the dogs and cat don’t wake up. One good thing about getting up that early is there is no traffic on the interstate. All the smart motorists are still in bed asleep.
After work yesterday, I went by and mowed Anita’s lawn and then mowed mine and my neighbor’s lawn. Afterwards, I watched TV for about an hour, went online for awhile. Karla came home in her new car. Well, it’s not a brand new car, but it is new to her…it is a 2005 Suzuki Farron. When she got home, she started cleaning out the inside of it.
Around 7 pm, I decided to take a drive to mom and dad’s house in Edmond. I needed to pick something up from them and I needed to drop something off. Needless to say, I was exhausted when I got home later and the lack of sleep was catching up with me. I was in bed by 9:30 pm.
It was so nice to sleep in until 5:30 this morning. It was still a little hard getting up, but I eventually made it up and took my shower. I arrived at work and had a ton of paperwork to go through. It was my day to do data entry and I had plenty of it to do. During the course of entering the data, the building started shaking. Yes, we actually had an earthquake in Oklahoma City. It registered 4.5 on the richter scale, but caused no damage. It was felt all over the metro and in some small towns outside the metro. Some people in my office made a big deal about it….I just continued working.
Monday, October 11, 2010
So Sleepy.....
So sleepy today….my boss called me yesterday afternoon and asked me to come in at 4 am this morning because our graveyard shift dispatcher was still sick. So, I went to bed at 9 pm last night and was up at 3:15 this morning.
Despite this sleepy day, the last three days have been rather good. Friday morning, I worked with some other City employees on a project called, “Day of Caring.” This is where we work with the United Way and assist a citizen with repairs to their home. I worked it from 8 am – noon and then had lunch. Since the Blue and Gold order at Gayla’s school was suppose to be in at 3 pm that afternoon, I had decided to go ahead and take the rest of the say off after I completed the work for the “Day of Caring.” I had my lawn equipment with me because I already knew that I had yard work to do that day.
Since our work site was not far from my office, I decided to drop my and pick up a few things at my desk….then, I headed up to the north side of town to mow Linda’s lawn. By the time I finished her yard and drove back towards Gayla’s school, it was almost time to pick up my Blue and Gold order. I was about 45 minutes early, but my order was ready, so I loaded it all in my truck and headed back to my office to make deliveries. After spending an hour or so making deliveries, I decided to take the rest of it home and put it in the freezer until I could get in touch with the others that ordered.
I refueled my mower, weedeater and blower…and proceeded to mow two more lawns. By the time I started mowing my last lawn, I was so tired. I had not really planned on mowing three lawns that day, but that’s how it worked out. This way, I would not have to worry about mowing all weekend long and I could relax. After mowing and taking the family out to eat, I went back home, grabbed the Blue and Gold and started making deliveries to those that lived in SW OKC. I made it home by 10 pm.
I really had no plans for Saturday, but did spend most of it running errands. I was able to take my bike to Lake Hefner and ride around the lake and take my truck by Lucas’ house to have him look at my brakes. They had been squealing, so I assumed they were going bad. Come to find out, I did not need brake pads, so I got off cheap. The rest of the afternoon I was able to rest and watch a little football. That evening, I watched COPS, watched some football and worked on the powerpoint for Sunday morning’s church service.
I had a full day on Sunday. We have a good crowd in our church service and had a great message. Unfortunately, it looks like the bulb in our overhead projector is about to burn out because you could barely see anything on the screen….everything was very dim. The projector is mounted overhead, coming down from the ceiling, so we have to put up scaffolding in order to change out bulbs. I have a phobia about heights. I don’t like tall ladders and I don’t like heights…period! I like to act like a macho man sometimes, but when it comes to climbing a ladder or being raised up in the air, I turn into a big chicken. I have tried to climb up a ladder to get 10-20 feet above the ground, but my legs shook so bad, I could never get steady on a ladder……so, I leave all the monkey climbing to someone else. Now all we have to do is get a bulb and find a brave soul that can climb the scaffolding.
After church, I went by Sonic to get something to eat and then headed north to an unscheduled REACT meeting. We met at one of our REACT members’ homes (where our mobile command post is parked) and worked on it some. For some reason, we can’t get the MCP to start, so one of our more knowledgeable members came and tried to use his expertise to start it. It still would no start. While we were there, several of us discussed something new that we wanted to try. Since we are storm spotters/trackers, several of us have decided to take our experience and go speak to youth groups about storm chasing….and then talk to them about Christ. We figured it would not only get the attention of students and their parents by sharing our storm spotting stories, but we can also present the gospel to them.
This is exciting for me because I know we can incorporate our storm spotting skills into ministering to young people. The one thing that concerns me is our team. I know several of them are Christians, but many times their witness doesn’t show. They will have to learn to pray more and ask God to help them clean up their language. I know many Christians that struggle with cussing, but if we are going to minister to others, especially students, we have to have a good witness and watch our tongues. We are in process of setting it up, so I hope in the next 3-4 weeks, we can start visiting other churches and speak to their youth groups.
I was anticipating some severe weather yesterday afternoon because the forecasters said it would get stormy. I had my flashlight and spotlight charged, including my REACT radio and I was ready for storm spotting……but the weather never got that severe and it did not even make it in to the City until around 10 pm….so there was nothing to spot. Maybe next time…..
http://www.okcentralreact.org/
Despite this sleepy day, the last three days have been rather good. Friday morning, I worked with some other City employees on a project called, “Day of Caring.” This is where we work with the United Way and assist a citizen with repairs to their home. I worked it from 8 am – noon and then had lunch. Since the Blue and Gold order at Gayla’s school was suppose to be in at 3 pm that afternoon, I had decided to go ahead and take the rest of the say off after I completed the work for the “Day of Caring.” I had my lawn equipment with me because I already knew that I had yard work to do that day.
Since our work site was not far from my office, I decided to drop my and pick up a few things at my desk….then, I headed up to the north side of town to mow Linda’s lawn. By the time I finished her yard and drove back towards Gayla’s school, it was almost time to pick up my Blue and Gold order. I was about 45 minutes early, but my order was ready, so I loaded it all in my truck and headed back to my office to make deliveries. After spending an hour or so making deliveries, I decided to take the rest of it home and put it in the freezer until I could get in touch with the others that ordered.
I refueled my mower, weedeater and blower…and proceeded to mow two more lawns. By the time I started mowing my last lawn, I was so tired. I had not really planned on mowing three lawns that day, but that’s how it worked out. This way, I would not have to worry about mowing all weekend long and I could relax. After mowing and taking the family out to eat, I went back home, grabbed the Blue and Gold and started making deliveries to those that lived in SW OKC. I made it home by 10 pm.
I really had no plans for Saturday, but did spend most of it running errands. I was able to take my bike to Lake Hefner and ride around the lake and take my truck by Lucas’ house to have him look at my brakes. They had been squealing, so I assumed they were going bad. Come to find out, I did not need brake pads, so I got off cheap. The rest of the afternoon I was able to rest and watch a little football. That evening, I watched COPS, watched some football and worked on the powerpoint for Sunday morning’s church service.
I had a full day on Sunday. We have a good crowd in our church service and had a great message. Unfortunately, it looks like the bulb in our overhead projector is about to burn out because you could barely see anything on the screen….everything was very dim. The projector is mounted overhead, coming down from the ceiling, so we have to put up scaffolding in order to change out bulbs. I have a phobia about heights. I don’t like tall ladders and I don’t like heights…period! I like to act like a macho man sometimes, but when it comes to climbing a ladder or being raised up in the air, I turn into a big chicken. I have tried to climb up a ladder to get 10-20 feet above the ground, but my legs shook so bad, I could never get steady on a ladder……so, I leave all the monkey climbing to someone else. Now all we have to do is get a bulb and find a brave soul that can climb the scaffolding.
After church, I went by Sonic to get something to eat and then headed north to an unscheduled REACT meeting. We met at one of our REACT members’ homes (where our mobile command post is parked) and worked on it some. For some reason, we can’t get the MCP to start, so one of our more knowledgeable members came and tried to use his expertise to start it. It still would no start. While we were there, several of us discussed something new that we wanted to try. Since we are storm spotters/trackers, several of us have decided to take our experience and go speak to youth groups about storm chasing….and then talk to them about Christ. We figured it would not only get the attention of students and their parents by sharing our storm spotting stories, but we can also present the gospel to them.
This is exciting for me because I know we can incorporate our storm spotting skills into ministering to young people. The one thing that concerns me is our team. I know several of them are Christians, but many times their witness doesn’t show. They will have to learn to pray more and ask God to help them clean up their language. I know many Christians that struggle with cussing, but if we are going to minister to others, especially students, we have to have a good witness and watch our tongues. We are in process of setting it up, so I hope in the next 3-4 weeks, we can start visiting other churches and speak to their youth groups.
I was anticipating some severe weather yesterday afternoon because the forecasters said it would get stormy. I had my flashlight and spotlight charged, including my REACT radio and I was ready for storm spotting……but the weather never got that severe and it did not even make it in to the City until around 10 pm….so there was nothing to spot. Maybe next time…..
http://www.okcentralreact.org/
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
11 State Questions on the November ballot...
There are 11 state questions on the Nov. ballot, in the following order:
SQ 744 A yes vote would mandate the state spend up to $1 billion more per year on common education to meet a regional average. This would be done by either raising taxes at least 32% statewide, OR cutting all other state agencies and services by at least 20% each.
SQ 746 A yes vote makes voters show proof of identity – voter ID.
SQ 747 A yes vote would make all statewide elected officials have a term limit of 8 yrs, except Corp. Comm., which would be 12 years.
SQ 748 Every 10 years redistricting is done by the legislature; if they fail to act a commission does the job. A yes vote changes, the number of people on the commission from 3 to 7, and makes it by-partisan, with the Lt. Governor as the non-voting chairman.
SQ 750 A yes vote would require fewer signatures on initiative and referendum petitions. The last election with the Governor on the ballot, instead of the last election with the President on the ballot would be used to determine the signatures needed.
SQ 751 A yes vote makes English the common language of Oklahoma.
SQ 752 A yes vote modifies the Judicial Nominating Commission, which recommends candidates to the Governor to appoint. Currently, it is made up of 12 (6 non-lawyers appointed by the Governor and 6 lawyers appointed by the OBA). This measure adds 2 non-lawyer members appointed by the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Temp of the Senate.
SQ 754 A yes vote would ensure that the appropriations and budgeting process set up by the Oklahoma constitution stays the way it currently is. It would stop any unions or government agencies from demanding that they be funded in a different or higher way. If passed this measure could not be effectively amended or repealed.
SQ 755 A yes vote forbids Oklahoma courts from using Sharia (Islamic) or international law to decide cases in our state courts.
SQ 756 A yes vote allows OK residents to opt-out of Federal Health Care.
SQ 757 A yes vote increases rainy day fund from 10% to 15% of certified funds from the previous year’s state budget.
SQ 744 A yes vote would mandate the state spend up to $1 billion more per year on common education to meet a regional average. This would be done by either raising taxes at least 32% statewide, OR cutting all other state agencies and services by at least 20% each.
SQ 746 A yes vote makes voters show proof of identity – voter ID.
SQ 747 A yes vote would make all statewide elected officials have a term limit of 8 yrs, except Corp. Comm., which would be 12 years.
SQ 748 Every 10 years redistricting is done by the legislature; if they fail to act a commission does the job. A yes vote changes, the number of people on the commission from 3 to 7, and makes it by-partisan, with the Lt. Governor as the non-voting chairman.
SQ 750 A yes vote would require fewer signatures on initiative and referendum petitions. The last election with the Governor on the ballot, instead of the last election with the President on the ballot would be used to determine the signatures needed.
SQ 751 A yes vote makes English the common language of Oklahoma.
SQ 752 A yes vote modifies the Judicial Nominating Commission, which recommends candidates to the Governor to appoint. Currently, it is made up of 12 (6 non-lawyers appointed by the Governor and 6 lawyers appointed by the OBA). This measure adds 2 non-lawyer members appointed by the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Temp of the Senate.
SQ 754 A yes vote would ensure that the appropriations and budgeting process set up by the Oklahoma constitution stays the way it currently is. It would stop any unions or government agencies from demanding that they be funded in a different or higher way. If passed this measure could not be effectively amended or repealed.
SQ 755 A yes vote forbids Oklahoma courts from using Sharia (Islamic) or international law to decide cases in our state courts.
SQ 756 A yes vote allows OK residents to opt-out of Federal Health Care.
SQ 757 A yes vote increases rainy day fund from 10% to 15% of certified funds from the previous year’s state budget.
It's Finally Hump Day!!
These last two days have reminded me that, even though I don’t really feel old, my body is telling me I am.
I realize that the weather is getting cooler, which means I don’t sweat as much. When it was hot, I would sweat so much, I would just replenish myself with water and/or Gatorade and just keep going. Now, that it’s cooler, I still drink a lot of water, but instead of sweating it out, I have started peeing a lot more. Yeah, I know that’s gross, but it’s a fact of life. I like to have water, iced tea, or even a Dr. pepper by my side in the evenings while I relax. Then, after going to bed and sleeping for about three hours, my body wakes me up and needs to pee. It’s good that it wakes me up because I sure don’t want to pee the bed..LOL. Afterwards, I go back to sleep and at around 3 or 4 am, I am up again….peeing. It’s a good thing we have a bathroom by our room that has a night light.
Last night, I did drink quite a bit before I went to bed. Lately, my dog Scout, has been sleeping at the foot of the bed, between me and the Mrs. I was up twice last night…once at midnight and again at 3 am. The stupid cat was meowing up a storm when I got up to use the restroom, so I opened the back door and he took off. When I went back to bed, my dog gave me a nasty look. I guess she is tired of me waking her up two or three times a night to go pee. I have no problem going to the bathroom, it’s just that it is more frequent now….especially since I don’t sweat as much.
Yesterday afternoon, after work, I drove up to Lake Hefner and took my bicycle for a ride around the lake. It was a beautiful evening, even though it was a little breezy. Since I had no plans that evening, I was not in any hurry to get around the lake, so I took my time. The trail itself goes by one of our fire stations and, as I was passing by the station, I heard their fire alarm go off. I listened as they were dispatched to a possible apartment fire. I wanted so bad to respond with them and take pictures, but I was a good 25 minutes away from my truck, so I figured I would miss everything. I was too tired to speed up. As I was about finish my ride, another bicyclist…a female…was riding towards me. All of a sudden she just wiped out. Myself and another bike rider stopped to give her some assistance. She was not injured and her bike was still rideable, so I headed on over to my truck. Shortly after I pulled out of the parking lot at the Lake, I met an engine and truck company from the fire department…and an ambulance behind them…running lights and siren. They headed west (the wrong way) on the dam with their lights on. The only thing I could figure was someone else must have seen the girl wipe out on her bike and just called 911 anyway (even though she was ok). I was going to head on over to the apartments where the fire was reported earlier, but I looked in that direction and saw no smoke, so I figured what ever happened was now over with……so I headed home.
My wife and cooked up some beef stroganoff and I was so hungry, I had three helpings. She still is not feeling real well. I went by her work on my lunch hour yesterday and took her home. Since her car was totaled last Wednesday (it’s been a week now), she has nothing to drive, so Gayla and I are her transportation for a while. We are waiting to hear how much we are getting from our insurance company so we can get another car. We already have a car in mind, but don’t have the money yet, so we are playing the waiting game.
My goal is to keep the other two vehicles in good running condition…my truck and Gayla’s car. We can’t afford any more car problems. I need new tires on my truck and Gayla needs some on her car. Plus, I have a strut that’s been leaking for a while, but have not had the money to replace it. For that reason, I am unable to get a front-end alignment on my truck. If I could just get a couple of new tires for the back of my truck and move two of my good tires to the front, I will be happy.
http://www.okcentralreact.org/
I realize that the weather is getting cooler, which means I don’t sweat as much. When it was hot, I would sweat so much, I would just replenish myself with water and/or Gatorade and just keep going. Now, that it’s cooler, I still drink a lot of water, but instead of sweating it out, I have started peeing a lot more. Yeah, I know that’s gross, but it’s a fact of life. I like to have water, iced tea, or even a Dr. pepper by my side in the evenings while I relax. Then, after going to bed and sleeping for about three hours, my body wakes me up and needs to pee. It’s good that it wakes me up because I sure don’t want to pee the bed..LOL. Afterwards, I go back to sleep and at around 3 or 4 am, I am up again….peeing. It’s a good thing we have a bathroom by our room that has a night light.
Last night, I did drink quite a bit before I went to bed. Lately, my dog Scout, has been sleeping at the foot of the bed, between me and the Mrs. I was up twice last night…once at midnight and again at 3 am. The stupid cat was meowing up a storm when I got up to use the restroom, so I opened the back door and he took off. When I went back to bed, my dog gave me a nasty look. I guess she is tired of me waking her up two or three times a night to go pee. I have no problem going to the bathroom, it’s just that it is more frequent now….especially since I don’t sweat as much.
Yesterday afternoon, after work, I drove up to Lake Hefner and took my bicycle for a ride around the lake. It was a beautiful evening, even though it was a little breezy. Since I had no plans that evening, I was not in any hurry to get around the lake, so I took my time. The trail itself goes by one of our fire stations and, as I was passing by the station, I heard their fire alarm go off. I listened as they were dispatched to a possible apartment fire. I wanted so bad to respond with them and take pictures, but I was a good 25 minutes away from my truck, so I figured I would miss everything. I was too tired to speed up. As I was about finish my ride, another bicyclist…a female…was riding towards me. All of a sudden she just wiped out. Myself and another bike rider stopped to give her some assistance. She was not injured and her bike was still rideable, so I headed on over to my truck. Shortly after I pulled out of the parking lot at the Lake, I met an engine and truck company from the fire department…and an ambulance behind them…running lights and siren. They headed west (the wrong way) on the dam with their lights on. The only thing I could figure was someone else must have seen the girl wipe out on her bike and just called 911 anyway (even though she was ok). I was going to head on over to the apartments where the fire was reported earlier, but I looked in that direction and saw no smoke, so I figured what ever happened was now over with……so I headed home.
My wife and cooked up some beef stroganoff and I was so hungry, I had three helpings. She still is not feeling real well. I went by her work on my lunch hour yesterday and took her home. Since her car was totaled last Wednesday (it’s been a week now), she has nothing to drive, so Gayla and I are her transportation for a while. We are waiting to hear how much we are getting from our insurance company so we can get another car. We already have a car in mind, but don’t have the money yet, so we are playing the waiting game.
My goal is to keep the other two vehicles in good running condition…my truck and Gayla’s car. We can’t afford any more car problems. I need new tires on my truck and Gayla needs some on her car. Plus, I have a strut that’s been leaking for a while, but have not had the money to replace it. For that reason, I am unable to get a front-end alignment on my truck. If I could just get a couple of new tires for the back of my truck and move two of my good tires to the front, I will be happy.
http://www.okcentralreact.org/
Monday, October 4, 2010
Got Problems?
Problems…we all have them.
Some of us have more than others and sometimes we think our problems are worse than anyone else’s. One profession I would never, ever, want to be in and that’s the profession of psychiatry or psychology. All they do day in and day out is listen to people’s problems and try to diagnose them. How can a doctor sit for 8-10 hours a day, listening to other people’s problems and be able to concentrate on their own problems? I don’t see how they do it.
I have spoken to students at my church and listened to some of their problems. Many times, their problems seem very minor and very petty, yet in their eyes, they are major. When you are a teenager, some of the smaller problems are magnified into bigger problems. Actually, there is no such thing as a small problem, especially if it affects you personally. That’s like someone telling you that the minor surgery you are about to undergo is no big deal, but to you it is because you will be put under by anesthesia and they will be cutting on you. If it is happening to you, it’s major. One thing I have learned is there is always someone that has more problems than I do. Unless you walk in their shoes, you will never know.
One more thing that I learned is to keep my problems private……don’t bring them to work. The last thing I need is to allow personal problems to interfere with my job performance. Too many employees bring their problems to work and they are miserable all day long. When I walk through the front door of our office, I decide not to dwell on my home problems and just focus on my job. It’s not easy because I know when I leave work, the problems will still be there. The one person that gives me hope and gives me the ability to manage and overcome my problems is Jesus. I am so glad I can bring my problems to him 24/7 and he will take care of them. At the time, it might not be the answer I wanted, but He is in charge, so I have to depend on Him to answer my prayers… in His timing.
I have finally decided to tone things down at work. I am a jokester and I like to have fun, so I like to say things that make people laugh. Sometimes what I say gets a laugh and sometimes it gets a nasty look. I never, ever, intentionally mean to hurt anyone’s feelings when I joke around. Unfortunately, many people wear their feelings on their shoulder and it does not take much to offend them. I have to force myself not to say certain things because it just comes natural for me to make off the wall or humorous comments. Sometimes those comments don’t come out right and I catch it from someone. So, I am doing my best to do my job, have fun and keep my words to myself.
I am still having a problem with a co-worker at work. This person has shown me (in their actions and words) that they are a very unhappy person. They had been a hard worker in the past, but they are now in a relationship with someone who is married and their work ethics have changed. They are doing less and trying to get away with more. Their lack of ambition is catching up with them and causing them some problems. Their whole attitude is changing and they don’t even notice it. This person got mad at me a few months ago and refuses to talk to me. I have no problem with that because I don’t have anything to say to them anyway. Why does someone get so mad that they hold grudges against others and all it does is make them miserable? I am not miserable…I am content. I am happy with my life and don’t have time for people that are miserable because they have made some really stupid, bonehead, mistakes. If they want to continue to make these stupid mistakes and these stupid decisions, then they deserve to be unhappy. Gosh, why be unhappy when you can live your life for the Lord and be happy?
http://www.okcentralreact.org/
Some of us have more than others and sometimes we think our problems are worse than anyone else’s. One profession I would never, ever, want to be in and that’s the profession of psychiatry or psychology. All they do day in and day out is listen to people’s problems and try to diagnose them. How can a doctor sit for 8-10 hours a day, listening to other people’s problems and be able to concentrate on their own problems? I don’t see how they do it.
I have spoken to students at my church and listened to some of their problems. Many times, their problems seem very minor and very petty, yet in their eyes, they are major. When you are a teenager, some of the smaller problems are magnified into bigger problems. Actually, there is no such thing as a small problem, especially if it affects you personally. That’s like someone telling you that the minor surgery you are about to undergo is no big deal, but to you it is because you will be put under by anesthesia and they will be cutting on you. If it is happening to you, it’s major. One thing I have learned is there is always someone that has more problems than I do. Unless you walk in their shoes, you will never know.
One more thing that I learned is to keep my problems private……don’t bring them to work. The last thing I need is to allow personal problems to interfere with my job performance. Too many employees bring their problems to work and they are miserable all day long. When I walk through the front door of our office, I decide not to dwell on my home problems and just focus on my job. It’s not easy because I know when I leave work, the problems will still be there. The one person that gives me hope and gives me the ability to manage and overcome my problems is Jesus. I am so glad I can bring my problems to him 24/7 and he will take care of them. At the time, it might not be the answer I wanted, but He is in charge, so I have to depend on Him to answer my prayers… in His timing.
I have finally decided to tone things down at work. I am a jokester and I like to have fun, so I like to say things that make people laugh. Sometimes what I say gets a laugh and sometimes it gets a nasty look. I never, ever, intentionally mean to hurt anyone’s feelings when I joke around. Unfortunately, many people wear their feelings on their shoulder and it does not take much to offend them. I have to force myself not to say certain things because it just comes natural for me to make off the wall or humorous comments. Sometimes those comments don’t come out right and I catch it from someone. So, I am doing my best to do my job, have fun and keep my words to myself.
I am still having a problem with a co-worker at work. This person has shown me (in their actions and words) that they are a very unhappy person. They had been a hard worker in the past, but they are now in a relationship with someone who is married and their work ethics have changed. They are doing less and trying to get away with more. Their lack of ambition is catching up with them and causing them some problems. Their whole attitude is changing and they don’t even notice it. This person got mad at me a few months ago and refuses to talk to me. I have no problem with that because I don’t have anything to say to them anyway. Why does someone get so mad that they hold grudges against others and all it does is make them miserable? I am not miserable…I am content. I am happy with my life and don’t have time for people that are miserable because they have made some really stupid, bonehead, mistakes. If they want to continue to make these stupid mistakes and these stupid decisions, then they deserve to be unhappy. Gosh, why be unhappy when you can live your life for the Lord and be happy?
http://www.okcentralreact.org/
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Another Short Weekend
It's hard to believe it is already Sunday evening. Where did the weekend go?
One thing about being a member of REACT, there is always some type of continuous training. The learning and training never ends, which is good. The only way to stay prepared for an emergency is to take advantage of any type of training that will benefit me. Yesterday, I spent about 7 hours in a CPR certification class. I had let my certification lapse several years ago, so the opportunity came up to get re-certified and I had a free Saturday, so I jumped on the chance. Plus, our REACT vice president was the one that taught the class and the cost of the class was inexpensive.
As a REACT member, it is my responsibility to stop and assist at a traffic accident, which includes treating the injured, if necessary. I carry a first-aid kit in the truck with me and have surgical gloves for my protection. If I come up on a scene where someone his unconscious, I know how to perform CPR. I also learned what to do in case of a severe cut that is bleeding heavily and what to do in case of frostbite or a burn. You always hope you never have to use these skills, but it is nice to know that you are prepared to use them if the situation warrants it.
I am also prepared to assist in any type of motorist assist...whether it be to assist in changing a flat tire or jumping someone's car. One thing I learned after I joined REACT is to make sure I am safe before I attempt to help anyone else. That means if I pull over the side of the road to assist anyone, I make sure I am completely off the road, make sure my emergency strobe lights are on, make sure my reflective vest is on and make sure I am not exposed to traffic. There have been a few times when I have come upon a motorist that is stranded, but they are parked in a dangerous spot. If it is in the lane of traffic on the interstate, I will call 911 and have OHP respond, especially since they are more prepared to handle these type of motorist assists.
I enjoy REACT and I really enjoying helping others. I don't do it for the glory of it.....I do it because it is the right thing to do. I have no problem stopping during the daytime to assist a motorist (especially if it is a stranded female), but I am very cautious in assisting after dark. You never know what you will get involved in, so I try not to do after dark motorist assists.
Today was a good day. We had a decent crowd in Sunday School, even though I know it could be a lot better. The problem we have right now is many of our students have moved to other parts of the City and can't get their parents to bring them to church. We have always told them if they could make it to church, we would make sure they got home. This morning, after the invitation, I made a plea to our church members to assist us in getting some of our students to church. Our students want to come, but can't because they have no ride. Several church members approached me after church and were more than happy to give the students a ride to church and back home. We will put this into action next Sunday and see how it goes.
I am not sure what this week will bring, but we are going to finally submit our loan application on our house this week. This is something that has needed to be done for the last month or so and we are finally getting it done.
The insurance company called last Friday and informed us that Karla's car was a total loss (which we figured). Now, we just have to see how much they are going to give us for the car and start looking for her another car.
I am sure ready for things to get back to normal. We need some good things to happen to us this week.
http://www.okcentralreact.org/
One thing about being a member of REACT, there is always some type of continuous training. The learning and training never ends, which is good. The only way to stay prepared for an emergency is to take advantage of any type of training that will benefit me. Yesterday, I spent about 7 hours in a CPR certification class. I had let my certification lapse several years ago, so the opportunity came up to get re-certified and I had a free Saturday, so I jumped on the chance. Plus, our REACT vice president was the one that taught the class and the cost of the class was inexpensive.
As a REACT member, it is my responsibility to stop and assist at a traffic accident, which includes treating the injured, if necessary. I carry a first-aid kit in the truck with me and have surgical gloves for my protection. If I come up on a scene where someone his unconscious, I know how to perform CPR. I also learned what to do in case of a severe cut that is bleeding heavily and what to do in case of frostbite or a burn. You always hope you never have to use these skills, but it is nice to know that you are prepared to use them if the situation warrants it.
I am also prepared to assist in any type of motorist assist...whether it be to assist in changing a flat tire or jumping someone's car. One thing I learned after I joined REACT is to make sure I am safe before I attempt to help anyone else. That means if I pull over the side of the road to assist anyone, I make sure I am completely off the road, make sure my emergency strobe lights are on, make sure my reflective vest is on and make sure I am not exposed to traffic. There have been a few times when I have come upon a motorist that is stranded, but they are parked in a dangerous spot. If it is in the lane of traffic on the interstate, I will call 911 and have OHP respond, especially since they are more prepared to handle these type of motorist assists.
I enjoy REACT and I really enjoying helping others. I don't do it for the glory of it.....I do it because it is the right thing to do. I have no problem stopping during the daytime to assist a motorist (especially if it is a stranded female), but I am very cautious in assisting after dark. You never know what you will get involved in, so I try not to do after dark motorist assists.
Today was a good day. We had a decent crowd in Sunday School, even though I know it could be a lot better. The problem we have right now is many of our students have moved to other parts of the City and can't get their parents to bring them to church. We have always told them if they could make it to church, we would make sure they got home. This morning, after the invitation, I made a plea to our church members to assist us in getting some of our students to church. Our students want to come, but can't because they have no ride. Several church members approached me after church and were more than happy to give the students a ride to church and back home. We will put this into action next Sunday and see how it goes.
I am not sure what this week will bring, but we are going to finally submit our loan application on our house this week. This is something that has needed to be done for the last month or so and we are finally getting it done.
The insurance company called last Friday and informed us that Karla's car was a total loss (which we figured). Now, we just have to see how much they are going to give us for the car and start looking for her another car.
I am sure ready for things to get back to normal. We need some good things to happen to us this week.
http://www.okcentralreact.org/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)