Celebrate Newkirk
Charlie Adams Day Almost Here
Charlie Adams Day is close upon us once again. This year,
the day has been designated as an official state Centennial event
and will be held Saturday, Sept. 8. Newkirk Main Street, Newkirk
Chamber of Commerce, and the Newkirk Community Historical Society
have been busy planning this year's activities for the event.
In addition to fine barbecue and Dutch oven cooking, the event
has gained a reputation for the daylong entertainment. To assist
with the entertainment, the historical society has been awarded
a $2,500 grant from Oklahoma Arts Council and the National Endowment
for the Arts for the 2007 Charlie Adams Day festival.
The hours for this year's event have been extended from 9:00
a.m. until 3:00 p.m. with most activities taking place on the
courthouse lawn. Cordelia Clapp will open the entertainment in
her native costume, performing in Native Sign Language the Lord's
Prayer, God Bless America, and in honor of Oklahoma's Centennial
this year she will also perform Oklahoma Rising.
Other scheduled entertainment will include the Rise and Shine
Praise Group, the Honky Tonk Revival Band, Native American dancing
by the Full Circle Dance Company. The Oklahoma Kid, Marty Tipton,
will be visiting from Shawnee with his trick roping. Judge Philip
Ross will portray O. H. Attebery, a contemporary of Charlie Adams'.
The Main Street Mavericks will do an original gunfight dramatization.
The Newkirk High School band will perform a number of selections.
Cindy's School of Dance will also put on a show. Matt Stauffer
will be on hand to make balloon animals for children.
The Newkirk Public Library will be the stage for a mime performance
by Joe Long. Newkirk High School teacher Leah Pappan will be
hosting the chalk art contest on the downtown sidewalks for artists
of all ages. Debbie and Rick Leaming will be in attendance with
their popcorn and prizes for children. Stagecoach and buggy rides
will be available.
Demonstrators include Clayton Hall, the Rusty Rose blacksmith,
and his wife Wabie doing basket weaving. George Rodriguez, the
leather tanner will attend along with his wife Pamela Rodriguez
who does drop spindle yarn spinning. Cecil Hamilton will be demonstrating
the art of flint knapping. Junior Main Street students will once
again do rope making. All the entertainment and demonstrations
are free of charge and everyone is encouraged to attend.
The Heartland of the Prairie chapter of the International Dutch
Oven Society will be hosting a sanctioned Dutch oven competition
and will feature Dutch oven cooking demonstrations with samples
of their tasty cobbler. Vance Johnson will set up his chuck wagon
and give cooking demonstrations also.
Newkirk Main Street and Newkirk Chamber of Commerce will be selling
barbecue tasting kits, hot dogs and drinks. If you like to cook
barbecue and would like to be one of the competing teams, please
contact Tonya Locke at 580-362-2420. Meat will be provided. There
is no entry fee for the cookers, and trophies will be awarded
for meat and bean categories.
There also will be arts and crafts. If you are interested in
participating, call 580-362-2155 or 580-362-2377. There will
be a classic car show as well as a motorcycle poker run. For
more information on the poker run, contact the Leathermans at
580-362-3502.
The Newkirk Crazy Quilters are sponsoring a Clothesline Quilt
Show in the upper floor of the historic Masonic Building, now
Rippit Quilt Shoppe. For more information, contact Donna Broyles
at 580-362-1234.
Planned is a fun-filled day to celebrate Newkirk and Oklahoma's
Centennial. All entertainment is free of charge.
Riot In Kay County Jail;
Guard, Inmates Injured
By Wayne White
Just two weeks after the capture of three escapees from the
Kay County Jail, inmates rioted and started a fire Saturday night.
One jailer was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation and
numerous inmates suffered minor injuries before the riot was
brought under control by deputies and jailers assisted by other
law enforcement agencies.
According to witnesses, law enforcement vehicles surrounded the
facility as officers geared up with tactical equipment and entered
through a fire escape door to rush the cell block where the riot
started.
Kay County Undersheriff Buddy Thomas said the riot began at about
6:45 p.m. Saturday. Most of Kay County's deputies arrived at
the jail to find the building filling with smoke after inmates
in the "county pod" pushed trash, clothes, and mattress
padding through their pod door's "bean hole" and set
the materials on fire. The county pod is where those charged
or convicted of some county criminal charges are housed.
The fire was quickly put out with a fire extinguisher but the
inmates barricaded the door by stacking mattresses against it.
"We had to pry those mats away from the door" to gain
access, Thomas said. The inmates had also hung blankets over
windows in the pod, keeping officers from seeing inside.
The 13 inmates inside the cell pod were ordered into their cells,
but refused to comply. After giving warnings to the inmates,
officers in full riot gear deployed two "sting ball"
grenades inside the pod.
The grenades first fire a loud boom and then explode, shooting
rubber pellets in all directions.
"You could feel the floor shake," Thomas said about
the force of the grenades.
One grenade was a dud, though, and the other did not subdue the
prisoners, but allowed the officers time to push through the
door into the cell.
After the grenade went off, the inmates were "jumping around
and whooping and hollering," Thomas said.
Once inside the cell pod, officers fired "super sock"
beanbag shotgun rounds at the inmates to subdue them. Eight to
12 rounds were fired in the pod, Thomas said.
Officers jumped on the inmates and handcuffed them, he said,
with those inmates then dragged out of the cell pod to the jail's
booking area.
In the booking room "We had them on the floor on their bellies
with handcuffs and zip ties," he said.
After the county pod was cleared, "several other tanks started
thinking about rioting," he said. Inmates in the "TZ"
and felony pods who refused to comply with orders were restrained
along with the first 13 inmates.
Thomas said some of the electronically-operated doors in the
jail were malfunctioning and had to be partially disassembled
before entry could be gained to the pods.
After the riot was quelled and the jail brought under control,
26 inmates were transported to other jails at Osage County, Ponca
City, and Grant County. According to Jeremy Horinek, an inmate
who was housed in the dormitory pod adjacent to the county pod,
the fire was intense before it was extinguished and smoke started
filling the jail.
Horinek, who was released from the jail Monday, said he could
see the fire from where he was, burning in front of the county
pod door.
"It looked like a fire pit," Horinek said, with smoke
quickly filling the jail. "It was real thick."
He said the smoke lingered in the jail for hours.
"We were breathing all that for about seven hours,"
Horinek said.
"[The inmates in the dormitory pod] were all pretty scared."
He and the other inmates could hear the commotion and shots fired
in the county pod, but could not see what was happening except
in the hallway which was filled with smoke.
"They were kicking the doors and shattered the glass (windows),"
Horinek said.
Horinek said the inmates in the dormitory pod didn't riot, with
most, like he was, serving short sentences or awaiting to be
bonded out and not wanting to cause trouble.
Thomas said the smoke was thick in the jail, even though the
fire was extinguished quickly. He said he was "choking up"
but "my main goal was to get that county tank under control."
As of Tuesday, it had not been determined how the fire was started,
with either a smuggled-in cigarette lighter or sparks from an
electrical socket as suspected sources.
Horinek said the riot started after the inmates in the county
pod didn't get fed at their normal time.
"They just started getting rowdier," he said. Inmates
in his cell pod didn't get their evening meal until about 2:00
a.m. after the riot was over and the smoke started clearing,
he said.
Thomas agreed that the riot began because the county pod didn't
get the evening meal at the normal time.
He said that malfunctioning doors had caused a delay in the meal
schedule.
"Some doors were not operating properly and [the inmates]
were not fed at exactly the right time," Thomas said.
He also said that due to media coverage of the ongoing problems
at the jail, the inmates "think they can tear this jail
up and get a 'get out of jail free card' by wreaking havoc."
"What they don't realize is they will get more charges and
end up with more jail time some place where they can handle them,"
he said.
Thomas said jailer Jordan Heppler suffered from smoke inhalation
and was transported by Newkirk Fire Department to Ponca City
Medical Center where he was treated and released. Newkirk Fire
Department also treated a number of inmates for "superficial
wounds," providing ice packs "for bumps and bruises."
With the riot over by 9:30 p.m., the jail staff faced the aftermath
in the cell pod. Light fixtures had been torn from the ceiling,
windows were shattered, cell doors were torn from their hinges,
and steel door frames were ripped from the concrete openings.
As of Tuesday, a dollar amount of the damages had not been determined,
according to County Commissioner Wayne Leven.
Thomas said the investigation continues, but arrest reports are
being prepared for at least 13 of the inmates and will be turned
over to the Kay County District Attorney's Office for prosecution.
"We plan on filing ... everything from destruction of county
property to inciting a riot," he said.
According to sheriff's office personnel, there were two jailers
and a dispatcher on duty at the jail when the riot broke out.
There were 129 prisoners in the jail at the time, Thomas said.
The state has set the capacity of the jail at 108 inmates.
"Sometimes when you get three or four prisoners stacked
up in each cell, tempers are going to flare," Thomas said.
He noted there were 13 prisoners in the county pod which is designed
to hold 12. He said all the prisoners in the county pod are suspected
of participating in the riot.
In addition to deputies and jailers, those assisting with controlling
the riot included officers from the Newkirk Police Department,
Ponca City Police Department, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
Osage County deputies arrived with a transport van to help haul
away some of the 26 prisoners who were moved.
It is not known how long the transported prisoners will be housed
out of county, he said, but it will take time for the county
cell pod to be repaired to a usable condition.
County Officials
Play Blame Game
In Riot Aftermath
By Wayne White
It wasn't quite as violent as the riot at the Kay County Jail
Saturday night, but heated discussion at Monday morning's county
commission meeting ensued with elected officials pointing fingers
at each other over the jail's ongoing problems.
While no action was taken regarding the riot, the discussion
calmed enough for commissioners to vote unanimously to install
televisions in the jail as a behavioral tool.
With Kay County Undersheriff Buddy Thomas describing to the commissioners
the events of the weekend and Commissioner Laile Wilson questioning
how the riot happened, Commission Chairman Dee Schieber first
applied heat to the conversation by accusing jail staff and management
for the riot.
"Somebody's not doing their job," Schieber said, eliciting
a response from Thomas that the riot was due to tensions in the
jail from continued overcrowding.
"The less space we have, that's what [the prisoners] are
going to keep doing," Thomas said.
He also suggested that problems exist due to the inability of
the sheriff's office to hire jailers because of the dangers inside
the overcrowded jail.
Schieber responded, "When your sheriff (Everette Van Hoesen)
comes in here and tells everybody how dangerous it is, that part
has to stop. We can't go around telling people this jail's dangerous."
"It is the truth, the unfortunate truth," Thomas said.
"We got inmates hurt and we got jailers hurt."
Schieber then stated he was "prepared for the jail authority
to take the jail over." The Kay County Justice Facilities
Authority was formed earlier this year by the commission to evaluate
the jail and develop possible solutions to the problems, but
hasn't been given the authority to operate the jail.
Schieber said the jail trust authority should seek resumes for
two weeks and then hire a jail administrator. The current administrator
of the jail is Stephanie Ringgold, who works under the authority
of the sheriff to operate the jail.
With Wilson's repeated questions of how the riot started, Thomas
continued to point to the overcrowding, noting there had been
several tension-filled incidents at the jail over the past week.
The county has been under a state-mandated compliance order since
last summer to reduce the population at the jail. A $95,000 fine
has been assessed against the county, with the state confirming
last week that steps have been taken to bring the county's appeal
of the fine before a district judge.
Schieber continued his assertion that the jail authority would
take over the jail, saying Wilson, who also serves as a trustee
on the authority, would place the decision on the trust's agenda
for a Wednesday meeting.
"He's going to put it on the agenda to vote on," Schieber
said, though the jail trust's only authority is granted by the
county commission.
An agenda was posted Monday for a special meeting of the county
commissioners to be held at the same time as the jail trust's
regular meeting Wednesday. "Consideration, discussion and
possible action ... including giving the [Justice Facilities
Authority] authority over operation of the jail and hiring an
administrator for the jail," was one item of business.
Schieber continued his tirade against the sheriff and the jail
staff: "We've had three riots over there this week. I just
feel like somebody over there is not doing their job."
Van Hoesen responded, "It's in this room. You're not going
to put this on me. You're not going to put this on my staff.
We've been working hard. You've got to put money into this jail.
I think that'd be better than hiring somebody (a new administrator)
for $40,000.
"If you want the jail board to take over, that's fine with
me. They're not going to do any better than us until they get
the money to fix the jail."
Van Hoesen noted he reported the jail population to the commissioners
every Monday, and they couldn't deny they knew of the ongoing
overcrowded conditions.
Following the sheriff's comments, District Attorney Mark Gibson
jumped into the fray.
"Sheriff, I've been here longer than you," Gibson said.
"We were running 120 (inmates in the jail) easy long before
you were here and we didn't have this problem then."
The state mandated capacity of the jail has been 108 inmates
for many years, although the capacity was set at 84 when the
jail was constructed.
Gibson defended the commissioners, saying to Van Hoesen, "It's
ludicrous for you to stand here and say it's all their fault."
Gibson continued to rail against the sheriff, complaining of
him buying patrol cars instead of using the funds to maintain
the jail or hire staff.
Gibson asked the sheriff if he knew what his first statutory
priority was.
"It's not to finance and repair that jail," Van Hoesen
responded.
Gibson said the sheriff's priority was to maintain a secure jail,
and suggested that if not enough jailers could be hired, deputies
should be pulled from patrol to work inside the jail.
"You've got deputies that can come work in the jail ...
and you choose not to do it," Gibson said.
He accused the sheriff of "not doing all you can do to staff
the jail."
"Is the sheriff patrol out there doing DUI's or are they
keeping that jail safe?" Gibson continued.
Van Hoesen admitted the deputies were "doing a lot of [DUI
patrol]," but noted a grant had been secured that paid for
the DUI patrol work.
The discussion settled down with the various problems with staffing,
maintenance, and inmate behavior being considered.
The commission then heard from former county treasurer Pat Schieber
who took her turn complaining about the sheriff.
"We've got to get control of that jail and we've got to
do it now," she said, pointing to last year's study by the
National Institute of Corrections that said the inmates were
in control of the jail.
"[The inmates are] still in control of the jail," she
said. "It is very obvious that the management over there
is insufficient. It's the management's responsibility to staff
that jail. The sheriff has been given tons of money. That's not
the commissioners' fault. We've got a management problem over
there we need to solve today."
Van Hoesen scoffed at Pat Schieber's term "tons of money,"
but confirmed he had budgeted to employ 15 jailers, but could
not retain employees.
Dee Schieber joined in again, "We've got to get this jail
operational or the people of Kay County's not going to vote for
another one. If we can't take care of this one, they're sure
as heck not going to build you a new one, because you won't take
care of it either."
The commissioner's comments brought numerous groans and comments
from spectators, with one jailer saying he took the statements
personal.
"You know it's your jail, too," the unidentified jailer
said.
With the arguing finally calming, talk turned to what could be
done about the current situation.
Dee Schieber said he had contacted the state jail inspector and
was assured the state would allow another 120 days before pushing
for payment of the fines. He said a new administrator must be
hired by the end of the 120 days or the fines would have to be
paid.
"That's the only way we'll get 120 days is to take that
jail over," Schieber said.
Gibson told the commissioners that Dee Schieber's timeline for
hiring an administrator and placing the operation of the jail
in the trust authority's hands was not likely to happen that
fast.
"As a practical matter, you're talking a transfer of six
to eight weeks," Gibson said.
After discussion of the type of behavior tools that could be
used on the inmates, Commissioner Wayne Leven said the jail needed
"something to occupy those guys' time. I'm talking about
TVs in those pods. It's not a reward, it's not something you're
being nice to them about, it's a tool."
Leven said the televisions should be out of reach of the inmates
with a jailer in the control room operating the remote control.
"If that's a tool, and it works in other jails, then we've
got to do it," he said, saying the commissioners would fund
the expenditure.
Wilson noted the commissioners "would get some heat for
it" but agreed televisions could be used as a tool that
could possibly pacify the inmates.
Leven made a motion to purchase the televisions, Wilson seconded
it, and the vote was unanimous in favor.
As the jail discussion wound down, a county citizen, Orva Rothgeb,
left the commissioners sputtering.
"You've got a volunteer jail board, now you want to put
it on them," Rothgeb said. "Are you going to pay them?
You're shirking your responsibilities trying to put it on that
board."
Rothgeb's statements were met with all commissioners talking
at once denying they were shirking their responsibilities,
explaining the commission couldn't operate the jail without statutory
authority, and protesting that all of the jail authority trustees
were businessmen who were capable of the duties delegated to
them.
Final Inspection Not So Final
For Middle School Project
By Wayne White
The Newkirk Board of Education did their first official walk-through
of the new addition to Newkirk Middle School as a group on Monday,
but didn't walk out all smiles.
Superintendent Carl Barnes told the board at Monday's regular
meeting that the seven-classroom project was not entirely completed.
"We're having trouble getting all the trades up here to
finish the work," Barnes said. The construction is substantially
complete, almost to the point the addition can be occupied, but
a variety of finish work is still pending.
Also, Barnes warned, "It's the trend right now ... the quality
of work is not what I am used to."
During the walk-through inspection, the board was first met with
some good news. A portion of the approximately $940,000 project
that was eliminated from the project has been completed by school
staff, saving the district about $25,000 compared to the architect's
estimates. The addition of the seven classrooms allowed the middle
school to convert an original classroom into a conference room
and an office for the middle school counselor. That work was
done mainly by the school district's maintenance employee, James
Mayden, Barnes said.
With all board members present during the tour, positive comments
were made about Mayden's and the school staff's workmanship.
While the board walked on shiny floors and faced freshly painted
walls, comments weren't so positive as the tour passed through
the new addition. Some of the top complaints pertained to the
tile flooring in the hallways. "Imperfections" as described
by president of the school board, Keith Bowen, were visible throughout
the hallways. The imperfections included raised areas that looked
as though small pebbles or chips were under the tile and other
areas where it appeared the sub-flooring had waves that were
also visible in the tile. School employees had already waxed
and polished the floors in preparation for the start of school
Aug. 15 the shiny surfaces made the imperfections very
visible in the glare of the bright fluorescent lights.
Barnes explained that he had talked with Schilt Management Services,
hired to manage the construction project, about the wavy appearance
of the sub-flooring, but had been told the project was "within
tolerances."
Board members noticed other floor imperfections in the two new
restrooms that have concrete floors covered with an epoxy finish.
Drains in the restroom floors were surrounded by rough finish
concrete, while the rest of the floor was smooth. In one restroom,
indented footprints were visible either in the epoxy finish
or the concrete subsurface.
Concrete work at the rear of the building also brought some frowns,
with board members noting that part of the concrete had a smooth
finish and other parts had a rough finish.
Also, rainwater down spouts along the back of the building were
originally terminated above the sidewalk, but after questions
were raised, black plastic flexible tubing was added. The black
tubing now goes under the sidewalk to drain in the playground
behind the school. Board members expressed concern about the
unfinished look of the tubing entering the concrete and whether
it would be durable enough to withstand traffic of passing students.
Another concern was raised about the color of the addition
board members agreed they had not been consulted about the color
of the new metal exterior which is white. They also agreed they
hadn't expressed a color preference before construction started.
Other metal parts of the building are beige or brown.
Other concerns included interior electrical outlet plates that
didn't completely cover the holes in the wallboard and a fire
door with a closing control that didn't operate correctly.
While the board's agenda included action to approve or reject
the new addition to the school, the board chose instead to table
the action. All agreed a final walk-through with the construction
manager and the architect was in order.
One option considered for dealing with the problems was withholding
the final payment on the project until the work was completed
to the satisfaction of the board.
Barnes told board members he believed the classrooms could be
used despite the imperfections, but a final approval by the state
fire marshal is needed before the addition can be occupied.
He said he would meet with the construction manager and the fire
marshal, with the possibility of scheduling a special board meeting
to inspect and approve the project at a later date.
The project was done with a three-part voter-approved bond issue
to build seven classrooms, two restrooms and storage space for
a total of 8,547 square feet. The new addition will house the
fifth grade that was formerly in Newkirk Elementary School. One
of the new classrooms will be split, with school staff providing
the labor, with half used as a speech therapy room and the other
half as a special education room; another new classroom will
be used as a multi-purpose room.
In other business, the board:
· Approved employment of Ashley Webb as an elementary
teacher, Tina Thompson as a full-time cafeteria worker, and Tonya
Mowdy as a part-time cafeteria worker.
· Approved the single bid for milk. Hiland Dairy of Chandler,
OK, was the only bidder with prices rising from last year by
five cents to eight cents per half pint depending upon type.
Under new business, the board also approved an increase in the
selling price from 25¢ to 30¢ for a half pint.
· Approved all three schools' student handbooks and a
newly created athletic handbook.
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