NewsPress Editor's Notes

OK, I've been Christmas shopping

2011-12-12T22:19:00.000-08:00

I am not the most joyful giver. There, I said it.
Maybe it is because I am not the most joyful shopper.
My Christmas shopping is unplanned, ill-prepared and involves a significant amount of huddling next to the bicycles and texting grown nephews and nieces to solicit toy preferences and t-shirt sizes of their little darlings.
Is Barbie in? Are Legos out? I can't keep up.
I stuck a Fashionista Barbie in the shopping cart only to have my eyes drawn oddly to her spindly plastic legs. Creepy, creepy knees. Back on the shelf with that one.
And is there honestly anybody in America who believes that brown-haired doll looks like Justin Bieber? Really?
I like to give books. Maybe it's because I love books and think everyone should. Do people read books with real paper pages and not electronic pixels? I do, but who else?
Books are difficult to select for gift giving unless you plan to share a title you've already read or the work of an author you particularly like.
Some book titles turn off my attention. Ever notice how many bibles there are out there? I don't mean King James and New International Version. I'm talking about people billing their books for every imaginable thing as the bible on the subject. This is the recognized bible on getting out of debt, or selecting a new car, or getting your kid into college. No, it isn't. The Bible is the bible. Get your own name.
My shopping isn't finished. I don't know when it will be. But I've pretty much exhausted the toy section with my aversion to creepy doll knees.
And if you are looking for the Biebster in your stocking, I hope you recognize him when you see him.

Black Friday behind us

2011-11-25T10:36:00.000-08:00

As soon as the Thanksgiving leftovers were tucked away, it became official. Christmas shopping season is upon us.
I don't do the Black Friday frenzy. I'd rather sleep in, have pumpkin pie for breakfast and think about dragging the Christmas tree out of the garage. The contemplating comes early on. The action comes later.
I got one of those forward to everyone you know or you don't love America emails that advocated leaving the China imports on the shelf and reaching out to local businesses to meet our gift shopping needs.
I admit I am the first to delete mass emails. They suck away my time, clog my inbox and frankly are usually perpetuation of myth, faulty logic and/or outright bs. What prompted me to skim this one instead of promptly hitting delete, I don't recall.
The gist was an idea of giving gifts of local services and goods to those on our list, to provide a useful and meaningful - and often needed - gift while contributing to the economic health of local businesses. Keeping those businesses and local services alive helps us by meeting our needs, helps them by supporting their livelihood, helps provide jobs for the people our demand for their business helps them employ, and on and on.
Some ideas: Buy a manicure/pedicure gift certificate for an aunt; monthly car washes for a nephew; grocery store gift cards for seniors on a fixed income - you get the drift.
Why not?

Oklahoma State Memorial

2011-11-21T10:54:00.001-08:00

Gallagher-Iba Arena is filling up with the orange and black most familiar here at Oklahoma State University.
More black than orange today.
Students, staff, alumni and fans gather to remember women's basketball coach Kurt Budke, assistant coach Miranda Serna and alumni Olin Branstetter and Paula Branstetter.
All four died in Arkansas Thursday after the Branstetters' plane nose-dived into a hillside during a recruiting trip.
Gov Mary Fallin, an OSU, alum, will attend the memorial. She also is asking the state's universities to review their travel policies. A decade ago 10 people affiliated with OSU men's basketball died in a plane crash in Colorado.

Singing to the choir

2011-09-30T21:14:00.000-07:00

RW Hampton slung an acoustic guitar over his shoulder, dusted his boots across a dirt arena and stepped by way of a bale of grass hay onto a flatbed trailer doubling as a stage.
The crowd was finishing up the last bites of a chuck wagon dinner when Hampton eased up to a microphone to share the kind of songs he places under the uncluttered heading of cowboy.
There was a little Merle, a little gospel, a little bit of story telling set to chords.
And as Hampton played to a crowd of folks perched on folding metal chairs at the Payne County Expo Center, toes tapped, heads nodded and hands clapped.
Hampton's show was a little about being a cowboy, a little about being a Christian and a lot about music and family and faith and God and country.
And when the rugged wrangler with the boots and big hat offered up his flavor of country hymns and gospel standards, his audience was ready to put hands together. When RW Hampton vocalized about a higher power and a home in Heaven and the faith of fathers before him, well, in this cowboy church gathering, he was preaching to the choir.

Be careful out there

2011-08-31T19:18:00.000-07:00

Area firefighters have been busy battling wildfires. Incredibly dry conditions turn vegetation to fuel for wildland fires. Add low humidity and a brisk Oklahoma breeze and catastrophe is just a spark away.
There are things we can do to prevent fires. Keep cigarettes and ashes inside the car. Maintain vehicles to prevent sparks and backfiring. Don't park in tall grass and weeds. Hot engines and exhaust systems can ignite dry grass. Adhere to the ban on outdoor burning. Avoid anything that causes sparks outside.
Firefighters also can offer tips on how to protect our homes and property from a wildfire that could encroach. Clear dead branches, weeds and grass away from houses and outbuildings. Is this winter's firewood stacked beside the barn or by the back door? Move it. Check with your area firefighters for more tips. They will be happy to advise - if they can keep off their fire trucks long enough.
And they are always there when we need them. Ever notice that? In the interest of full disclosure, I will say here that my husband is a retired firefighter and public education officer. He spent decades battling fires under all conditions and also teaching people, mostly kids, how to prevent fires and fire-related injuries.
Firefighters are there whenever we need them, putting their lives on the line every day. Let's keep in mind the threat to the people who fight fires. Maybe that will help us remember to take extra steps to prevent fires. Be safe.

Breast cancer threatens more than humans

2011-07-12T18:18:00.001-07:00

The past two Octobers, the NewsPress has honored breast cancer victims and survivors with a daily series sharing their stories, their struggles, their obstacles and their triumphs.
Several months ago I learned that breast cancer does not prey only on humans.
My Welsh Corgi Scampi was diagnosed with breast cancer last fall. After surgery she was cancer free for the rest of 2010. But with 2011 came more cancer.
On June 25, the cancer won. Scampi went outside and scurried beneath the porch my husband built to ease her outdoor adventuring when the existing doorstep proved too much of a challenge. And there, she drew her last breath.
As much as I have mourned the passing of my loving Corgi, I also have resolved to spread the message. Spay your puppies. Our veterinarian says early spaying drastically reduces the chances of female dogs developing breast cancer.
I didn’t know.
And now she is gone at an age she should be curled up beside my chair.
We urge people to have their pets spayed and neutered to reduce the number of animals that suffer from neglect, abuse and homelessness.
And now I know spaying puppies can also reduce the number of premature deaths to breast cancer.
Do your friend a favor.

Goodbye, Betty Ford

2011-07-10T08:15:00.001-07:00

America is saying goodbye to one of the strongest women - no, one of the strongest people - ever to occupy the White House.
Betty Ford was a first lady who shared her strength, her family, her weaknesses and her humor with her country.
Women too young to remember Betty Ford need only look around at the strong women influencing today's world and see her legacy.
Betty Ford was a feminist, a women's rights advocate and a symbol of strength. And she was willing to share with the world when challenges tested that strength.
She faced substance addiction and the Betty Ford clinic became a well-known center that served those whose
own addictions previously had been kept hidden.
When Betty Ford developed breast cancer, she let the world know. And she survived, empowering women everywhere.
Our world is a little less right now, it seems, with Betty Ford's death.
But our world is so much more because she was in it.

Earth Day - why not every day?

2011-04-22T08:13:00.001-07:00

We need to take this earth thing seriously.
Recycling isn’t a fad. It’s a necessity. There will never be any more land than we have on this earth at this moment. And we are filling it up with trash. We have alternatives we can do every day in painless ways. Sort the plastic and the glass and the paper and the cans and see how they add up. When you heft them to the collection center look at their bulk and realize you saved that much space in a landfill.
A filter on a faucet eliminates mountains of plastic water bottles and provides the same clean water we find in a bottle. Filter your faucet water, fill up your favorite reusable container and go.
If your cabinet or broom closet is overflowing with plastic supermarket bags – hate to throw them away - there is an alternative. A favorite canvas tote bag or a reusable shopping bag marketed at any of dozens of stores gives you a handle on strong-arming those groceries without adding to the waste pile. Keep it in the car.
Our attention needs to go further than material things – in life and in protecting our Earth.
An appliance that is unplugged when not in use, a shower shortened by a minute, a thermostat 2 degrees up or down, a phone charger disconnected from the outlet when the phone is not on it – these reflect little earth-friendly things we can do and stay in our comfort zone.
When it comes to saving our planet, it’s great to go big. But until we are ready to go big, we can at least go small.
Let’s make every day Earth Day.

Martha Stewart knows her meatballs

2011-02-05T18:14:00.000-08:00

How do you get your meatballs to blip the radar of Martha Stewart?
She told a recent studio audience that she sent her staff members out and about in New York to taste a basket of meatballs all over the city and report back.
But you don't get meatballs on the Martha Stewart Show solely on the vote of a Stewart staffer.
Ms. Stewart - may I call you Martha? - says she sampled the finalists to select several chefs to prepare their signature meatballs on a show in January.
Good day for me to be in the audience during a recent trip to Manhattan.
We tasted chicken meatballs spiced to present a forkable alternative to the finger licking that accompanies the traditional buffalo wing.
We tasted a family recipe that was nearly as big as a baseball and we tasted a ball with scrumptious cheese injected. OMG. There were no losers.
Sitting in the studio audience of the Martha Stewart Show was a guilty pleasure. I have not an ounce of craftiness in my body. I don't sew. I have no eye for color and design. I can prepare a couple of dinner dishes with limited confidence.
In short, I'm not Martha Stewart.
But darn it, I like her. I like that she is strong and talented and determined and independent and she takes charge and she accepts responsibility.
So, I signed up for a ticket. Easy enough to get. Go to her website - where you also will find information on her new ReMarthable giveaway.
And fill out not just a request but a section about yourself. It's the place the Martha faithful can list their special Martha-esque talents and interests. Despite my lack of any Marthaisms to recount, my ticket request was accepted.
Then a few days later came an e-mail with just a few little instructions. Wear bright colors. Martha likes bright colors, the Audience e-mail confides. OK. Jewel tones. OK. And be on time - which is nearly two hours before showtime. OK. And no photos during filming. OK. And don't haul in your luggage. Ah, those pesky tourists.
What did I learn about Martha Stewart during my few hours in her New York studio? No secrets. No revelations. Just the no-nonsense, all-business Martha Stewart we all see every day.
And that's what I came for. That and the meatballs.
And a cookbook. And a can of olive oil I wasn't sure I could get home in my checked travel bag. But I did.
Nothing short of ReMarthable.

Expecting a super Super Bowl?

2011-02-05T17:41:00.000-08:00

Ah, the Super Bowl.
College football has been on hiatus a month. Wrestling is under way. Basketballs are pounding the hardwood. Major League Baseball players are thinking about packing for camp.
It must be Super Bowl time.
Green Bay? Pittsburgh? We'll know Sunday night.
Millions of people will tune in - most for the game, some for the commercials.
While you are watching football with all those millions of people, think of this. More people read newspapers than will be watching the Super Bowl Sunday night.

Cold enough for you?

2011-02-04T19:58:00.000-08:00

Did Congress repeal global warming, too?
When we start speculating that winter is going to be mild this year, a blizzard barrels in.
Just in case the first eight inches of snow wasn't enough, Mother Nature added two more Friday.
Notice how nice the storm made those around us? Strangers pulling cars out of snow drifts. The city offering to pick up extra trash bags.
Gives us all a warm fuzzy feeling. Be careful out there.

What do you promise yourself this new year?

2011-01-02T07:07:00.000-08:00

I’ve not been a loyal resolver.
There have been years I made some hollow vow about eating less or exercising more. I’ve promised now and then to organize, unclutter and to finally use myriad possessions long tucked away.
One new year sparks an urge to nest. Another carries with it a determination to streamline.
One late December brought a fleeting thought of public service. Jan. 1 often arrives accompanied by a hunger for a greater understanding of spirituality.
But to say I jog headlong down the path of New Year’s Resolutions each time the calendar spins its annual 365? No.
Yet as 2011 struggles to stand on its wobbly legs like a day-old colt, an eyebrow arches.
I can lose that weight. I can change that habit. I can organize. I can reach out to others. I can open my heart to a world larger than my own.
I can find zen and straighten out my income tax receipts. I can slow down and give that still small voice a chance to be heard above a racing heart. I can read the classics and be more diligent in my battle with that soap scum on the shower stall tile.
I can do the things my soul whispers. A day at a time I can be smarter, healthier, more caring, more spiritual – more.
And if it lasts a month, a week, a day – then for a month, a week, a day I offered the world, and myself, a better me.
Happy New Year.

J.B. Bittner
Stillwater NewsPress editor

John and me

2010-09-03T16:35:00.001-07:00

Ah now this is a Friday night. Just John Mayer and me ... and 50,000 skinny people in tight jeans and pointy boots filing into Tulsa's BOK Center. Then there are the middle-aged dads escorting their tween daughters. Cute. I'm hangin' close to them. Spiky hair scares me.

Payne County Fair

2010-08-26T18:03:00.001-07:00

Draft horses pulling sleds of salt blocks at the Payne County Fair! This is great! These guys wrangling things are probably normal size - until they stand up next to a ginormous horse.

Hot enough for ya?

2010-07-24T07:18:00.001-07:00

In Oklahoma we love to talk about the weather. And we are tough critics.
If it's dry we need rain. If it rains we just want to see some sunshine. The sun comes out and we're sure it's too darned hot.
OK right now it's approaching too darned hot. Fun to joke about, but the heat can be too much for some of our area residents.
Keep an eye on your neighbors, family and friends. Heat takes a greater toll on youngsters and older folks. The economic crunch has most people cutting down and cutting back.
Despite a triple-digit heat index ushering in summer, some people may not be running air conditioning because they feel they can't afford the electric bill.
There is help available. Check with the local Red Cross office. They are aware of programs.
Those who can't afford cool during our hot afternoons can borrow cool elsewhere. Why not choose the hottest part of the day to pick up groceries in a cool supermarket or browse retail shelves?
Stillwater's public library is stocked with books and other resources and can be a cool place to be in summer.
Check out other city services and centers. Get out, cool off and reap the benefit of your tax dollars.
Know someone who needs some cool? Give them a ride.

A star is born

2010-05-26T20:30:00.000-07:00

Who knew Oklahomans were so funny?
Fumitoshi Fujimoto and Takahiro Haranishi, members of the Japanese comedy group Fujiwara, were in the Stillwater NewsPress office Wednesday. A Japanese film crew shot a bit of our classified ad representative Melissa Wills as she answered their questions about what they obviously consider our number one Oklahoma pastime – noodling.
Melissa didn’t know what they were saying (far as I know) but good-naturedly took her cues from translator Mugi somethingorother, who lives in California – of course – and who did the advance work and translated the director’s, um, directions.
It all went something like, (Japanese, Japanese, Japanese, Japanese) uproarious laughter, ask Melissa a question, get a straight answer, (something, something, something in Japanese.) More uproarious laughter.
It was all quite interesting and a nice respite from the regular workday. But I warned Melissa if she ever hears a translation of the scene she will more than likely find she played the straight man to the Japanese television personalities’ comic wisecracks.
She handled it well. You can see her breathtaking performance at www.stwnewspress.com.
If you called the NewsPress to place a classified ad around noon Wednesday and didn’t get an answer, sorry. Melissa was pursuing her 15 minutes of fame.

Stillwater Arts Festival holds up to spring rain

2010-04-17T14:53:00.001-07:00

It takes more than a little rain to dampen enthusiasm for quality art.
This year's Stillwater Arts Festival has drawn more than 80 artists from across the country - all with art in tow.
Fine art, pottery, jewelry and an eclectic assortment from turned wood to stone scenes fill booths along Main Street downtown. The show is open again Sunday. Show goers will also find food and music. A little rain? Big deal. Beats 100 degrees and sunburn.

2010-02-20T19:56:00.001-08:00

It is heartening to hear so many people advocate for the First Amendment as debate swells over public commentary at Stillwater City Council meetings.

As journalists we stand on the First Amendment soapbox at every opportunity and shine light on our right to press freedom.

It is exciting for those outside our field to recognize the weight and value of this guaranteed right as they demand time to exercise their right to free speech.

While we’re sounding the horn for freedom of the press and freedom of speech, what a great opportunity to take a closer look at the First Amendment of our U.S. Constitution.

Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the

free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of

the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of

grievances.

Governor says offer ideas with criticism

2010-02-05T09:53:00.001-08:00

Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry told Oklahoma editors and publishers today the people criticizing his budget proposal need to offer their own solutions.
"It's not acceptable to simply sit on the sidelines and criticize. ... Lay your ideas on the table also. "
Other points: In spending rainy day fund - or not - Henry said he wants to make sure he is following the agreement he signed regarding use of stimulus funds.
"The crisis we face today is precisely the crisis voters envisioned when they created the Rainy Day Fund."
He says he wants to make sure the spending cuts the state makes now don't "irreparably damage" education, health care delivery and other areas. Economic recovery will come, Henry said, and Oklahoma needs "to be prepared for that recovery."