The City Sentinel 04/06/2014

April 7, 2014 2:19 pm /

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As drug deaths rise, millions of narcotic prescriptions filled

Ten CentsApril 10, 2014 — April 16, 2014Volume 52, Issue 15 www.city-sentinel.com

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Raise the Wage Coalition fights to let voters decide on minimum wage

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ACLU-OK honors plaintiffs in Oklahoma same sex marriage case

News for 25,000readers in the

Heart of the City

CityRep and OCU collaborate on ‘South Pacific’

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A wind war for Oklahoma?Staff Report

A new wind farm in Cana-dian County is provoking fear from residents in the area.

Consisting of 135 turbines near Calumet is the Canadian Hills Wind Farm, developed by Apex Wind Energy. Anoth-er 120 turbines both in Canadi-an and Kingfisher Counties are planned.

The company touts the “clean, safe and renewable”

nature of the power produced from the turning turbines, but some people who live in the area are upset about the situa-tion.

Neighbors worry about pos-sible health effects on humans – and the occasional death of birds, including geese.

The company’s website says there will ultimately be 300 turbines in its program.

Turbines are placed on prop-erty after a lease is signed with

a land owner.One local property owner

who did not sign a lease with Apex is Kingfisher County’s Richard Grellner. He says the turbines will drive down resi-dential property values, and that the rights of those who own neighboring land will be undercut. He also objects to contractual limitations on the ability of property owners who signed leases to talk about their

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Latino agency serves Oklahoma through education, leadership programs and advocacy

By Darla Shelden

City Sentinel Reporter

The Latino Community De-velopment Agency (LCDA) is a non-profit organization that provides services for the His-panic community throughout Oklahoma. LCDA’s mission is to enhance the quality of life of the Latino community through

education, leadership services and advocacy.

In 1989, a United Way task force addressed the needs of the Latino community in Oklahoma County. They developed a lead-ership pool to represent Latino interests on boards and com-missions.

The LCDA was established in 1991, incorporated in 1993 and

began autonomous operation in January 1994.

Ruben Aragon, LCDA Presi-dent and CEO, said, “LCDA, with a solid record of 23 years of successful, award-winning, and highly accredited service per-formance, has grown into the leading community service pro-vider of a wide range of 25 pro-

The Latino Community Development Agency is located in the heart of the Latino community at 420 S.W. 10 St., inside the Riverside Community Center. Photo provided.

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Surgery Center of OK: Saving taxpayers real money, in real time

By Patrick B. McGuigan

Associate Publisher

In mid-February, members of the Oklahoma County Bud-get Board approved, and then signed, a contract with Surgery Center of Oklahoma.

In the long run, that one move may be regarded as among the most significant steps in county history to save taxpayers real money, in real time.

At their Feb. 20 meeting, the budget board approved a “pro-vider services agreement” be-tween the Surgery Center and the county. County Clerk Car-olynn Caudill, a Republican, re-quested approval.

The accord’s legality was ap-proved by an assistant district attorney, who works for Dis-trict Attorney David Prater, a Democrat.

The county commissioners — two Republicans and one Democrat — joined Caudill and Treasurer Forrest “Butch” Freeman, another Republican, to ink the pact with Dr. Keith Smith, founder and lead physi-

cian at the Surgery Center.Sounds kind of technical.

What’s the big deal?Relieving taxpayers and con-

sumers from some of the accel-erating costs of the Affordable Care Act should be applauded.

Oklahoma County’s health care plan for its employees is a self-financed plan, making county officials price-sensitive.

The contract with the Sur-gery Center includes a lengthy list of the procedures its phy-sicians perform, and what the charge for those services would be.

As has been reported at Watchdog.org, in Perspective Magazine, on Reason.tv, The Wall Street Journal, The City Sentinel and many other news or “think tank” stories — the typical price at the Surgery Center runs from one-sixth to one- tenth of what it costs at mega-hospitals, including even those who include charity as part of their raison d’etre.

Based on direct evidence, I project more than a quarter of a million dollars in cost savings for Oklahoma County taxpay-

ers, in just the first quarter. I base this on what’s happened in just the first month of the coun-ty-Surgery Center hook-up.

In late March, Caudill’s di-rector of human resources, Jon Wilkerson, told me: “Okla-homa County has experienced tremendous results in only the first month of having a direct contract with the Surgery Cen-ter (started in March). We add-ed this as an optional benefit for covered employees, retirees, and eligible dependents on our self-insured health plan, and waived any out-of-pocket costs if they choose to have their sur-gery at the Surgery Center. To date, there have been 10 surger-ies scheduled. The total cost

Dr. Keith Smith

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AT&T hiring more than 230 Oklahoma employees in next few months

Staff Report

AT&T plans to hire more more than 230 employees in Oklahoma as part of a nation-wide expansion of 3,000 retail sales and sales management employees over the next sever-al months, said Retail Sales and Service President Paul Roth, AT&T Mobility.

The new employees are needed to meet increased cus-tomer demand in the compa-ny’s growing retail business.

For information regard-ing Oklahoma positions, visit connect.att.jobs/Oklahoma on-line.

“AT&T’s job growth is more proof that our focus on eco-nomic growth is working and providing Oklahomans with more opportunities. We know great companies like AT&T have many options when decid-ing where to expand and hire. My thanks go out to AT&T and its leadership team for their de-cision to add more Oklahomans to their workforce,” said Okla-homa Governor Mary Fallin.

Said Roth, “AT&T’s award-winning retail team is focused on delivering an extraordinary customer experience with ev-ery interaction. We are pleased to invite more people to join the AT&T family and add to an already amazing team.”

“Creating a great retail expe-rience starts with a knowledge-able and friendly team. Our customers expect a high level of service when they walk into

our stores, so we are investing in our workforce to ensure we are providing just that,” added Roth.AT&T’s Commitment to Hiring and Training

AT&T jobs are among the best in the world. Full-and part-time positions provide highly competitive wages and ben-efits. The company also offers many opportunities for profes-sional development and educa-tion, and provided more than 20 million hours of employee training in 2013.

With 243,000 employees, AT&T is one of the largest em-ployers in the country. It con-tinues to hire in growth areas including wireless, video, cloud services, sales and mobility ap-plications. AT&T is also com-mitted to diversity and veteran recruiting.

It takes great people to de-liver great service. AT&T’s fo-cus on the customer experi-ence has led to industry hon-ors. The company recently out-performed competitors for the

Open Streets OKC was held recently on a stretch of N.W. 23 St. between Rob-inson and Western. Its purpose was to temporarily provide a car-free space to reclaim streets for outdoor activities, family and community interaction, exer-cise and fun, as well as demonstrate support for local businesses via of walk-ability promotion. Organizers say Open Streets OKC is neither a block party nor a themed festival, neither a concert nor a parade, neither a race nor a party – although it’s a bit of all of them. The event is one of many planned by Uptown 23rd, a group of businesses and individuals committed to revitalizing the cor-ridor. Photos courtesy of Ginger McGovern.

Open Streets OKC

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