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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2010
EDMOND | STATE
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM
Do-it-yourself workshop yields tasty gifts Each Christmas, I have delusions of gift grandeur. I imagine putting together a pile of personalized, handmade gifts for all my loved ones. I’d gracefully wrap holiday ribbon around baked goods in my pristine kitchen. Then a songbird would land on my shoulder and admire my thoughtfulness. For some reason, this hasn’t panned out yet. But this year, I’m hoping to create a realistic version of my dream. I attended the Gifts From Your Kitchen workshop at the Oklahoma County Extension Center. Dietitian Casey Campbell instructed about 75 people how to make their own holiday projects. Everyone could make three gifts: soup in a mug, soup in a jar and cookies in a jar. Campbell gave some good advice about making food as gifts. Run containers through the dishwasher first, and start the project with clean hands and a clean kitchen. Use fresh ingredients. Use
Homemade cookies-in-ajar and soupin-a-jar can be an inexpensive option for the holiday gifts.
Carrie Coppernoll ccoppernoll @opubco.com
COLUMNIST
labels with at least two things: Ingredients. The gift receiver may have allergies. Instructions. Receivers need to know how to prepare and store the food. You don’t want to give the recipient a foodborne illness or allergic reaction, Campbell said. Unless you don’t like that person and it’s a sabotage present. I think we’ve all given those at one point or another. As if creating your own personalized gifts weren’t crafty enough, you could gussy up your projects by painting the jars or tie on a cute cookie cutter, Campbell suggested. And then, if you haven’t had enough, you could toss it in a handwoven basket full of orga-
PHOTO BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN
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nic cheeses you made. Package with fresh-cut flowers from your greenhouse. Deliver in a horsedrawn sleigh filled with a children’s choir singing carols. Or you could just make the jars. Your friends will be impressed enough. Besides, hiring a children’s choir probably is pricey. Casey turned us loose to make our projects with ingredients laid out on long tables. It was craft madness. Women dumped flour and spices and pasta into jars and Baggies. Campbell allowed at least an hour to put together the gifts.
City council votes to keep ban on out-of-state travel BY BRYAN DEAN Staff Writer bdean@opubco.com
Oklahoma City Council members declined Tuesday to lift a ban on their own out-of-state travel. The council voted a year ago to quit paying for its own members to travel outside Oklahoma for seminars, conventions and other activities. The ban also applies to the mayor. The moratorium came
after the city’s sales tax revenue took a turn for the worse, prompting budget cuts in every department and a hiring freeze. After six months of positive sales tax receipts, Ward 5 Councilman Brian Walters suggested lifting the ban. Walters was the chief advocate for passing the ban in the first place. Other council members said although they are encouraged by improving sales tax, they don’t think
the timing is right to lift the moratorium. The proposal to lift the ban failed 6-3. Voting to lift the ban were Walters, Mayor Mick Cornett and Ward 7 Councilman Skip Kelly. Voting no were Ward 1 Councilman Gary Marrs, Ward 2 Councilman Sam Bowman, Ward 3 Councilman Larry McAtee, Ward 4 Councilman Pete White, Ward 6 Councilwoman Meg Salyer and Ward 8 Councilman Pat Ryan.
Sales tax growth prompts optimism BY BRYAN DEAN Staff Writer bdean@opubco.com
October’s sales tax report continued an encouraging trend, prompting some cautious optimism Tuesday from Oklahoma City officials. Sales tax revenue was up 16.7 percent over expectations and 19.2 percent over last year’s collections for the same period. The October report includes actual collections for the second half of August and estimated collections for the first half of September. It is the sixth straight month of sales tax growth over the previous year. “We’re out of the woods, but we could still be hit by a falling tree,”
Ward 8 Councilman Pat Ryan said. The growth over the past few months has been well over expectations, a development that surprised city officials who have attributed the numbers to busy body shops and roofing companies after a major summer hailstorm. City Manager Jim Couch said there are signs the city’s tax base is growing beyond the temporary bump from storm recovery. “For the first quarter, our revenue is up by just under $6 million,” Couch said. “The primary driver on that is sales tax. We believe about two-thirds of that growth is attributable to the storm. If you take that out of the equation,
sales tax still grew, but it’s about $1 million over target. “It was a very strong month for us. The growth is better than we anticipated. It’s good news. We are coming out of it.” Council members used temporary funds to plug some of the holes in this year’s budget. Without new revenue to fill that gap, further cuts would be needed next year.
Forget it. The flurry of holiday cheer and the possibility of discounted gift-giving were too much for the room to bear. I was briefly scared that I might get trampled, which would be the opposite of holiday cheer.
GET THE RECIPES HOW TO PURCHASE COOKBOOKS The Oklahoma County Extension Center has “Gifts From Your Kitchen” cookbooks available for sale at the office, 930 N Portland Ave. The books are $5. They can be mailed for $5 plus shipping. To order, call 713-1125. The cookbooks include recipes from extension services throughout Oklahoma. Get three of the recipes on Carrie Coppernoll’s blog online at blog.newsok.com/red-dirt-ruckus.
Aside from the impending doom, the projects were really easy to make. Just to be sure this class was legitimate, I made the soup when I got home. It was spectacular. I’ll admit it: I’m probably
going to make the cookies and the other soup myself. I just want to be sure this whole gift-in-a-jar idea is, you know, good. So, here’s a heads up to my friends and family: You’re all getting potato soup this year.