Sooner softball soft prepares to take on the defending defend champions in the NCAA Super Regionals in Seattle. Page 4.
Go online to read The Daily’s review of Red Dead Redemption. OUDaily.com.
THE UUNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT VOICE
ANYTIME ME AT AT
OUDaily
THURSDAY, MAY 27, 2010
com
SUMMER 2010
City continues tornado clean up City: At least 75 percent of the debris vegetative CASEY WILSON The Oklahoma Daily
The City of Norman is cleaning up after the May 10 tornadoes despite no disaster declaration from President Barack Obama, which would ensure the city would be reimbursed for the costs, authorities say. Norman Police Captain Tom Easley said officials believe at least two tornadoes tracked through Norman. “Police, fire and [emergency services] responded to approximately 150 calls, and the Norman communications center received more than 400 calls [May 10],” Easley said. The Norman Fire Department also responded to a mutual aid request in Little Axe regarding tornado-related damage and injuries, and discovered multiple injuries and one fatality, he said. Norman clean-up for the 100,000 cubic yards of debris caused by the May 10 tornadoes began at 7 a.m. May 25, and is going well, said Shawn O’Leary, director of public works. O’Leary said the city thinks 75 to 80 percent of the debris is vegetative while the remaining is construction and demolition material, such as roof shingles. The $1.1 million estimated cleanup process is determined from an existing contract with TRF Enterprises Inc., the City of Norman’s debris removal contractor, stating if an event should occur, the company would respond in 24 hours and would have pre-established unit prices, O’Leary said. “We’re assuming that we will continue this contract for all of this work over the next 30 to 60 days to pick it all up,” he said. The city is now waiting for presidential approval to declare the
ELI HULL / THE DAILY
A battered road sign and debris lie alongside East 36th Street north of Highway 9 Wednesday. Crews working to clean up the damage from the May 10 tornadoes, debris remains along many roads in southeast Norman. damage done by the tornadoes as a disaster and allow the city to use federal funds to reimburse the clean up cost, O’Leary said. “Right now, we are doing this clean up on city funds on the basis that they city is paying 100 percent of the costs,” he said. If the presidential declaration takes place in the next few days the city will be eligible for a 87.5-percent reimbursement of costs from federal and state funds, O’Leary said. If a presidential declaration does not take place, the city will have to determine whether to spend city funds to pay 100 percent of the costs
for the clean up or take a different approach, he said. F.E.M.A completed its assessment of the damage Monday, and O’Leary said the city is hopeful the declaration will occur soon.
TRF Enterprises will be operating 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week throughout the clean-up, said Carol Coles, City of Norman spokeswoman. Residents may experience
CLEAN-UP COSTS The $1.1 million price tag to clean up the tornadoes is still less than the city’s bill after the December 2007 ice storm. After the ice storm, crews cleaned up 550,000 cubic yards of material, which was all vegetative debris, and
cost the city approximately $2 million. The recent tornadoes created about one-fifth to one-sixth of material caused by the ice storm. Source: Shawn O’Leary, City of Norman director of public works.
increased traffic, temporary road closures or delays on some streets where these contractors are working, she said. City contractors will collect debris along the street rightof-way during the debris removal process. The city is attempting to coordinate with all the property owners to make sure they have the information they need to get material out to the street appropriately so the contractors can move quickly to pick it up, O’Leary said. The removal company will make at least two passes through each area, he said.
CONSTRUCTION JUNCTION
Sam Noble Museum celebrates anniversary with ‘Chocolate’ HELEN DI RENZO-GRANT The Oklahoma Daily
The Sam Noble Museum of Natural History will host a sweet celebration Friday in observance of its 10th anniversary and the debut of its new exhibit, “Chocolate.” “This is a 111-year-old dream that’s now turned 10,” said Linda Coldwell, publications and promotions specialist for the museum. In 1899, the Oklahoma Territorial Legislature passed a bill which established a department of Geology and Natural History and provided plans for a museum. In 1903, a fire in the university’s administration building destroyed the entire collection. It was reputed to have had more than 10,000 specimens at the time. In 1918, a fire destroyed a large part of a collection of bird specimens. In the years that followed the fires, collections were rebuilt through donations and field expeditions to collect new specimens, but a permanent home for the wealth
FREE — ADDITIONAL COPIES 25¢
of Oklahoma’s historical trea- numerous collections. sures had yet to be built. As “The first seed money for many as 10 locations around the museum was provided by OU housed the collections. a City of Norman bond issue The Great Depression that passed by a landslide in wiped out the money set tough times for $5 million,” aside to build a new museum. Coldwell said. “That kicked After World War II, plans for off another bond issue at the a new museum were put on state level for another $10 hold because housing for sol- million; then we got a $10 diers using the G.I. Bill took million gift from the Noble precedent. foundation and affiliates, and At one point, there had then a lot of private and corbeen a poporate donatential donor “This is a 111-yeartions helped w h o p r o m - old dream that’s now to create it, ised funds, but including died without turned 10.” the change leaving a will. collected by I n 1 9 4 7 , i n MUSEUM SPOKESWOMAN school chilthe old ROTC LINDA COLDWELL dren all over complex, Dr. the state of J. Willis Stovall Oklahoma. So set up the Stovall Museum it’s the people’s museum.” of Science and History. This The exhibit explores the would be the home of the mu- history and influence of the seum for the next 50 years. cacao tree on cultures both In the 1980s, Coldwell said past and present. grass roots support for a new The anniversary celebramuseum became influential tion runs 7 to 10 p.m. on in raising funds to begin the Friday and is open to the process of building a per- public. Admission is free for manent location for all the current students.
ELI HULL / THE DAILY
Portions of Lindsey and Jenkins streets will be closed throughout much of the summer. OU is constructing a water chiller plant just north of the Huston Huffman Center and the replacement of a storm sewer on Lindsey Street, OU spokesman Jay Doyle said by e-mail. “The university tries to have construction projects (that) have the least impact on the com-
munity as a whole so for certain projects the summer time gives an ideal opportunity to get projects accomplished,” Doyle said. Jenkins Street is scheduled to re-open by the end of June and Lindsey Street is scheduled to re-open at the end of July, Doyle said. — Troy Weatherford/The Daily
NMF chairman: Canceled Dfest’s financial woes understandable ASHLEY HORNING The Oklahoma Daily
Dfest 2010 has been canceled, according to a statement released by the music festival’s co-founders. Economic downturn and a lack of corporate sponsorship were reasons why the Tulsa-based festival was put on hiatus, Tom and Angie Green announced on the festival website May 21. “These factors have made us unable to produce the kind of event we are known for, so we are unable to move forward with the festival this year,” Green said in the release. The founders said they did not want to sacrifice the quality of the festival that had been brought to such a high standard in
© 2010 OU PUBLICATIONS BOARD
previous years. “The integrity and quality of Dfest is of the utmost importance to us as the creators of the event,” Green said. The festival’s financial struggles are understandable, said Quentin Bomgardner, Norman Music Festival chairman. He said NMF organizers also found a hard economy to work from this year. The biggest difference between the two festivals is their budgets, Bomgardner said. “Our budget is significantly smaller than theirs,” he said.
To read this full article and other Life & Arts stories, log on to OUDaily.com. VOL. 95, NO. 154