The O'Colly, Monday, September 11, 2023

Monday, September 11, 2023

Heat-related deaths are up, and not just because it’s getting hotter

of the severest cases even death. Heatrelated illness can occur alongside and exacerbate other health conditions.

Heat-related illness and deaths in California and the U.S. are on the rise along with temperatures, and an increase in drug use and homelessness is a significant part of the problem, according to public health officials and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Heat was the underlying or contributing cause of about 1,670 deaths nationwide in 2022, for a rate of about 5 deaths per million residents, according to provisional data from the CDC. That’s the highest heat-related death rate in at least two decades. Data from this year, which has been exceptionally hot in much of the country, is not yet available. The next-highest death rate was logged in 2021.

Heat-related illness ranges from heat exhaustion, which causes heavy sweating and a rapid pulse, to heatstroke, which causes confusion, loss of consciousness, high fever, and in many

The simplest explanation for the increase is that it is getting hotter. The last eight years were the hottest on record, according to NASA figures dating to the late 1800s.

But factors other than climate change also play a role.

Substance abuse, especially misuse of methamphetamines, has emerged as a major factor in heat-related illness. Methamphetamines can cause body temperature to increase to dangerous levels, and the combination of meth abuse, heat, and homelessness can be fatal.

About 140 death certificates in California listed both heat-related illness and drug overdose as causes from 2018 through 2022, according to CDC data. That’s about 25% of all deaths in which heat-related illness was an underlying or contributing factor.

Homelessness has risen in the past few years, including in several hot Western states like California, and

Heat was the underlying or contributing cause of about 1,670 deaths nationwide in 2022.

unsheltered homeless people are particularly vulnerable during heat waves.

Homeless people represented about 13% of California hospitalizations involving a primary diagnosis of heat-related ill-

OSU’s Boynton shares Sept. 11 experience as a New York native

It already wasn’t a normal Tuesday for a 19-year-old Mike Boynton.

Jay-Z, fellow New Yorker and a decorated rapper who Boynton idolizes, was releasing sixth studio album, “The Blueprint.” Boynton left study hall that morning to buy a copy from Best Buy when he heard the news over the radio.

“An announcement came on saying a plane flew into the

World Trade Center,” Boynton said. “Going through my mind at that moment was, ‘What kind of pilot was driving that plane? That’s a pretty big building.’ And it didn’t make any sense... I get to Best Buy, buy the album, and I get back to campus to a building where it’s showing on TV.

“And I see the second plane fly into the other building. I was saying to myself, ‘That’s not a coincidence.

Something bad must be happening.”

Boynton, now Oklahoma

State’s men’s basketball coach, wasn’t in his hometown of Brooklyn, New York, though. He was more than 700 miles away in Columbia, South Carolina, preparing for his sophomore season with the Gamecocks basketball team. Cellphones weren’t popular and it was difficult to check on his family. Boynton’s father worked at the New York Stock Exchange, and his grandmother worked at JPMorgan Chase Co. in the financial district of New York City: just blocks away from the destruction.

See Boynton on 6

Brandon Bell

ness from 2017 through 2021, state data shows. California’s 172,000 unhoused residents make up fewer than half a percent of the state’s population, federal data shows.

See Deaths on 7

Gundy had ‘never been to war on the road’ with this OSU team, but defense battled in win against Arizona State

Braden Bush Sports Editor

Mike Gundy didn’t know what to expect out of his team Saturday night.

Gundy coached his 93rd away game in 19 seasons as OSU’s head coach, but he knew less about this team and how it would react in a road environment heading into the Arizona State game than maybe any team he’s coached in the past. Not because of anything he’s seen or hasn’t seen at practice, but because of the number of new faces and new starters on the field.

“You’re on the road, you’re playing a late, late, late game,” Gundy said on the Cowboy Radio Network

after the game. “We didn’t really know our team. I didn’t know our team, playing on the road… I haven’t really been to war on the road with these guys.”

Things didn’t look great early. The OSU offense struggled to do anything –especially rushing the football – in the first half, and the defense gave up a pair of 70-plus-yard touchdown drives.

But at halftime, the defense had a meeting and adjusted. It pitched a secondhalf shutout of the Sun Devils in OSU’s 27-15 win, and it put the offense in favorable positions to get things going. Now, Gundy has been to war with his team, and the defense showed it was ready to fight.

See

Chase Davis

Coach Mike Boynton

Phillip Reese KFF Health News

Gabriel Trevino Staff Reporter

Ethan Scott

Collin Oliver (left) had two tackles for loss and Lyrik Rawls (right) had an interception in the Cowboys’ win against Arizona State.

sports

The design of OSU’s QB battle can’t decide a victor

Gabriel Trevino Columnist

Column

Mike Gundy’s plan to play three quarterbacks equally is flawed.

The decision to allow Garret Rangel, Alan Bowman and Gunnar Gundy to play an even number of snaps is one that hinders OSU’s offensive potential.

In the Cowboys’ 27-15 win vs Arizona State, OSU’s offense was boring. Not saying it wasn’t effective, but it was simple. Either the coaches don’t trust them to do anything but quick-game concepts, or the quarterbacks are trying not to eliminate themselves from the race by taking the safe route and ensuring the fewest mistakes. Either way, OSU doesn’t gain from it.

“They all played well,” Gundy said after the game.

Of the six OSU passes that gained 15 yards or more, all were short passes the receiver took for extra yardage. The offense is playing timid: something I can’t say for Bryan Nardo’s defense, which shows aggression with blitzes and pass rush, and often bends but not breaks.

If the trio continue to all play well by taking check downs for five- or six-yard gains (which is what it averaged on Saturday) because that’s all they have to do stay in consideration, OSU is condemning itself to a mediocre offense.

There are also too many variables to consider when evaluating a quarterback, the player can’t control. How’s the pass protection at the time? If it’s not good, then one will have to be under pressure more. Is the run game effective? If not, the quarterback who’s in the game will benefit from being able to attempt more passes. If it is, will QB1 be decided by who hands the ball off better?

Will Gunnar Gundy appear better because when he’s on the field the run game gets the offense into the red zone for him, or will Bowman, because his sample size of attempts is larger, though as passers both are producing the same?

It will be impossible to name a full-time starter when the system designed to do so encourages going the easy way and isn’t conductive to allowing the quarterbacks to show why they are the best.

Giving multiple quarterbacks reps is important when they all have so few, but possibly losing a game is a lot worse because you don’t have one who knows and can play like they are in charge of the offense.

Because while this scheme may have worked when the Cowboys could trot out anybody to hand the ball off to Barry Sanders or Thurman Thomas or Tatum Bell, it won’t if the defense has a bad outing, and the Cowboys are in need of points.

If that happens against Kansas State, Kansas, Cincinnati, Oklahoma or any other

12 team OSU will face — and not against an FCS opponent or a team that is starting

freshman quarterback and 11 other new players with a firstyear coach like Arizona State

it could be OSU’s offensive turntable that results in a team’s loss.

File Photo

Photo description

Defense...

the OSU 40, but Collin Oliver and Justin Kirkland stopped running back Cam Skattebo shy of the first down. That gave OSU the ball at its own 40, which resulted in a touchdown and a lead.

play), and to one fourth-down conversion on four attempts.

“Those are the downs we’re really trying to show who we are,” Martin said.

prevent fourth-down conversions paid dividends. Besides holding the Sun Devils scoreless, it also gave the OSU offense an average starting position of the OSU 44-yard line.

“Man down the hatches and let’s go to war, and let’s pitch a second-half shutout,” linebacker Nick Martin said of the halftime meeting. “And we did.”

On the opening drive of the second half, with ASU up 15-10, the Sun Devils went for it on fourth-and-1 from

In the fourth quarter, ASU went for it on fourth down again, this time with two yards to go from its own 33-yard line. The Cowboys forced an incomplete pass and took over 33 yards from the end zone, where it began another touchdown drive.

In the second half, OSU held ASU to just 105 yards of offense (3.4 yards a

The Sun Devils’ possessions in the second half went: turnover on downs, interception (by Lyrik Rawls), punt, punt, turnover on downs, turnover on downs. And off the four drives ending in turnovers, OSU scored 14 points and missed on a field goal attempt.

Continued from 1 sports.ed@ocolly.com

Gundy might not have known what to expect in a war on the road from his squad before Saturday, but the Cowboy defense showed in the second half it could respond in big moments.

“At halftime, there’s always adjustments to be made, and I feel like we made the right ones,” Rawls said.

The Cowboys’ ability to shut down the ASU offense in the second half and

Courtesy of Cowboy Football

The OSU defense shut down the Arizona State offense in the second half on Saturday night, holding the Sun Devils to 105 yards and 1-for-4 on fourth downs.

Trojan Horse

What Arizona State said after OSU’s 27-15 win

Baylor Bryant Staff Reporter

The Cowboys are 2-0 after a late-night battle in the desert.

Here is what Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham and the Sun Devils had to say following the 27-15 loss against OSU on Saturday.

Dillingham on matching up against OSU’s Mike Gundy

“We talked before the game, and he expressed that he’s at his alma mater just like me, except he took over a program that was in a really good position, and he talked about how his first year, he had a losing record and then he won seven games in two of his lower winning seasons in his career. And then it clicked in year four with his culture.

“That was kind of his message to me. ‘Don’t waiver, don’t worry about the results right now, worry about the process, and if you stay true to the process, the results will happen.’ And I really appreciate that message from a guy who has done it a long time, who’s been really successful, who has seen a lot of people succeed and a lot of people fail.

“And then he also said, ‘Make sure you go to your kids’ events. That’s what this is about, and that’s the balance you need if you want to do this for a long time.”

Dillingham on how OSU’s defense adjusted to the Sun Devils’ offense

“I thought it worked really well early. We were in 14-personnel, and they showed up to match 14-personnel and they did that early. So we took advantage of some things.

“They kept their 3-3-5 on the field versus 14-personnel

and on fourth-and-1s they were stopping the run, and that’s something that we can’t have happen. We can’t be in 14 and a team being in a 3-3-5 structure and not be able to run the ball on fourth-and-1. So, I think we

have to be more creative offensively as a staff. If we’re not winning that, then I got to find an alternative route to be successful in those situations.”

“With some of the things that they brought in the second half, there were some missed fits.

“I missed the fit, one of the fits that led to a big run, but other than that, once we started

to dial in, the runs that they were doing and bringing, as you see in the end, we started to stop it.”

sports.ed@ocolly.com

Arizona State linebacker Tre Brown on OSU’s offense

File Photo

After the Cowboys defeated the Sun Devils on Saturday, OSU coach Mike Gundy gave first-year ASU coach Kenny Dillingham some words of encouragement.

McKnight Center partners with Devon Energy

The McKnight Center announced its first collaboration.

Devon Energy is the presenting sponsor for the 2023-24 season. This is the first time the McKnight Center offered seasonal naming rights since it

opened in 2019. “We are excited for Devon to be part of The McKnight Center family,” said Mark Blakeman, Marilynn and Carl Thoma Executive Director of The McKnight Center. “Devon is a premier leader in the private energy sector and a major supporter of Oklahoma’s vibrant arts and humanities culture. We look forward to engaging new and existing audiences through Devon’s support.

The partnership is dedicated to supporting universal access to fine arts in Oklahoma. It expands on Devon Energy’s support of The McKnight Center’s Pep Rally Concert Series, a variety of events held the evenings before OSU home football games.

“With our central location in Oklahoma, we are at the epicenter of growing access to unique, cultural experiences for everyone in our state,”

Blakeman said. “Devon’s support is reflective of its distinguishing commitment to fostering the economic and cultural value the arts return to the state.”

The McKnight Center’s fifth season kicks off Sept. 15 with Scotty McCreery and the renowned New York Philharmonic.

news.ed@ocolly.com

Courtesy of Sam Powell

Devon Energy partnered with the McKnight Center for the 2023-24 season to support local access to fine arts.

Bella Casey News and Lifestyle Assistant Editor

Boynton...

All he could do was wait.

“I immediately started thinking about my family,” Boynton said. “Neither my dad or grandmother were there that day, but we knew a lot of people who worked in that area. I started thinking about the amount of people it would impact. To know New York City, is to appreciate how condensed it is, and how something like that can impact hundreds of thousands of people in an instant.

“To see the smoke fill the air and to watch the buildings fall was unreal.

“It was very nervewracking to sit through and watch. It wasn’t until later that afternoon that I felt comfortable that nobody I knew had died or was significantly injured. It was a stressful time.”

It wasn’t until March 2002 when Boynton returned to NYC to see the aftermath for himself. When South Carolina reached the NIT Final Four, which is played in New York’s historic Madison Square Garden, his coaches allowed Boynton and his teammates to visit Ground Zero.

“It was unreal, because it still hadn’t been fully cleaned up,” Boynton said. “To be there, knowing that those buildings have been there for so long were just gone — it was indescribable — to think of the loss of life and devastation.

While most New Yorkers remember exactly where they were on Sept. 11, a vast majority, Boynton included, also recall the immediate aftermath and unity shared amidst tragedy.

“With President Bush throwing out the first pitch (at Yankees Stadium) and showing New York toughness and grit was impactful,”Boynton said. “Watching the Yankees in the playoffs that year was really gratifying for all of us.”

Continued from 1 news.ed@ocolly.com

File Photo

Mike Boynton was a sophomore on South Carolina’s basketball team when the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks took place in New York City; his hometown.

Deaths...

Continued from 1

“With any environmental crisis, people experiencing homelessness experience it first, they experience it worst, and they experience it longest,” said Katie League, behavioral health manager for the National Health Care for the Homeless Council.

The elderly are also particularly vulnerable to heat-related illness. Their bodies often don’t adjust as well as younger people’s to temperature change, and they often have chronic health conditions exacerbated by heat. The numbers of elderly residents in California and across America have risen sharply as baby boomers have aged.

The climate trends are worrying. Heat waves are starting earlier and lasting longer, said the Public Health Institute’s Paul English, director of Tracking California, which makes environmental health data accessible.

He pointed to the recent heat wave in Phoenix, which saw a record 31 consecutive days with temperatures of at least 110 degrees. “This just means no break for the human body to recuperate,” he said. Heat-related illness had led to about 2,810 emergency room visits in Arizona this year as of July 29, up more than 25% from the same point in 2022, state data shows.

And the numbers tell only part of the story: Heat-related illness is often underdiagnosed. A 2021 Los Angeles Times investigation found that the true number of excess deaths and hospitalizations during a heat wave is often

much higher than the official count.

“This is an underestimate of what’s happening,” English said.

California’s Riverside County, home of the desert resort of Palm Springs, has been hit especially hard by heat illness, with a hospitalization rate about 75% higher than the statewide rate.

“We have a large population that lives in the desert,” said Wendy Hetherington, branch chief of epidemiology and program evaluation for the Riverside University Health System. “It’s an older population, too. We also do have a lot of the farm-working community that works outside year-round.”

In California, hospitalizations involving a diagnosis of heat-related illness spiked from 2017 through 2021, rising to levels not seen since the state’s infamous 2006 heat wave, according

to the most recent data from the state Department of Health Care Access and Information. Hospitalization data for 2022 is not yet available. Emergency room visits for heat-related illness have also trended higher, in California and nationwide.

Advocates and experts called for more cooling centers, more affordable housing, and better workplace safety rules to help get vulnerable populations out of the rising heat.

A recent scientific study found the human body does not function optimally when outside temperatures rise to 104 degrees or higher. Temperatures that high often cause the body to burn more calories while simultaneously raising heart rates.

“The problem,” English said, “is we’re reaching the human limit of adapting to temperature.”

news.ed@ocolly.com

Hero dog who saved family from fire finds home on farm

Colin Warren-Hicks The Virginian-Pilot

Our hero, Moose, has found a home on a farm in Franklin with his new, forever family. His adoptive parents, Ciara and Darrel Hill, feel he deserves it.

The 8-year-old Great Pyrenees lives on 5 acres bordered by woods, a creek to splash through and expansive corn fields. He’ll never be alone again. Around him in the fenced-in yard, four goats bleat and 18 turkeys and more than 20 chickens peck at the grass. Tim, an African spurred tortoise, moseys near the rabbit hutch. A deck extends from the house to an above-ground dogfriendly pool. Moose also has seven canine siblings — a mess of terriers; Suzie, the big great Dane; and even one suspected Chinese crested and Maltese mix — and has become fast friends with Buddha, a Labrador retriever. The buds eat meals together.

According to the American Kennel Club, a full-grown male Great Pyrenees averages over 100 pounds. Moose weighs about 85 and, like many newly rescued dogs, is visibly thin. He’s fed high-protein wet food in the morning, two cans of dry kibble to graze on throughout the day, and a second can of high-protein in the evening.

“We’re trying to help put that little bit of weight back on

him,” Ciara Hill said.

While a resident at the Portsmouth Humane Society shelter, Moose’s life changed on Aug. 4.

That Friday, Chris Cushna and Sheila Janes, stopped by the facility. Janes’ granddaughter, Luna, 8, and Cushna’s children — Anya, 10, and Logan, 12 — were staying for the weekend on the couple’s 1983, 42-foot Gibson houseboat docked at the Tidewater Yacht Marina. Pondering ways to entertain the children, Janes remembered that the humane society allows people to check out dogs for the day.

“We walked past a lot of dogs that were very loud about wanting somebody to take them,” Janes said. “But Moose was at the very back and just had this sort of gentle giant, calm, chill demeanor about him.”

The family had such a good time with Moose they decided to keep him for another day. He slept with the kids.

Around 7:30 a.m. Sunday, Anya woke up when Moose started softly whining. Anya woke her father, and the two took Moose onto the deck, thinking he may need to relieve himself. But they saw a mas-

sive fire overtaking the neighboring boat. Cushna ran back inside, waking the rest of the family and getting them to the deck. Within minutes, flames leaped to their houseboat.

Cushna said, “The dog alerting us, as early as he did, was crucial in terms of everyone getting out safely.” With their home destroyed, the couple couldn’t adopt Moose.

Ciara Hill was lounging on her back porch, reading on her phone about Moose’s deed on the humane society’s Facebook page as her husband worked the grill.

“That dog, the one who rescued the people from the fire,” she said to her husband.

“Yeah?”

“He’s been returned to the shelter!”

“Well, go get him,” Darrel Hill said. She drove to Portsmouth and took Moose back to the farm the next morning.

“A dog like that, that rescued people, that’s a hero, doesn’t need to be in a cage,” Darrel Hill said. “And we have all this space. “He’s home now.”

entertainment.ed@ocolly.com

Moose, an 8-year-old Great Pyrenees, was taken in by Darrel and Ciara Hill of Franklin after being credited with saving the Portsmouth couple who rescued him from a shelter. Moose alerted the couple when the houseboat next to theirs caught fire. As seen Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023.

Come check out the wide variety of elegant clothing at Formal Fantasy!

Located on 121 E. 9th Ave, Downtown Stillwater

The best selection of beer, wine and liquor that Stillwater has to offer! Perfect for all your game day needs, come to Brown’s Bottle Shop located on 128 N. Main

“The Original Hideaway, located on the corner of Knoblock and University. Serving quality pizza and more since 1957.”

Murphy’s Department Store

815 S Main, Downtown

Open 10-6

Monday thru Saturday

Houses for rent

Spacious 1100 sq. ft 2 bedroom home. Recently remodeled, CH/A, wood floors, nice yard. 2214 E. 6th Ave., Scarlett Bus Route. 405-372-7107.

Cowboy Calendar

Monday 9/11/2023

Leon Polk Smith: Affinities in Art & Design

OSU Museum of Art until Jan. 27th @ 11 a.m. 4 p.m. https://museum.okstate.edu/art/leon-polk-smith.html

Line of Thought: The Work of Saul Steinberg OSU Museum of Art until Sept. 30th @ 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. https://museum.okstate.edu/art/line-of-thought.html

Those Who Served Military Exhibit

Stillwater History Museum at the Sheerar Until Dec. 9th @ 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.

https://www.stillwaterokhistory.org/

Trivia Night

Stonecloud Brewing Company @ 7 p.m.

Tuesday 9/12/2023

Fall Reception “Leon Polk Smith: Affinities in Art & Design OSU Museum of Art @ 5 - 7 p.m. https://museum.okstate.edu/art/leon-polk-smith.html

Medicare Insights - Health Care & Your Retirement

Stillwater Public Library @ 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Playing in the Dough: PIES! FAPC @ 8:45 a.m. - 3 p.m. $75 / person

Wednesday 9/13/2023

Louie Kids’ Night

Louie’s Grill & Bar @ 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.

Live Trivia Iron Monk Brewing Company @ 7 - 9 p.m.

Bingo Night

Louie’s Grill & Bar @ 8 p.m.

Kid’s Night

Thursday 9/14/2023

Eskimoe Joe’s @ 5-9 p.m. w/ $1 Buffy meal

Let’s Talk About Oklahoma

Stillwater History Museum at the Sheerar Aug. 17thSept. 14th @ 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Line Dancing Outlaws @ 7 - 8 p.m. $10

Friday 9/15/2023

2023 Fall Family Weekend at OSU Oklahoma State University -- All Weekend

https://go.okstate.edu/family/family-weekends.html

Scott Mccreery

The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts @ 7:30 p.m. $35+

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by

Patti Varol and Joyce Lewis

FOR RELEASE SEPTEMBER 11, 2023 ACROSS 1

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Today is a 9 — Follow your heart to increase your earnings. Your discipline is admirable, and it’s working. Avoid scams or tricks. Build regular backups into your plans. Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) — Today is a 9 — Power through the circumstances with discipline and love. It’s not all about luck. Adapt and learn. Failure illustrates necessary adjustments. Determination can realize a dream.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Today is a 7 — Stay sensitive with changes. Consider your moves several steps ahead before making them. Allow time to decompress and recharge. Imagine possibilities. Dream big.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — Today is an 8 — Contribute to a common cause. Teamwork and collaboration require diplomacy, tact and sensitivity. Notice, observe and listen to what’s going on. Don’t take things personally. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — Today is an 8 — Forge ahead professionally. Focus on nailing a deadline despite challenges. Ignore distractions. Conditions favor your excellent work that leads to rising influence and status.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Today is a 7 — Advance a dreamy adventure. The road you’re on leads in the right direction, even if it takes unexpected turns. Study a subject you love.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Today is a 9 — Contribute to a shared financial effort. Revise plans and budgets for unforeseen expenses. Maintain a philosophical attitude about money.

Simplify and stay flexible.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Today is an 8 — Enjoy excellent company. Common passion binds you together. Collaborate to navigate unforeseen circumstances. Communication is your golden key. Write love letters. Bake treats. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Today is a 9 — Despite a challenge, you’re growing stronger. Prioritize health, work and vitality. Slow around sharp corners. Discuss concerns with trusted partners. Practice makes perfect.

Jay Silverman

Solution