Still trying to contact Muskogee Phoenix publisher

Well, I called the Muskogee Phoenix publisher again on Thursday (it could have been Friday) and left another voice mail asking about the letter to the editor that used the words "tea bagger" or "bagger" seven times in last Sunday's Phoenix (Larry Parsons was the writer).

Guess I'd better check and see if he was at work any last week though you'd think the wouldn't have transferred me to his phone if he wasn't and his voice mail said he'd get "right back" to you.

Did, however, talk to the editor/opinion editor about that letter to the editor.  He claimed that this was the first time he knew what the definition of "tea bagger" was.  I informed him that it was all over CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, the Internet, etc.  Again, he said he tries to keep up with all the latest "bad" language.   So I recommended he add 'tea bagger' to his "don't publish" list of words/phrases.

Somehow I don't think he appreciated my phone call.  Mark

http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/
http://muskogeephoenix.com/opinion/x62852867/THE-PEOPLE-SPEAK-Did-Chief-Eskridge-mislead-council-city

Let's see how long before the personal attacks being.

Follow-up to Muskogee's "family friendly" newspaper

As promised, I called the Muskogee Phoenix publisher on Monday and left a voice mail.  Here it is almost Thursday and no return phone call.  In my voice mail I pointed out Sunday's letter to the editor by Mr. Parsons who used the vile term "tea bagger" and "bagger" to refer to the Republican Party and Tea Party supporters. 

I told the publisher that I doubted the Phoenix would (or could) publish a letter to the editor that specifically defined what a 'tea bagger' was since the definition is so sexually explicit.  So if the Phoenix wouldn't/couldn't publish the definition of the word 'tea bagger,' then how can they allow the word being defined to be used seven times in a letter to the editor?

I'll call again on Thursday and see if I can actually speak to the publisher. 

FOI Oklahoma: DA refuses to prosecute Lone Grove City Council for open meeting violation, says 'no collusion' between members; OSBI report closed to public

FOI Oklahoma: DA refuses to prosecute Lone Grove City Council for open meeting violation, says 'no collusion' between members; OSBI report closed to public

What has happened to Muskogee's "family friendly" newspaper?

Warning:  This blog contains adult material. 
I avoid using sexually explicit words in my blogs because I want to keep them as "family friendly" as I can. However, the Muskogee Phoenix published a letter to the editor in Sunday's paper, Feb. 20 from Mr. Larry Parsons of Warner, Okla.  If you are a regular reader of the Phoenix's editorial page you will understand that Mr. Parson's is admittantly opposed to the Republican Party and the recently established Tea Party and is unabashadedly a firm supporter of the Democratic Party.  Fine. That's his Constitutional right. But his "right"
to use sexually explicit terms seven times in his letter to the editor to describe the Tea Party doesn't pass the "community smell" test--and the editor of the Muskogee Phoenix knows better.

Before I continue, let me state right now that I am registered as a Republican, support the Tea Party in their effort to reduce taxes, reduce the intrusiveness of government control of our daily lives and business, and also support a smaller (not weaker) federal government.  Now that I've cleared the air . . .

As much as I oppose Mr. Larry Warner's far left ideology (as he would say of my Republican beliefs), I support Mr. Warner's right to "rail" against the "evils of the Republican Party and the newly "established" Tea Party.

However, when Mr. Larry Warner's letter to the editor in today's paper uses the term "tea baggers" and "baggers" seven times referring to members of the Republican party and to Tea Party leaders, the Phoenix editor had an obligation to step in and else edit the letter to meet the family values of the Phoenix or reject the letter and ask Mr. Parsons to rewrite without the sexual inuendo. (This is what I was taught during journalism classes at Northeastern State University [NSU] where I obtained my undergraduate degree in journalism/education in 1976.  At that time NSU was Northeastern  State College.)

(WARNING:  SEXUALLY EXPLICIT MATERIAL FOLLOWS)

To make sure everyone knows how vile and offensive the word "tea bagger" is, here's the definition from Wikipedia:  Tea bag is a slang term for the act of a man placing his scrotum in the mouth of a sexual partner.  This practice resembles dipping a tea bag into a cup of tea when it is done in a repeated in-and-out motion.  As a form of non-penetrative sex, it can be done for its own enjoyment or as foreplay." The last paragraph of Wikipedia's definition of "tea bag" states, "In 2009, the right-leaning Tea Party movement formed in the United States, referencing the Boston Tea party for its name.  The appellation "teabagger" emerged, promting puns by both policitcally-opposed commentators and protestors based on its sexual connotation."

So I guess we should rest assured that the person responsible for allowing Mr. Parson's use of the word "tea bagger" or "bagger" seven times in his letter to the editor was aware of the origination and sexual innuendo of this phrase?

I can reassure you that if I submitted a letter to the editor with the above defition it would not be published.  So how does the Phoenix justify using the word of a defition they can't print in their own newspaper?

I don't know.  But I plan on asking the publisher on Monday.  And if he's not available, I'll make an appointment and let you know what he says.

Wasterwater proposal and change

http://muskogeephoenix.com/local/x1248735535/Wastewater-proposal-not-sitting-well-with-some

Muskogee Public Works Director Mike Stewart said a private contractor has approached the city about providing management services for the plant. (Operative word is "management," not replacing the 28 city employees with private company employees.)

Change comes extremely hard to Muskogee--city charter, Greater Muskogee Development, election campaign finance reform, ward voting, still no strategic plan for Muskogee, lack of true community involvement in city planning (a future blog article), ad naseum.

Note Mayor Hammons comment that, "City employees must be given the opportunity to improve services."  Well, Mr. Mayor, they've had no incentives to improve services until now. Nothing like like free enterprise to get the competitive juices flowing, huh? 

Councilman Lucky asked, "Do we not have that type of knowledge to run (the wastewater plant) properly."  Well, obviously we do because the city has been operating it for years.  But that's not the issue. The issue is how more efficiently can the wastewater plant be operated.  And if city employees/management is not motivated to improve efficiencies  by free market challengers, then there's no reason to do so.  Remember the city is working on reducing a $1.8 million budget deficit.

The union is opposed because that's the job of the union--oppose anything that may change the status quo. 

And City Attorney John Vincent, according to the Phoenix, said that once the city receives "request for porposals" from interested outside entities, the city must go to employees and say, "This is ther bid price, what can you do." 

I think that's a fair question; and should management of the city's wastewater treatment plant come under a private contractor, that should be an incentive for other city workers to increase the efficiencies of their departments or face private management challenging their status quo.
The Muskogee Public Works Committee voted 7-2 to solicit "statements of qualification" from firms that could management the facility.  Councilmen Kenny Payne and Jackie Luckey voted against the motion.  The vote is subject to City Council approval.  We'll see if efficiency wins over "tradion." 

It really is time to drag Muskogee kicking and screaming into the 21st century of city management. Nobody likes change because it threatens their way of life, their power, their structure, their influence.  Could that be the reason Muskogee has been stagnant for years?   Hopefully the city council will vote to allow private management of the wastewater treatment plant thereby cracking open a sliver of hope that Muskogee has a future of growth and prosperity.

The future of economic development in Muskogee

If you've been watching the televised city council/public works and finance committee meetings on the city's TV channel or on the city's web site, you'll see that the council is facing a tough issue:  whether to abandon the 40+ year organization that's been in charge of recruiting industry to Muskogee, Muskogee Development.  http://muskogeedevelopment.org/   The city of Muskogee funds $175,000 of Muskogee Development’s annual budget of $252,868. The money, payable in monthly increments, comes from a sales tax that was approved and levied in 2001.  The city is expected to run out of that fund at the end of the year.  http://muskogeephoenix.com/local/x316474770/Arrested-development-Muskogee-Development-could-lose-grasp-on-economic-recruitment

Muskogee Development's problem has always been that no one outside of city officials and the board members know what that organization does nor the successess they have had.  Scott Robinson, who is the director of the Port of Muskogee and who could also be taking on Muskogee Development's mission is the longest serving Muskogee Development board member at 20 years  He's quoted in the Phoenix as saying, “Why has it taken 20 years, and we’re still in the same spot,” he said. “There is a lot of confusion on what Muskogee Development is. It’s hard for the community to grasp.”

I did note with some dismay, that during the city council's discussion of giving economic development to the Port of Muskogee, that no city councilor asked the basic question:  What will the Port of Muskogee do differently than Muskogee Development to ensure their success at this venture? 

And until that question is answered in specificity, it will remain Muskogee's economic Rubik's cube. 

FOI Oklahoma: File complaint against lawyers on public bodies that violate Open Meeting Act and against government attorneys whose advice clearly contradicts open government laws

FOI Oklahoma: File complaint against lawyers on public bodies that violate Open Meeting Act and against government attorneys whose advice clearly contradicts open government laws

The integrity of public statements by city officials

When a city official makes a public statement we expect the statement to be free of obfuscation, misunderstanding, confusion and even the perception of such.  In other words, is the statement clear as to intent and meaning or is it possible to read something else into the statement?

Muskogee Police Department’s (MPD) Chief of Police Rex Eskridge stated before the city council on May 24, 2010 that “he would rate Muskogee at a 50 on a scale of 0-115   assessing whether the city has a gang problem,” according to the Phoenix.[1]  (See my blog of January 1 entitled, “Muskogee’s long term association with gangs (and the city’s tepid response to it).)

Since Chief Eskridge made the statement directly citing the Gang Assessment Tool you would think his statement was based upon the MPD having “taken” the survey, conducted the research, and accurately answered the questions. 

But, no.

When an Open Records Act request was filed with the city asking to see all the documentation corresponding to Chief Eskridge’s “50 point” rating, the city’s response was:  “According to Chief Eskridge, there was no specific statistical data upon which he relied, rather the assignment of the score of ‘50’ was based on his years of experience with the Muskogee Police Department.”

So why didn’t Chief Eskridge say that to begin with?  Now remember, Chief Eskridge is providing this information to the city council and all of Muskogee via live television; you’d think he want to be as clear as possible, especially as to the source of his statement.

Maybe Chief Eskridge should have been more prudent in his response by saying something to the effect:  “Mr. Mayor, City Manager, members of the City Council, I have not had the opportunity to have my staff conduct a proper and thorough search of our records in specific response to these 13 questions from the Gang Assessment Tool.  I would much rather refrain from providing anything at this time other than a thoroughly researched response to this critical issue of gangs.  However, I believe that within 60 days, I can provide an accurate response to this assessment tool and from there the city can use that data to develop an appropriate response to this issue that plagues America.”

It is the job of the chief of police to tell us the truth about an issue, especially one as serious as gangs in which the life of one Muskogee youth was taken way too early April 10 during a gang-related shooting at Arrowhead Mall which also left several people wounded.

We also understand the city’s concern that “image” is everything especially when the city is, with limited resources, trying to attract more business and industry to Muskogee.  But the police chief’s job is not to be the public relations agency for the city of Muskogee; rather it is to tell the truth, no matter had “badly” it reflects upon the city.

Did Chief Eskridge intentionally mislead the city council and the citizens of Muskogee?  Only Chief Eskridge knows.  But the fact that he did not preface his remarks with “based upon my years of experience with the Muskogee Police Department,” leads one to believe that his comment was based upon the outcome of completing the Gang Assessment Tool.  And that, ladies and gentlemen, is not what we expect from our city officials.

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[1]“Assessment says city has gang problem,” by Liz McMahan, Muskogee Daily Phoenix, May 24, 2010.  The Gang Assessment Tool asks 13 questions which are scored between 5 to 15 points per question.  The higher the score, the more serious the gang problem a city has.

Muskogee’s long term association with gangs (and the city's tepid response)

After the April 10 gang-related shooting at Arrowhead Mall that left one youth dead and four others wounded, Muskogee Police Chief Rex Eskridge said in a May 24 city council meeting that “he would rate Muskogee at a 50 on a scale of 0-115 assessing whether the city has a gang problem,” according to the Phoenix.[1]  (I tried to listen to all of Chief Eskridge's "testimony" on the city's web site but the first 25 minutes of audio is missing, which encompassess all of Chief Esdridge's testimony.)

The scale is called a “Gang Assessment Tool” which has been available from the National School Safety Center since 1992.  The tool has 13 questions with “points” assigned to each question ranging from five to 15 points.  The “Gang Assessment Tool” was discussed at the May 24 city council meeting.

Here’s the rating scale:

• 0-20 points—No problem
• 25-45 points—Emerging problems
• 50-65 points—You have problems
• 70 + points—There are serious problems
• At 50+ points = a need exists to develop a gang prevention intervention program.

So how did Chief Eskridge arrive at those 50 points?  In response to an Open Records Act request in which I asked to see all the documentation corresponding to Chief Eskridge’s “50 point” rating, the city’s response was:  “According to Chief Eskridge, there was no specific statistical data upon which he relied, rather the assignment of the score of ‘50’ was based on his years of experience with the Muskogee Police Department.”

A better response from Chief Eskridge would have been:  “Mr. Mayor, City Manager, members of the City Council, I have not had the opportunity to have my staff conduct a proper and thorough search of our records in specific response to these 13 questions from the Gang Assessment Tool.  I would much rather refrain from providing anything at this time other than a thoroughly researched response to this critical issue of gangs.  However, I believe that within 60 days, I can provide an accurate response to this assessment tool and from there the city can use that data to develop an appropriate response to this issue that plagues America.”

(Of course the real issue here is the integrity of Chief Eskdridge's statement to begin with, which will be addressed in another posting.)

So let’s take a look at the 13 questions in the gang assessment tool.

1.  Is there graffiti on or near your neighborhood or community? (5 points)

2.  Is the graffiti crossed out? (10 points)

3.  Do the young people in your community wear colors, jewelry, clothing, flash hand signs, or display other behaviors that may be gang related?  (10 points)

4.  Are drugs available in or near your community? (10 points)

5.  Was there a significant increase in the number of physical; confrontations within the past 12 months in or near your community? (5 points)

6.  Is there an increasing presence of weapons in your community? (5 points)

7.  Are beepers, pagers, cellular phones used by the young people of your community?  (10 points)

8.  Has there been a “drive by” shooting in or around your community?  (15 points)

9.  Have you had a “show-by” display of weapons in or around your community? (10 points)

10. Is the truancy rate and/or daytime burglaries in your community increasing?  (5 points)

11. Have racial incidents increased in your community? (5 points)

12. Is there a history of gangs in your community?  (10 points)

13. Is there an increasing presence of “informal social groups” with the unusual names that have words like kings, disciples, queens, posse, crew?  (15 points)

So how many points did you score?  The point is that it doesn’t matter.  Only an organization like the Muskogee Police Department (MPD) and Muskogee Public Schools can truly provide the accurate data needed to reflect gang reality in Muskogee.  But the question is when will the MPD actually complete the Gang Assessment Tool and make it public? (But then, isn't that a question the city council or even the city manager should be asking the chief?)

The MPD has publicly acknowledged a gang problem since at least 1995 which is documented in the U.S. Department of Justice’s 1995 National Youth Gang Survey. The MPD is listed as one of the “City Law Enforcement Agencies Reporting Gangs.” [2]   

And since Eskridge became Chief of Police in 1996, the Muskogee Police Department also appeared in both the 1997 and 1999-2001 National Youth Gang Survey’s “City Law Enforcement Agencies Reporting Gangs.”[3] 

In the “The Federal Gang Violence Act of 1996,” Muskogee, Stillwater, Ardmore, Lawton, Tulsa and Oklahoma City are identified as six of the 118 U.S. cities the “Bloods” and “Crips” gangs have invaded.[4]

Muskogee is strategically (gang and drug-related) located on Highway 69 southeast of Tulsa and north of Dallas and “is a national-level drug transportation and distribution center.”  This corridor is known as the Northeastern Texas Corridor for drug trafficking.[5]

 The Tulsa Police Department estimates that there are “5,000 people who are either gang members or have ties to street gangs” live in the Tulsa area.[6]  (The reason why I state this fact is that if Tulsa Police Department can provide that estimate, why can't, or won't, MPD?)

A DEA news release dated October 10, 2007 entitled, “Operation Six-Killer Nets 90 Arrests in Oklahoma,” names one of the street gangs in Muskogee as the “107 Hoover Crips” and also named the “Bloods” in Okmulgee County. The release also mentioned that the Muskogee Police Department participated in the raids.[7] 

The Oklahoma Gang Investigators Association reports that the largest gang in Okmulgee, Muskogee and Bartlesville is the Hoover Crips and specifically mentions the 107 Hoover Crips.[8]

At the memorial for 17-year-old Jerrod Reed, a victim of the Arrowhead Mall gang shooting, District Attorney Larry Moore acknowledged that Muskogee has had gang problems even before the gang shooting.  Yet for the 10-years Chief Eskridge has been Chief of Police, he has not held, as far as I can determine, a public meeting addressing the presence of gangs in Muskogee before the Arrowhead Mall shooting.

More evidence that there are gangs in Muskogee is reflected in the numerous policies of the parent’s handbook for Muskogee Public Schools.

“The following decorations and/or designs imprinted upon or attached to the body or clothing is prohibited:  symbols, mottoes, words or acronyms that convey . . . gang-related . . . messages,” 7^th-8^th grade center handbook and high school handbook.

Muskogee High School handbook:  “Clothing which advertises . . . gangs is not permitted.” “Any clothing which imitates gang activity as deemed by school administration.” “No Gang-related clothing.”

The Muskogee Phoenix reported on June 16, 2009 school board member John Barton was concerned that looser dress codes would allow students to wear gang colors.  The article then quoted board member Stacey Alexander as saying, “They (students) still wear gang colors in their shoe laces.”[9]

And in an August 2010 city sponsored meeting in regards to residents’ concerns, Derryl Venter, Muskogee Public Schools assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, “expressed concern about gang signs and graffiti.”[10]

Muskogee Public School teachers and administrators seem to be able to recognize these gang “symbols, mottoes, words or acronyms that convey . . . gang-related . . . messages” and apparently they assume all the students know that too.  Yet no where in these handbooks are gang symbols, gang signs, gang mottoes, gang words, gang acronyms or gang-related messages described. 

So, city manager, what’s the plan?  When are you going to tell the city council what really is going on in Muskogee about gangs?  When do we find out what colors we need to be aware of that could possibly be associated with gangs?  How about hand signs?  What does their graffiti look like so we, as citizens, can recognize when our neighborhoods have been invaded?

Do citizens know how to identify whether graffiti is gang related or not?  Does the city photograph all graffiti before scrubbing it clean (which is greatly appreciated)? Does the average citizen know how to distinguish whether hand signs are gang related? When graffiti is identified as gang related, is the location and which gang the symbol belongs to recorded for intelligence and tracking purposes?

We want to help you but we can’t unless you tell us what’s going on and how we can help.  Will you do that for us?  In 2007 Tulsa began a program called, “The Confidential Reliable Citizens Program” which trained volunteers to recognize and report gang-related crime with minimal risk of retaliation.[11]  Any reason why Muskogee can’t implement a similar program?

Finally, city officials won’t respond with any degree of forthrightness to any appeal from the public demanding to know the true status of gangs in Muskogee until citizens get mad, show up at city council meetings and demand action and information.  And if the death of a teenager during a gang-related shooting spree at a shopping mall doesn’t make your blood boil, then maybe we don’t deserve to know what’s really going on in Muskogee, Oklahoma after all. 

[1]“Assessment says city has gang problem,” by Liz McMahan, Muskogee Daily Phoenix, May 24, 2010

[2] www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/164728.pdf   accessed Dec. 28, 2010, p. 32

[3]“1997 National Youth Gang Survey”, p. 56, and “1999-2001 National Youth Gang Survey,” p. 64,  U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.  While there are summaries of National Youth Gang Survey’s after 2001, I could find no such surveys available “in toto” on the Internet although summaries were available.

[4] http://feinstein.senate.gov/booklets/gangs.pdf  Accessed Dec. 28, 2010

[5]www.justice.gov/ndic/p8ubs32/32781/index.htm  Accessed Dec. 28, 2010, p. 2

[6] Tulsa World, 11/23/2008, “Police say nearly 5,000 in Tulsa area tied to gangs,” by David Schulte

[7] http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/states/newsrel/dallas101007p.html  Accessed Dec. 28, 2010

[8] http://www.ogia.us/tolp;gangs.htm  Accessed Dec. 28, 1020

[9] “School board suspends dress code, may restrict piercings,” by Cathy Spaulding, Muskogee Daily Phoenix, June 16, 2009

[10] “Residents express concerns (sic),” by Cathy Spaulding, Muskogee Daily Phoenix, August 6, 2010

[11] “Volunteers target gangs,” by David Schulte, Tulsa World, June 20, 2008

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