AROUND THE AREA

THURSDAY, SEPT. 20, 2012 OOLOGAH LAKE LEADER

OTEMS cuts dispatch bill by over 55%

Oologah-Talala Emergency Medical Services (OTEMS) ambulance service has changed dispatch centers to reduce costs while continuing excellent service to patrons. The OTEMS board voted last Thursday night to change from the Chelsea Police Department to Mercy Regional EMS's dispatch center in Owasso. "The transition will be transparent for our patrons, whose calls will be handled by experienced dispatchers who are familiar with the geography and addresses in our district," said Kelly Deal, OTEMS operations director. "The decision was based only on financial reasons as we are able to cut our monthly cost by more than half (from $1,350 to $600)," Deal said in a letter to Chelsea City Manager Kenny Weast. "It was simply a business decision by the OTEMS board of directors." Deal said OTEMS will honor a 30-day cancellation clause in the Chelsea contract by paying for services through Oct. 14. However, it began testing its new radio frequency on Friday and made the permanent switch to Mercy on Monday. Mercy already dispatches for the Northwest Rogers County Fire Protection District. The boards of both entities have approved sharing a radio frequency. Since Northwest and OTEMS respond to all medical, traffic accident and injury calls within the OTEMS district, the new dispatching arrangement should improve efficiency and service to patients. The services will use the same frequency, so they can be dispatched simultaneously rather than separately from dispatch centers located in two different counties. In addition, all responding units can simultaneously receive additional information on directions and the situations to which they are responding, Deal said. Technical factors in the radio system now used by Mercy for Northwest also are expected to improve radio reception for OTEMS, especially when units are taking patients to hospitals in Owasso and Tulsa. The change will not affect OTEMS's participation in the new unified Rogers County E911 Dispatch Center. The new countywide center is not expected to go online until next July at the earliest. Deal represents EMS services in the county on the center's advisory board, and is expected to be named a trustee in the same capacity if Rogers County commissioners change to a trust form of governance for the new operation. "It has been a pleasure working with the (Chelsea) dispatch staff and their dedication to the lifesaving work they do," Deal said. "Our patrons should continue to call 911 for any emergency requiring emergency medical services. "The 911 operator will automatically transfer the caller to our new dispatch center."

COURTESY

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker, tribal dignitaries, Cherokee Nation Entertainment officials, City of Ramona officials and Bartlesville Chamber of Commerce representatives cut the ribbon to the new Cherokee Casino Ramona. The new casino brings nearly 100 additional jobs to the area.

New casino opens on US-75

New Cherokee Casino Ramona holds grand opening

Cherokee Nation Entertainment and Cherokee Nation officials celebrated the opening of a larger Cherokee Casino Ramona on Monday, two years after opening the original facility "We are thrilled to open this new casino because it allows us to add nearly 100 new jobs to the area, as well as economic development opportunities for Ramona, Ochelata and Bartlesville," said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker. "Our casinos exist to provide jobs and opportunities for our citizens, so I'm proud to say that 100 percent of our new hires at this location are Cherokee citizens." The new casino is nearly triple the size of the original facility, an increase of 31,000 square feet. The property features a fullservice restaurant, a bar, entertainment space and 500 electronic games. When Cherokee Casino Ramona opened in an 11,500-square-foot modular building in May 2010, it housed 211 electronic games, a restaurant and a bar and employed 100 people. "Our guests' response to Cherokee Casino Ramona, in just a short amount of time, was overwhelming," said Rusty Stamps, general manager of Cherokee Casino Ramona. Cherokee Casino Ramona is located off of U.S. Highway 75 north of the Ramona exit. For more information, visit www.cherokeestarrewards.com or call (918) 535-3800.

Students encourage "No Text On Board" pledge

In celebration of the national "No Text on Board Pledge Day," Oologah-Talala High School leadership students planned a local event on Wednesday, Sept. 19, joining forces with wireless provider AT&T* to tackle a dangerous practice that puts millions of Americans at risk: texting while driving. At the event, OTHS's 600 students are urged to make a lifelong commitment to never text and drive again at an AT&T-hosted booth in the school's Commons area. Governor Mary Fallin this week declared Sept. 19 "No Texting While Driving Awareness Day" "A text can wait. This message can't," said Randall Stephenson, AT&T CEO. "In the United States, someone is killed or injured once every five minutes on average in a crash that happens while a driver is texting and driving.1" Since Aug. 15, when AT&T announced plans for No Text on Board Pledge Day: A national ad campaign, aired during the Olympics, shared personal stories of those whose lives were impacted by a texting-whiledriving crash. New ads were created with celebrities who appeal to teens including Victoria Justice, Ryan Beatty and Olympians Gabrielle Douglas and Jordyn Wieber. In addition, American Idol finalists and others are participating in events throughout the country. More than 140 organizations including USAA have pledged to help share a simple message: no text is worth dying for. (Full list at ItCanWait.com.) Social media through Twitter, Facebook and YouTube has reached more than 75 million user accounts. Thousands of people have participated in "It Can Wait" events throughout the country, including more than 100 featuring an incar texting-while-driving simulator. AT&T employees and organizations including National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS), Big Brothers Big Sisters and DECA are working together to provide no-texting-anddriving information to every high school in America. The company awarded more than $30,000 in prizes to app developers participating in a hackathon to develop technology solutions to help curb texting and driving. Making a difference Polling shows that awareness of AT&T's It Can Wait message has doubled since the beginning of June 2012, and one in three people say texting while driving messages have an impact on their habits. More than 500,000 no-texting-while-driving pledges have been logged through ItCanWait.com, social sites including Facebook, text-to-pledge and events. The AT&T DriveModeT" 2 app has been downloaded more than 80,000 times. Going forward, the campaign will further harness social connections and the power of technology to help curb texting while driving. The company is introducing an online simulation experience at ItCanWait. com that allows anyone to get behind the wheel, virtually, and see what happens when you text and drive.

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Public Notice 2012-2013 COMMUNICATIONS, INC.

Totah Communications, Inc. is a telecommunications carrier committed to providing high quality basic and enhanced services at reasonable rates to all subscribers throughout its service territory. Totah Communications, Inc.'s territory includes Burbank, Lenapah, Ochelata, Oglesby, South Elgin, South Hewins, Talala and Wann in Oklahoma; and Elgin, Elk City, Havana, Hewins, Liberty and Tyro in Kansas. Basic services are offered at the following rates*: Single Party Residence $9.40 - $16.65 Single Party Business $10.90 - $16.65 $10.15 Home Office (Oklahoma only) Tone Dialing Service No Charge Emergency 911 Service Fee for: $0.47 - $0.55 Oklahoma Counties Kansas Counties $0.53 *Your telephone bill also includes Federal and State mandated fees not included in the information listed above. As part of its service commitment to its subscribers, Totah Communications, Inc. continually provides voice-grade access to the public switched network, access to interexchange carriers and access to 911 Emergency services. Totah Communications, Inc. also provides access to Operator services and Directory assistance. Each local exchange access line comes with a primary directory listing at no charge, and each subscriber automatically receives a Totah Communications, Inc. Telephone Directory annually. Totah Communications, Inc.'s basic local service also includes access to telecommunications relay service and the ability to report service problems seven days a week. Totah Communications, Inc. understands the importance of consumers having access to quality local telephone service. To help consumers obtain and keep their local service, Totah Communications, Inc. offers reduced rates to eligible consumers under the LifeLine telephone assistance program, a monthly discount on basic local residential services that is available to qualified low-income consumers. Additional information may be obtained by contacting the Totah Communications, Inc. business office. Basic services are offered to all consumers in the company's service territory at the rates, terms and conditions specified in the company's tariff. If you have any questions regarding Totah Communications, Inc.'s service or conditions, please call 918-535-2208 or toll free 888-580-2208. We welcome customer feedback through our customer service department or via our website at any time and remain available to answer any questions you may have about our family of telecommunications services.

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