INSIDE INSIDE MARKETS MARKETS 4 SECTIONS 4 SECTIONS

Dow Crude
Vol. 113
No. 73
2014
Lawton
Media,
Inc.
American Digest 6C
Bridge 4B
Business 1D
Classified 2D
Comics 6C
Crossword 6C, 4D
Dear Abby 4B
Horoscope 4B
Lottery 5A
Movie listings 3B
Obituaries 5A
Opinion 4A
Sports 1C
Styles 4B
Weather 5A
Even
$80.52 bbl.
WEATHER WEATHER
Sunny
Todays high: 87
Tonights low: 60
+216.58
16,677.90
THE SOURCE FOR INFORMATION IN SOUTHWEST OKLAHOMA

www.swoknews.com
75 CENTS
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2014
WHATS INSIDE
WEEKEND
Entertaining
for eyes and ears
Seventeen-year-old Olivia
Komahcheet is a local teen
gaining a reputation for her
musical and graphic artistry.
See column, 1B
A Matter of Faith
Film maker Rich Christianos
A Matter of Faith opens to-
day at the Starplex movie the-
ater in Central Mall. After see-
ing an unfinished version of
the movie, Brian Hilliary, a dea-
con at First Baptist Church of
Medicine Park, said he knew
he had to bring the film to
Lawton.
See story, 3B
Comic treats
Candy isnt the only thing
thatll be given away this Hal-
loween. Carolina Comics will
participate in the third annual
Halloween Comicfest Saturday.
See story, 3B
LOCAL
The Mask
We Wear
Statistics became faces,
names
and sto-
ries
Thurs-
day
evening
in Law-
ton's
City
Hall as
"The
Mask
We
Wear" was removed to reveal
that the victims of domestic vi-
olence are close and it's
time for a change.
See story, 6A
City of
Lawton
Stage3
water
conservation
Outside watering allowed
only from midnight to 9 a.m.
Wednesday and Saturday.
Violators will face fines.
BY MARK POTTER
STAFF WRITER
MPOTTER@SWOKNEWS.COM
OKLAHOMA CITY Gov. Mary Fallin de-
clared water one of Oklahomas most precious
resources and commended conservation ef-
forts at the local and state levels during the
second day of the 35th Annual Governors Wa-
ter Conference Thursday.
Fallin opened the second day of the confer-
ence at the Cox Convention Center with her
keynote address, during which she empha-
sized the value of water in the states economy.
The governor said water touches all aspects
of Oklahomas economy agriculture, power
generation, energy resources such as oil and
gas, clean drinking water, movement of prod-
ucts via waterways, and tourism and recre-
ation. She also reported that Oklahomas ener-
gy costs are among the lower 20 percent tier
among states, which helps attract new busi-
ness and industry to the state.
Water not only helps us create jobs, it also
enhances the quality of life for Oklahomans,
she said. You have to have water to live.
Fallin said Oklahoma is facing challenges to
its water resources thanks to a four-year
drought that rivals that of the last severe
drought that hit the state in the 1950s. She said
about 65 percent of the entire state is in
drought with 21 percent of the state suffering
from extreme drought in western Okla-
homa.
We have been able to make the most of our
resources based on our experiences with past
dry periods, but we still need to pray for rain,
she said.
Fallin credited the efforts of Robert S. Kerr,
former governor and U.S. senator, to develop
new reservoirs in the face of previous
droughts, but those reservoirs are aging and in
need of improvements that cannot be funded
because of federal budget cuts in recent years.
But were taking steps to make sure Okla-
homa resources can remain functional, she
said. Even if there was money available to
build more reservoirs, it would be in the long
term as it takes at least a decade to build a
lake.
SEE WATER, 3A
Fallin speaks at water forum
The best we can do right now is edu-
cate Oklahomans about the current
water situation. We have developed a
water portal that informs about real-
time drought conditions. It is also a
tool for Oklahomans to receive reports
about the droughts effect on recre-
ation at lakes and long-term weather
forecasting.
MARY FALLIN
OKLAHOMA GOVERNOR
BY MALINDA RUST
STAFF WRITER
MRUST@SWOKNEWS.COM
A medical helicopter crash ear-
lier this month has claimed the
life of a third victim.
Shelly Schneider, public rela-
tions specialist for Air Evac
Lifeteam, confirmed Thursday
that Erasmus Johan Vandercolff
IV died late Wednesday as a result
of the injuries he suffered Oct. 4
when the chopper carrying a gun-
shot victim crashed in downtown
Wichita Falls, Texas. Vandercolff
was a flight para-
medic from Wichi-
ta Falls flying for
the Duncan base
that day.
Its not clear
why the helicopter
went down, but 26-
year-old Buddy
Rhoads the pa-
tient died upon
impact. A flight nurse, 27-year-old
Leslie Stewart, of Duncan, died
five days later while at a Dallas
hospital.
Media have not been able to ob-
tain a report on the condition of
the pilot, Zachariah Smith.
The crash occurred when the
helicopter was attempting to land
at United Regional Hospital with
Rhoads, who had been shot with a
shotgun in Waurika, aboard. Two
men have been arrested in con-
nection with the shooting, but
none has been named the actual
trigger man.
Preliminary report
released on crash cause
A preliminary crash report was
released Oct. 9 in which the pilot
said most of the approach toward
SEE CRASH, 5A
Air Evac
crash claims
third victim
VANDERCOLFF
MICHAEL D. POPE/STAFF
Leadership Oklahoma participants and supporters, from left, Jennifer Holland, Deputy to the Commanding General Joe
Gallagher,Albert Johnson Jr., Jimmy Dailey, Fort Sill Commander Maj. Gen. John Rossi, President of Leadership Oklahoma
Dr. Ann Ackerman, Lawton Public Schools Superintendent Tom Deighan and Jennifer Meason stand for a photo Thursday
at Fort Sill.
LEADERSHIP OKLAHOMA AT LAWTON-FORT SILL
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)
Oklahoma teachers would re-
ceive a $2,500 across-the-board
pay raise under a budget pro-
posal approved Thursday by the
State Board of Education, but
they shouldnt plan to spend the
money any time soon.
The money for the raises is
part of a $2.78 billion funding re-
quest the agency is submitting
for the Legislature to consider
for the budget year that begins
July 1. The request includes
nearly $300 million in new
spending.
It is time we as a state offer
better compensation to these
dedicated and talented individu-
als who give so much of them-
selves in service to our chil-
dren, said state Superintendent
Janet Barresi.
Gov. Mary Fallin and leaders
in the GOP-led Legislature have
signaled support for pay raises
for Oklahoma teachers, among
the lowest paid in the nation
with a starting salary of $31,600.
But the reality of Oklahomas
budget situation will make it dif-
ficult. Although state revenue
collections are trending up-
ward, legislative budget writers
used about $290 million in one-
time revenue sources to fund
the current years budget, which
will eat into any growth revenue
next year.
Im thankful the revenue is
trending the way it is, but I
would caution against anyone
thinking theres going to be a
bucket full of extra money, said
Oklahoma Secretary of Finance
Preston Doerflinger, the gover-
nors top budget negotiator with
the Legislature.
Pay raises requested for teachers
JOSH ROUSE/STAFF
The moon passes between
the sun and Earth Thursday
creating a partial solar
eclipse. People in the Central
Time Zone had the best view
beginning at about 4:45
p.m., according to NASA.
PARTIAL
ECLIPSE