Johnston County Sentinel

Virtual schools, ad valorem

plan discussed at luncheon
Feb
By John A. Small about his stance on vir- ing formula for virtual
21 Managing Editor tual charter schools, charter schools, give the
public schools that re- governor more authori-
2019 7KH ÀUVW -RKQVWRQ ceive state education ty over the state virtual
County Legislative Lun- funding for each student charter board, and re-
Page cheon of the 2019 ses- and where lessons and quire more detailed re-
0001 sion proved to be one assignments are com- ports on attendance and
of the best attended in pleted online. Virtual student property use,
Clip recent memory - despite schools are growing in such as computers.
resized
50% the absence of both of popularity, and Tisho- In response to
Johnston County’s vet- mingo School Superin- Greene’s questions, Bul-
eran state legislators. tendent Alicia O’Don- lard said he feels “there
The event, hosted nell recently announced are some positives” to be
by the Johnston County plans to launch a local found in virtual schools.
Chamber of Commerce, virtual school here. But he also stated that
was held last Friday, During the 2017- he has some questions
Feb. 15, in the Aggie 18 school year, nearly regarding virtual school
Dining Room at Murray 12,000 Oklahoma chil- funding, as well as about
State College. dren attended the state’s the quality of education
State Speaker of the virtual charters, accord- such schools actually
House Charles McCall ing to a report from provide.
- whose District 22 in- Statewide Virtual Char- “Anybody who takes
cludes Johnston Coun- ter School Board Exec- public dollars ought to
ty - and District 6 State utive Director Rebecca be held to the same stan-
Senator Frank Simpson Wilkinson and cited in dards,” Bullard said.
had both been expected the Dec. 18, 2018, issue Greene challenged Bull-
be present for the event, of the Journal Record. ard to closely look at the
but unforeseen last-min- Of those, more than costs associated with the
ute scheduling problems 8,000 attended Epic Epic program in particu-
prevented both legis- Virtual Charter School, lar.
lators from making the which has been operat- Questions regarding
trip to Tishomingo. ing in Oklahoma since several other issues of
Those in attendance 2011. Some reports have local interest resulted in
did get the opportunity stated that one reason an admission from Bul-
to hear from the new- for the virtual schools’ lard that he had not yet
est member of Johnston growing popularity is had the chance to read
County’s delegation to that they offer students some of the bills being
the State Capitol: Dis- a place where they can referenced.
trict 6 Senator David get an education without Those included re-
Bullard of Durant, who being bullied. newed efforts to allow
was elected last Novem- But critics of such Johnston County and
ber to the seat formerly programs have argued other aggregate-produc-
held by Josh Brecheen. that virtual schools lack ing counties the opportu-
Bullard, a former a rigorous academic nity to collect tax funds
teacher, spoke primarily experience, pointing to on such production; and
of his efforts to improve graduation rates and test D ELOO ÀOHG E\ 0F&DOO
funding to Oklahoma’s scores below the state that would authorize mu-
public education. average. One of Bull- nicipalities, county sher-
“That’s a passion of ard’s colleagues - State iffs and the Oklahoma
mine, and I’m going to Senator Ron Sharp of ) See/81&+(21
keep digging for those Shawnee - is a long- Page 11
dollars,” Bullard said. time critic of virtual
“We can make pub- charter schools and has
lic education a priority authored several bills
without taxing our citi- which would increase
zens for it. The money is transparency and de-
there.” crease funding.
Local resident Gary 6KDUSKDVÀOHGOHJLV-
Greene asked Bullard lation to adjust the fund-

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 Johnston County Sentinel

President Joy McDaniel said as important employers in our state.

Luncheon Continued from Page 1

Highway Patrol to issue a citation to Ward shared news of Trump’s an-
Feb
21
any person or corporation that blocks
a railroad intersection for longer than
nouncement, made at the White House
shortly before last Friday’s luncheon,
M
10 minutes that he was declaring a national emer- D
2019 “There are a little over 2,000 bills gency in order to get the funding he B
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He pledged to study the aggre-
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0001 gate and railroad crossing legislation,
and to look into questions regarding
unfunded mandates and unpaid re-
imbursements on double homestead
exemptions which were raised by
County Treasurer Rana Smith.
Also speaking during last Friday’s
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from Oklahoma’s delegation to the
U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
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ond District U.S. Congressman Mark-
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Mullin had been among those who
had voted against the bipartisan com-
promise spending bill that was later
signed into law by President Trump
to avoid a second partial government
shutdown.
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voted in favor of the bill.
Cochran noted during his remarks
that Lankford is pushing for legisla-
tion that would require all U.S. legis-
lators to remain in Washington, D.C.,
during future government shutdowns.
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
However, Ward conceded that the c
president’s declaration was expected M
to face legal challenges. “So it may or r
may not happen, depending on how m
long it takes to go through the judicia- o
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neys general from 16 states sued the
Trump administration on Monday
over the emergency declaration, call-
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also vowed to introduce legislation i
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fort is generally considered to be a c
mostly symbolic act, given the antic- 6
ipated lack of the two-thirds majority 5
needed in both the House and Senate \
to override the expected Trump veto. w
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Other topics of discussion Friday f
included plans by Murray State Col-
lege to enact a county-wide 1 millage Y
ad valorem tax for support of a new
technical and occupational program at
MSC.
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proposed ballot proposition has been
turned over to Assistant District At-
torney Fern Smith for review, after
which it will go to the Johnston Coun-
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proval.
 Ada News

WKH/D]HU=RQH)DPLO\ SEE BOWLING, PAGE B2

Feb
22
Pontotoc County
2019

Page
B001
4-H team shoots
Clip
resized
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well at state event
By Jeff Cali | Sports Editor

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6KDZQHH Terry Nelson, state 4-H director of
7KHORFDO+FKDSWHU shooting sports, presents a trophy
ZRQWKHVWDWHFKDPSL- to Pontotoc County shooter Zoe
RQVKLSLQWKH,QWHUPH- Traylor at the 2019 Oklahoma 4H
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Classifieds: 580.310.7500

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 Clip
Feb 2019 Page resized From
22 B002 48% B001

Ada News

STATE:
From Page B1
school student; and Zoe
Traylor, a seventh-grade Epic
Charter School student.
Traylor placed third in
the 3-position intermediate
division, second in standing
intermediate division and
third place overall in the
intermediate division.
Angela Traylor | Provided 7RPE¿QLVKHGIRXUWKRYHU-
The Pontotoc County 4-H Shooting Intermediate team won a DOODQGIRXUWKLQWKH6LOKRX-
state title last Saturday at the 2019 Oklahoma 4H State Air Rifle ettes intermediate group.
Championship. Members include Riley Tomb, Bently Hill, Mag- Gregory was eighth overall,
gie Gregory and Zoe Traylor. DQG+LOO¿QLVKHGLQWKH1R
10 spot.
The Pontotoc County
junior team (ages 9-11)
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1.7773. That group consists
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McEllhannon was ninth
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tors) in the junior division
and ninth in the 3-position
Angela Traylor | Provided FRPSHWLWLRQ7RPE¿QLVKHG Angela Traylor | Provided
The Pontotoc County 4-H Shooting Junior team finished in third 12th overall and 12th in the Members of the Pontotoc County 4-H shooting team get some practice rounds in recently under the watchful eye of as-
place Saturday at the 2019 Oklahoma 4H State Air Rifle Cham- 3-position event. sistant coach Matt McElhannon (far right) in the poultry barn at the Pontotoc County Agri-Plex. Shown above are Riley
pionship. Members include Jaxon Austin, Brody McElhannon, The teams are coached by Tomb, Bentley Hill, Maggie Gregory and Zoe Traylor. The local team performed well at the 2019 Oklahoma 4H State Air
Emma Tomb and Sam Gaylor. Wayne McEllhannon. Rifle Championship last weekend in Shawnee.

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 The Edmond Sun

A2 | NEWS THE EDMOND SUN

Feb
23

2019
Edmond dance group on
Page
A002
Clip
‘World of Dance’ Tuesday
resized INTENTION, a dance
43% group from Edmond, will
be on Season 3 of NBC’s
“World Of Dance” begin-
ning with the television
premiere Tuesday night.
The nine girls who are
members of INTENTION
all dance at Kim Massay
Dance Productions in
Edmond and are students
at eight different
Oklahoma high schools.
Dancers represent
Edmond Santa Fe,
Edmond Memorial,
Edmond North, Deer
Creek High School, Tulsa’s
Holland Hall, EPIC
Charter School, Jones
High School, and
Choctaw High School.
INTENTION dancers
are: Mackenzie Baumert,
Breanne Elwell, Kamryn
Funk, Brianna Haith,
Avery Mathena, Kendall
Schmidt, Addison Taron,
Treasure Wensauer, and
Peyton Winsett. INTEN-
TION is led by their stu-
dio director and owner
Kim Massay and choreog-
rapher and instructor
Skye Massay.
“While we can’t talk
about any outcomes, we
can tell you this was an
absolutely amazing expe-
rience and we would love
to have you follow us on
our journey,” Kim Massay
said. “The competition is
intense and we are PHOTO PROVIDED
extremely humbled and Members of the INTENTION Dance Group, left to right, are: (top) Kendall Schmidt, Brianna Haith, Breanne
honored to be dancing on Elwell, Kamryn Funk, Mackenzie Baumert, Addison Taron, studio director and owner Kim Massay; and (bottom)
the world’s best dance choreographer and instructor Skye Massay, Peyton Winsett, Treasure Wensauer, and Avery Mathena.
stage in front of judges
J.Lo, Derek Hough, and
Ne-Yo.” the best of the best. alongside groups from, Dance” stage is a feat all Edmond. INTENTION
With thousands audi- INTENTION is one of 13 Belgium, Canada, South in of itself. can be followed on
tioning from all over the junior teams competing Korea, Thailand and Italy. Kim Massay Dance stu- Instagram at Kim Massay
world, “World Of Dance” for the $1 million prize. Massay said just get- dio is located at 15000 Dance, and on Facebook
is known for attracting INTENTION is competing ting to the “World Of Santa Fe Crossing in at Kim Massay Dance.

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 Clip
Feb 2019 Page resized
23 A010 39%

The Edmond Sun

Salkil named EPIC Shawna

Salkil was
announced
as EPIC

Administrator of Year Administrat-

OKLAHOMA CITY —
Piedmont’s Shawna Salkil
has been named
Administrator of the Year
by EPIC Charter Schools.
Salkil has been
employed at EPIC for
about two years. Prior to
joining EPIC, Salkil
worked at the Conner &
Winters law firm.
“I was ecstatic and
shocked when my name
was called,” Salkil said.
“Being the Director of
Human Resources at the
Top Workplace in
Oklahoma is an honor in
itself, but being recog-
nized in this way is the
icing on the cake. I love
my job and team at EPIC.
The work we do every day
is changing lives, and this
award helps remind me
that I play a part in that.”
The ceremony, which
was held at the National
Cowboy and Western
Heritage Museum in
Oklahoma City, also recog-
nized other members of
the EPIC staff, including
EPIC Teacher of the Year
Donna Thornton,
Mustang; Covington’s
Natalie Heim for her work
as a special education
teacher; Amber Grigsby,
Jenks, as Rookie of the
Year; Jim Rector, Broken
Arrow, as Special
Education Teacher of the
Year; and Jodie Shupe,
Cushing, Principal of the
Year.
“The work our teachers
and staff put in an effort to
ensure student success is
or of the
Year at a
recent cere-
inspiring,” said David mony at the
Chaney, EPIC Western
Superintendent. “The Heritage
majority of students who Museum.
come to EPIC are behind She is pic-
their peers, and our goal is tured with
to not only get them up to EPIC
grade level but to help Superint-
them excel. Over time, we endent
do that. Statistics show David
that the longer they’re Chaney.
with us, the better stu-
dents do. PHOTO PROVIDED
“That’s a testament to
our staff.”
EPIC is the state’s fifth
largest school system with
more than 23,000 students
and teachers and princi-
pals are located through-
out the state near the stu-
dents they serve.
Chaney and EPIC Co-
Founder Ben Harris pre-
sented the awards.

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