Heading out for Heaven Fest; clarification on Web site work

We are leaving on a trip in the morning that hopefully we all will remember for a long time to come. Eight teenagers and me. If they don’t remember it, I know I will.


Tomorrow morning we’ll cram into two cars like sardines and spend 10 hours on the road with stinky feet, the stench of Corn Nuts and, I’m sure, … potato chip farts. Six boys and three girls? You know there is bound to be some farting going on.

Dumb publisher has dumb friends

For those readers who think they can just make copies of my blog willy-nilly and circulate them at their own free will around the Grant County Courthouse, I’d like to introduce you to a little well-known concept called copyright law. That link will tell you that you should have asked my permission before you decided to self-publish my work. This link will tell you that what you thought you knew about material on the Internet being fair game ... is completely wrong, much like your use of the county courthouse as your personal forum is completely wrong.


Did you make those copies at home, or did taxpayer dollars pay for them? Just curious, because the wording at the top indicates they were faxed from the Grant County Treasurer's Office at 4:45 p.m. - after hours ... on election night. Interesting.

Help me claim my inheritance!

I remember the first time I realized the "Dead Bird Picture" was actually a picture of dead birds. I was in the fourth grade.

I had stared at that picture many times, wondering what it meant. I couldn't quite grasp it. The browns and grays and yellows swirled and mixed and faded into the heavy frame. The dim lighting of the living room only added more camouflage to the mirage. I strained my brain trying to unpuzzle its complexity. Why on earth would my parents hang such a smeary muck on the wall as decoration?

Then I got glasses.

'I can do everything through Him who gives me strength'

It’s in this quietness I think the most. Amidst the loud hum of the computer tower and occasional pounce of the robust cat I ponder God’s plan for me. I know I am in the right place, but should I be moving? I feel like I am getting ready to be moved, like it or not.

Congratulations to one of Oklahoma's finest journalists!

Publishing five community newspapers definitely deserves some kind of award! There is none more deserving than Jeff Mayo.

http://www.nnaweb.org/?%2Fnnaweb%2Fnnanews02%2F1594%2F

NWOSU gains not-so-good national attention

Northwestern Oklahoma State University's claim that a federal privacy law prohibits it from disclosing which students receive scholarships funded by Alva's sales taxes is another example of why the statute is "broken," said the executive director of the Student Press Law Center.

To read the full posting: http://foioklahoma.blogspot.com/2010/06/nwosus-ferpa-claim-for-secrecy-garners.html

NWOSU cries FERPA for scholarship recipients

An Alva city councilman last week questioned the claim by Northwestern Oklahoma State University officials that a federal privacy law prohibits them from disclosing which students receive scholarships funded by the city's sales taxes, The Alva Review-Courier reported Sunday.

NWOSU officials had provided the names for the past decade under a 1999 agreement with the city.

NWOSU also requires students receiving the scholarships to sign a FERPA form permitting the school to notify their hometown newspapers, reported Helen Barrett of The Alva Review-Courier and an FOI Oklahoma board member.

The Alva city attorney -- who is married to the NWOSU president -- told the councilman he could cited for violating a federal law if he gave the list to folks not on the Council.

The blog posting explains why FERPA wouldn't seem to apply.

http://foioklahoma.blogspot.com/2010/06/nwosu-claims-ferpa-prohibits-disclosure.html

The next excuse for denying access to government records?

The next excuse for denying access to government records?


The Lawrence city payroll, obtained by the Boston Herald under the state public records law after a two-month battle, was delayed while officials made sure no “enemies” were behind the request.

City Attorney Charles D. Boddy Jr. said he was “sitting on and forgetting about” the Herald’s request for weeks while he studied the paper trail.

Lawrence has “a lot of enemies,” he said, and must take its time probing every request.

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view/20100518city_blames_delay_of_records_release_on_enemies/