STWOK News

(STILLWATER, OKLA. / Aug. 19, 2010) — Labor Day weekend will kick off with a boom! The City of Stillwater will shoot off its annual fireworks show Friday, Sept. 3 at dusk. The show will take place at Boomer Lake Park at the Washington and Lakeview. City crews will be on hand to direct parking at no cost to guests.

The annual fireworks show was postponed July 4, due to rain and wind.

For more information, call (405) 742-8362 or visit the City of Stillwater web site at stillwater.org.

Update: Due to rain, the City of Stillwater cancels the annual Boomer Blast fireworks show scheduled for July 4.

(STILLWATER, OKLA. / July 4, 2010) — Due to the extensive rainfall yesterday, crews are unable to park cars safely in the rain-saturated grass lots at Boomer Lake Park. To do so would cause significant long term damage to the grass areas of Boomer Park and potential damage to vehicles. Given this situation, along with the high winds and significant chances of additional rain today, the City of Stillwater has made the difficult decision to postpone the 4th of July fireworks until Labor Day weekend.

Wakeboard competition to continue as weather permits.

The Stillwater Public Library is looking for young volunteers to help with the fun and popular summer reading program.  Several dozen assistants are needed to staff the children’s registration desk throughout June and July.

“Our young volunteers are an essential part of developing a successful children’s summer program,” said Sue Busch, children’s librarian.  “Not only are the volunteers a big help, but they also help the younger children get excited about coming to the library.” Read the rest of this entry →

I am relatively new to Stillwater, living here for less than two years.  I love riding my bicycle as much as possible and was upset to find Stillwater to be a fairly unfriendly bicycle town.  Most college/university towns are very progressive in ensuring two-wheels have as much ‘room’ as those with four.

In searching the city website for information on city-wide planning for bicycle routes and lanes, I found the Stillwater Multi-Use Trail and On-Street Bicycle Master Plan – presented in Nov 2007 and again presented for review in Feb 2009.  Beyond that, I found no other mention throughout the Stillwater.org website.

Its a great plan that would ensure Stillwater could offer cyclists safe travel throughout the city.  Aside from the proposed trails and routes, the proposal offers documented citizen responses that speak volumes to what ‘the people’ want.

You can find the plan at http://stillwater.org/content/2007/per/TTF-draft-Oct2007.pdf

Once I read through and found that there were only two mentions of the plan at Stillwater.org, I wrote to the Parks & Recreation department to find the status.  Here is the response from Eve Morgan (City of Stillwater, Park Planner):

The plan was approved as submitted in early 2009.  Currently, the City has received a stimulus grant to implement the on-street bicycle route portion of the plan.  A bicycle signage plan and cost estimate is being finalized with the hopes that it will be implemented this summer.  The multi-use trail plan portion of the master plan will be developed in phases over the coming years as funds become available.  Currently, the City has a transportation enhancement grant to complete the section from Boomer Lake Park to Parkview Estates.  This is the only section of the trail funded at this time.

Great information and I sincerely appreciated such a quick response from Ms. Morgan.

I am very glad to see that there is some direction in place.  The on-street portion of the plan would be a vast improvement over what we see today.  Of course, I question why the only portion of the multi-use trail that is being developed leads from Boomer Lake to Parkview Estates – a small residential community of up to 250 people.  It seems that any of the other listed options would better serve the community, but at least we are getting somewhere.

So for all you cyclists out there, whether spandex-clad racers or cruiser-riding families, there is hope for our city yet.

This amazing time lapse video was create Michael Biddy. LeBiddy on Twitter. Follow him.

It may sound crazy to outsiders but being so close to such a potentially destructive force of nature is a unique feeling.

I was able to capture a few photos, mostly after the storm. But many others around town have posted their photos. Some are just absolutely stunning. Cred goes to rob3atc, News9, and Spmag on Twitter for posting these great pics.

If there is more that should be added please let me know. You can also add them to the STWOK News Flickr Group.

This year my family has been doing our best to “go green.” Trying to do our part and not be as wasteful we took up recycling. Stillwater does not have recycling pick up. But they do offer local recycling facilities to take your paper, plastic, aluminum, and glass items to. You sort them yourself and put them in the appropriate  bin. Simple basic rules govern this area. Read the rest of this entry →

(STILLWATER, OKLA. / March 18, 2010) — You’re invited to learn about a variety of environmental topics that have an impact in Stillwater during three Earth Day 2010 seminars to be held at the Stillwater Public Library, 1107 S. Duck, and led by the City of Stillwater Environmental Programs Manager Lou Ann Snoddy.

“We will have a panel of experts discussing recycling, rainfall recovery and disposing of household hazardous waste,” said Snoddy.

Attend one of three sessions, which are free and open to the public. Registration is not require, and all topics will be covered in each session:

• Saturday, April 17 from 10 to 11:30 a.m.
• Tuesday, April 20 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
• Thursday, April 22 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Snoddy explained, “These sessions are geared for the general public and will include practical and useful information.”

Topics to be covered include:

• “Cross Contamination in Recycling: How to recycle in Stillwater”
  • Stillwater’s recycling capabilities
  • What is cross contamination?
  • Affect of cross contamination on items intended for recycling
• “Computer Recycling: The new Oklahoma Computer Recovery Act”
  • What is the new Oklahoma Computer Recovery Act and how does it apply to me?
  • Which electronics does the new act cover?
  • How can my household use the OCRA to get rid of unwanted electronics?
• “Rainfall Recovery: Rain gardens and rain barrel”
  • Reasons to harvest rain water
  • Principles of Low-Impact Design (LID)
  • Basic design concepts and resources for rain gardens and rain barrels
• “Household Hazardous Waste: Identifying it and getting rid of it”
  • Discussion about the difference between hazardous and non-hazardous waste
  • What items can be brought to the HHW collection event
  • What to do with unwanted items when I am not sure where they go

For more information contact the City of Stillwater Environmental Programs at (405) 533-8484 or by e-mail atlasnoddy@stillwater.org.

Photo by Zack Ahern

View Zack Ahern’s photos of these projects on Flickr

STILLWATER, OKLA. / March 5, 2010) — The City of Stillwater will receive two gold and one silver awards from the Oklahoma/Arkansas Chapter of the American Concrete Paving Association (ACPA) at a ceremony on March 23. The gold awards will be awarded to the Transportation Department for the 12th Avenue and University Avenue reconstruction projects, and the silver award will go to the Stillwater Regional Airport’s Runway 17-35 paving projects, all of which were completed in 2009.

The ACPA awards program honors excellence, encourages high-quality workmanship in concrete pavement and recognizes contractors, engineers, and project owners who completed outstanding projects.

City Manager Dan Galloway said, “These projects represent an effective collaboration of many public and private organizations, and the support from the public can’t be overstated. These finished projects will benefit Stillwater for many years.” Read the rest of this entry →

(STILLWATER, OKLA. / March 3, 2010) — Local teens will be tuning in at the library as Stillwater Public Library celebrates the third annual Teen Tech Week March 7-13. The library asks students in grades 6-12, “How Techie Are You?”

On Thursday, March 11 at 4 p.m., teens will take the Robot Challenge as teams create robots from various scrap materials, surf for the answers to the Internet Scavenger Hunt, and play Wii games. Prizes will be awarded, and refreshments will be served.

Recilla Harms, teen librarian, said, “I know that it is often difficult for teens to participate in library programs during the school year; therefore, I have created an On-Your-Own Photo Contest.” Read the rest of this entry →

Multi Arts Center features one-of-a-kind jewelry, vases, art from Oklahoma artists

STILLWATER, OKLA / Feb. 9, 2010) — Are you looking for that perfect Valentine gift? A unique piece of jewelry. Maybe a hand-crafted vase. Well, stop by the City of Stillwater Multi Art Center (MAC), 1001 S. Duck, and browse its wonderful Gift Gallery that features items made by Oklahoma artists.

“If you are looking for memorable for Valentine’s Day, we have it. We have one-of-a-kind jewelry and art. And the best part is you are supporting local artists,” said Jessica Novak, MAC supervisor.

The MAC Gift Gallery offers unique items, from high-end fine art to more affordable pieces. A variety of artistic mediums are represented, including painting, pottery, jewelry, blown glass and sculpture.

Novak invites area residents to discover Stillwater artists Dot Turman, Priscilla Kinnick and Claire Zevnik-Cline.

“Dot has a collection of whimsical ceramic pieces embellished by bright, eye-catching glazes – an effect that is hard to achieve using the ancient Japanese technique of raku firing that she applies to all her work. The vivid colors make her decorative pieces unique, and her style is easy to spot among amid larger pottery collections,” Novak said. Read the rest of this entry →