Domestic violence knows no party lines

W ith Washington's bitter divide dominating the news, we wanted to take a moment to display the unity that makes our state great, and our nation a beacon to the world. October marks Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Although we come from different sides of the political aisle, our collective experience serving as the state's chief legal officer has shown us firsthand the devastating impact domestic violence has on Oklahoma families and communities. We have worked with countless moms through the AG's Address Confidentiality Program to keep them and their children hidden from their abusers, helped another 20,000-plus sign up for the VINE program to receive notice of prisoner release or transfer, and provided a home and hope for the overwhelming number of families with children who pack our state's domestic violence shelters looking for refuge. We cannot let them down. This month, we received the latest statistics on Oklahoma's national ranking for

GET Raw FoR AMAZING AFFORDABLE CARE!

HOLD 0141.1 I'LL GET THIS.

Official contacts
Mustang City Council
! Mayor Jay Adams, 745-8338 ! Matthew Taylor, 832-589-3312 ! Kathleen Staples, 3762344 ! Linda Bowers, 376-1433 ! Terry Jones, 503-3008 ! Linda Hagan, 376-3169 ! Don Mount, 745-2394 Address Mustang City Council 1501 N. Mustang Road Mustang, Okla. 73064 376-4521

GuestC olumn
Scott Pruitt

Mustang School Board

Attorney General State of Oklahoma

Drew Edmondson

Former Attorney General

domestic violence homicides, and it isn't good. The Violence Policy Center ranked Oklahoma third in the nation in the number of women murdered by men, up from 17th the year before. Statistics from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation show that Oklahoma law enforcement agencies received more than 24,000 reports of domestic violence in 2011. Unfortunately, these aren't just statistics. Each victim of domestic
DOMESTIC, PAGE 5A

Ada taking a hard stance on e-cigarettes

he city of Ada really has it out for smokers, even those who choose to go smokeless with ecigarettes. The Ada City Council has banned the use of tobacco products on public property that includes a surprising prohibition on electronic cigarettes. After receiving assurances that a measure at last week's meeting of the City Council would be an age restriction that extended to electronic cigarettes, defenders of tobacco alternatives were shocked to discover the ordinance was an extensive ban on public use of tobacco, including ecigarettes, which do not contain tobacco and do not produce smoke. In the end, the Council was closely divided, approving the ban 3-2. Community leaders, including Mayor Greg McCortney and Vice Mayor Shane Sweeney, were among the opponents. Both are newcomers to the

! President Chad Fulton, 324-1115 Vice president Jim Davis, ! 205-0115 ! Clerk Amanda Strassle, 324-7404 Jim Brown, 990-2371 ! Jeff Landrith, 376-3421 ! ! Mike Kessler, 324-0446 ! Superintendent Sean McDaniel, 376-2461 Address Mustang School Board 906 S. Heights Drive Mustang, Okla. 73064 376-2461

CapitolBeat
Patrick McGuigan
Editor Oklahoma Watchdog

A county girl in Scotland

t's been seven weeks since I stepped foot in Glasgow, and the reality of where I am and what I am doing hit me for the first time this week. Now that the rush of international student worries, countless orientations and graduate school fears have calmed, and now that I have settled into a new routine, I can smile broader than I ever have before. Looking back just one year, I was living in Canadian County, just working and dreaming

G uestColu m n
Emily Kindiger

of attending graduate school. Now I am living in the country I have always dreamed of visiting, studying at a university that is 600 years old, and (I'll be honest)
SCOTLAND, PAGE 5A

board for the southeast Oklahoma town, population 17,000-plus. They were elected in the spring. Shawn Gore, chairman of the Oklahoma Vapors Advocacy League, said he learned just hours before the meeting the ordinance included the anti-e-cigarette language. Gore owns a store that sells ecigarettes. The measure's provisions address tobacco use in all indoor workplaces, outdoor areas "on a property owned by the city," any "indoor place used by or open to the public," recreational areas, most areas within restaurants or bars, and other restrictions. While stringent,

such language is becoming commonplace. However, the latest twist in this case was the inclusion of every variety of "electronic smoking device." Greg Conley, legislative director for the Consumer Advocates for SmokeFree Alternative Association, said last week he was reeling from the vote. Inclusion of an "emergency" provision in the legislation had limited public notice of the true intent of the proposal, he said. Both Conley and Gore said the inclusion of e-cigarettes is a response to the grantmaking process of the state Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust and Oklahoma Turning Point, both of which are encouraging communities to ban or limit tobacco-free products. Across the nation, local anti-tobacco groups have been moving against nontobacco products like e-cigarettes in response to the grant incentives.
STANCE, PAGE 5A

! Phil Carson, District 1 Shop, 422-2425 ! David Anderson, District 2 Shop, 422-2426 Jack Stewart, District 3 ! Shop, 422-2427 Address

Canadian County Commissioners

County Commissioners
Canadian County Courthouse El Reno, Okla. 73036 262-1070, Ext. 200

Oklahoma Legislature
Gov. Mary Fallin, Office ! of the Governor, State Capitol Building, 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Room 212 Oklahoma City, Okla. 73105. (405) 521-2342. ! Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb, Office of the Lt. Governor, State Capitol Building, 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Room 211 Oklahoma City, Okla. 73105. (405) 521-2161. ! Attorney General Scott Pruitt, Office of the Attorney General, State Capitol Building, 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Room 112 Oklahoma City, Okla. 73105. (405) 521-3921. State Sen. Kyle Loveless, ! R-Oklahoma City, District 45. State Capitol Building, 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Room 533C, Oklahoma City, Okla. 73105. (405) 521-5618. ! State Sen. Ron Justice, R-Chickasha, District 23. State Capitol Building, 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Room 423, Oklahoma City, Okla. 73105. (405) 521-5537. ! State Rep. Colby Schwartz, R-Yukon, District 43, 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Room 407, Oklahoma City, Okla. 73105. (405) 5577352. State Rep. Leslie Osborn, ! R-Mustang, District 47, State Capitol Building, 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Room 303B, Oklahoma City, Okla. 73105. (405) 557-7333. State Rep. Dan Fisher, ! R-Yukon, District 60, State Capitol Building, 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Room 326, Oklahoma City, Okla. 73105. (405) 557-7311.

Letters policy
The News welcomes letters to the editor on subjects of interest to our readers. Short letters are most likely to be chosen for publication. The use of any material is at the discretion of the editor. Editing may be necessary for space or clarity or to avoid poor taste, libel and invasion of privacy. Ideas, though, will not be changed. Upon request, the editor may allow the use of initials only but only rarely and for compelling reasons. Letters used do not necessarily reflect the editorial policies or beliefs of The News. All letters must bear the handwritten signature of the writer and include address and phone number for verification purposes (address and phone numbers will not be printed).

mita

00comICS,COM Z13

U.S. Congress
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R! Oklahoma, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510. (202) 224-4721. U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R! Oklahoma, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510. (202) 224-5754.

Send letters to: The Editor 290 N. Trade Center Terrace