Proudly Serving Blackwell & Kay County Since 1915

Vol. 100, No. 65 Its Friday, August 14, 2015 $1.00

Smile of the day

Tina Anderson/Journal-Tribune

Pictured above left, Dusty Arnold and Bailee Allen,

freshman at Blackwell High School, smile before their
first day of the 2015-16 school year on Wednesday
morning.

BOE holds
special meeting

By Charles Gerian
Staff Writer
The Blackwell Board of Education met on Tuesday
for a special meeting.
Blackwell Public Schools
have officially
transferred 13 employees of the cafeteria under
the umbrella of
their new cafeteria service, and
hired six more onto the school system itself.
Vicki Cox, Teresa Artega, Liz McLaughlin, Brenda
Tannehill, Maria Trejo, Marisela Trevizio, Pauline Blay,
Barbara Fairchild, Charleen Ramsey, Cheryl Wilson,
Charolette Cook, Debbie Riley, and Debra Cooper are all
now successfully members of the Keystone Foodservice,
the new vendors for Blackwells cafeterias.
Lisa El-Rhouaoui and Kayla Adams were hired on as
BES Title 1 Teachers, Brenda Parker was hired as a BES
paraprofessional, Lanny Jobe was hired as a district Bus

Charles Gerian/Journal-Tribune

First day: Ready, set Go!

Pictured above, Kyrin Wolfe was busy in Ms. Susans Pre-K class at Blackwell Elementary School on Wednesday.
Blackwell students returned to class on Wednesday and brought an end to their summer vacation. For additional
back to school photos see page 9.

Local Heroes-Your Hardworking Pollinators theme

for fall conservation contests

Submitted by
Susan Henning
Again this year, the Kay County Conservation District
offers opportunities for students to participate in kindergarten coloring exhibit, poster and essay contests and an
ALL NEW Photography Contest. This years theme, Local Heroes-Your Hardworking Pollinators, will encompass all student contests, except the Photography Contest.
While many pollinators may seem like just annoying
insects, they are actually a very important part of the web
upon which we all depend. Three-fourths of the worlds
flowering plants rely on pollinators for seed and fruit production, and its size and quality. One of every three bites
of food that we consume are effected by the action of pollinators. However, they have shown disturbing signs of decline in recent years. When pollinators shrink in number,
many plants either produce less seed or no seed at all. The
bottom line is, when pollinators start disappearing, plants
start disappearing. On planet Earth there are more than
100,000 species of insects, including bees, flies, moths,
butterflies and beetles that work hard as pollinators. There
are also over 1,000 species of other animals such as birds,
reptiles and mammals, including bats that pollinate plants.
Conservation crop rotation, cover crops, buffer strips, field
borders, grassed waterways, native grass and forb plantings, prescribed burning, windbreaks/shelterbelts, and reduced or no-till management all are beneficial in improving pollinator habitat because they encourage plant and
animal diversity. No-till can protect bees that are nesting in the ground at the base of plants, since soil tillage
may destroy nests or block emergence of new adult bees
the following year. City dwellers alike can help out pollinators by reducing use of
pesticides or use less potent
chemicals when available
or by improving pollinator
habitat through plantings.
See FALL page 3

Charles Gerian/Journal-Tribune

Pictured above, Tracy Didlake, Interim Chief Nursing Officer at AllianceHealth Blackwell, and Spike Henderson,
Chairman of the board, as Blackwell Regional Hospital is christened AllianceHealth Blackwell.

AllianceHealth Blackwell
By Charles Gerian
Staff Writer
This past Tuesday, Blackwell Regional Hospital
changed its name to AllianceHealth Blackwell
and joined the nine other CHS-affiliated hospitals
in the state to form AllianceHealth Oklahoma
One of the states largest systems, AllianceHealth combines
the strength, resources and commitment to quality of 10
hospitals, more than 70 clinics, six home health agencies
and more than 4,500 employed physicians and employees
to serve patients across the state.
Our new health system leads a fresh, innovative
direction for healthcare in Oklahoma and were proud
to be part of it, said Andy Wachtel, CEO. For patients,
it means faster ER care in all our hospitals, access to
more specialists locally, and even getting a diagnosis
and prescription through a video visit with a doctor,
anytime. As part of a system of 10 hospitals and more
than 70 clinics statewide, AllianceHealth Blackwell and
AllianceHealth Ponca City offer patients the strength of an
entire network.
AllianceHealth has more than 1,000 licensed beds in
its affiliated hospitals. During 2014, the combined group
saw almost 30,000 patient admissions, more than 195,000

emergency department visits and almost 330,000 clinic

visits.
The hospitals are also a huge financial advantage
in their respective communities. In 2014, this included
payment of more than $7.8 million in sales and property
taxes, and the provision of more than $112 million in
uncompensated care.
The hospitals in AllianceHealth Oklahoma are now
Blackwell Regional Hospital (AllianceHealth Blackwell)
, Ponca City Medical Center (AllianceHealth Ponca City),
Clinton Regional Hospital (AllianceHealth Clinton),
Deaconess Hospital (AllianceHealth Deaconess), Medical
Center of Southeast Oklahoma (AllianceHealth Durant),
Marshall County Medical Center (AllianceHealth Madill),
Midwest Regional Medical Center (AllianceHealth
Midwest), Mayes County Medical Center (AllianceHealth
Pryor), Seminole Medical Center (AllianceHealth
Seminole),
and Woodward
Regional
Hospital
(AllianceHealth Woodward)
All programs and services of these hospitals are also
part of the AllianceHealth Oklahoma family; the physician
practices are renamed as AllianceHealth Medical Group.
Home Health agencies are now known as Alliance
Oklahoma Home Health. Today, there are agencies located

See HEALTH page 3

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