Reporter

Roy Achemire and Bryan Vandevord

Plowing Through. The mikeroweWORKS Foundation has awarded a $500 tool scholarship to Bryan Vandevord, a student in the CAT Dealer Prep program at Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology.

Vandevord, from Burlingame, Kan. will graduate Aug. 26. The scholarship is given to the top diesel/equipment technology student at each college accredited by the Associated Equipment Dealers (AED). At OSUIT, both the CAT Dealer Prep program and the Komatsu ACT program are accredited by the AED, so Vandevord was competing with students from both programs.

OSUIT's Heavy Equipment and Vehicle Institute Division Chair Roy Achemire said Vandevord had to have the highest grade point average of his graduating class in the fall of 2010 and submit an essay. Vandevord did his internship with the Foley Equipment CAT dealership in Topeka and will be employed there when he graduates.

The mikeroweWORKS Foundation awarded a total of $12,000 for tool scholarships to students in similar programs around the nation. Visit osuit.edu for more information.

Mom Support. Catholic Charities Blessed Mother Teresa Women's Health Services (BMTWHS) is expanding hours of service and will begin an Education Support Group in July.

OB-GYN Care will move to Tuesday and Wednesday beginning July and walk-in patients are welcome Tuesday-Thursday. Patients will only be seen by a doctor on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday, a pregnancy test and assessment will be done by the Catholic Charities and OSU Staff; a return appointment with the doctor will be scheduled. Patients will continue to deliver at OSU or St. Francis Health System.

Education Support Groups will occur every Thursday with an optional mass and lunch. Spanish-speaking clients should attend the 9:30-11am session and English-speaking clients can attend from 1-2:30pm.

The group will cover such topics as nutrition, car seat education, depression, fertility awareness, childbirth preparation, life skills and more.

One does not need to be a patient at Catholic Charities BMTWHS to participate in the Education Support Group and pregnant women are urged to take part in the service.

Contact Kim Kirksey, MSW at 918-508-7196 for more information.

Feeding Frenzy. As the school year comes to an end, most children are looking forward to summer fun and family vacations. But for far too many children the summer also means they will be missing the one regular meal they receive through their school lunch program.

Feeding America reports nearly one in four American children now impacted by food insecurity. As a result, Champion Window located at 5899 S. Garnett created "Close the Window on Hunger".

Champion will provide the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma with a donation of 50 pounds of food per in-home appointment run and an additional 100 pounds of food for every project order placed by Aug. 31.

Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma works all year round to help feed those in need and Champion is partnering with them. During the summer months, donations tend to dip and currently, they are seeing a substantial decrease in food donations compared to this time last year.

Visit closethewindowonhunger.com or call 918-622-1953 for more information.

Read and Reap. The Oklahoma Health Equity Campaign (OHEC) partners will meet to discuss "Health Literacy Concepts" on June 30 at 2pm in Room 314 at the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH), 1000 N.E. 10th St. in Oklahoma City.

Panelists will present on topics ranging from the education of health professional students to health literacy and its impact on patient beliefs. The public is invited to attend.

The keynote speaker will be Richard Perry, director of the Oklahoma Area Health Education Center (OKAHEC) program for Rural Health. Perry will present "Real Facts of Life: Teaching the Social Determinants."

Perry will be joined by two other panelists from OKAHEC, Toni Hart and Denna Wheeler. Hart is the Program Manager for the Rural Cancer Survivorship Education Program. Wheeler is Coordinator of Research and Evaluation for the Center for Rural Health at the OSU Center for Health Sciences.

To participate, please RSVP by calling 405-271-9444, ext. 56543. The Tulsa Health Department, 5051 S. 129th E. Ave., Room 231 will have video conferencing available. Contact Deidre Stanley at 918-595-4471.

Dustin Rowe

Aspiration Consideration. Dustin P. Rowe of Tishomingo has formed an exploratory committee to consider whether he will run for Congress in Oklahoma's Second District which encompasses a portion of Rogers County. Rowe, 35, is a general practice lawyer in Tishomingo and served two terms as mayor of Tishomingo at the age of eighteen, making him one of the youngest mayors in the nation. Rowe went on to serve as District Director to former Congressman Wes Watkins.

Rowe says he will visit with Republicans across the District about the race and that he feels a solid Republican candidate can win the general election in November 2012. Lynn Windel, Oklahoma Republican National Committeeman from 1992-2008 will chair Rowe's Exploratory Committee.

Community Input. Oklahoma State Department of Health officials are soliciting comments from individuals regarding the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Public input is needed for the state plan program operations for the 2012 fiscal year. These comments must be received before July 31.

WIC is a federally funded nutrition education and supplemental food program for low income pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women, infants, and children up to 5 years of age. Eligibility is determined by nutritional risk and incomes that fall below 185 percent of the poverty level. There are approximately 100,500 Oklahomans participating in the WIC Program each month.

A priority for the program is to make sure pregnant women understand the importance of adequate nutrition throughout their pregnancy, and that mothers with young children have the basic nutritional knowledge necessary to assure their children's proper nutrition intake.

Individuals with comments regarding the WIC program should contact: Terry Bryce at 888-655-2942 or 405-271-4676.