This is KSWO-TV, Channel 7, in Lawton and Wichita Falls. You can count on us.
The State Senate has passed the lottery bill. I'm Carla Wade. That story is coming up.
The lottery is one step closer to being voted on by the people. I'm Carla Wade. That story is just ahead.
The cost of health care is on the rise, but why? I'm Jason Whitehorn. Find out how this affects you, the patient.
That story, straight ahead.
The West Nile virus may soon become a problem again as the weather begins warming up.
I'm Station Akelin, live in East Covancho County. Your news is now.
Live in Texoma, ABC, Channel 7. Here is 7 News Tonight.
Good evening. Thanks for joining us. The education lottery bill sailed through the Oklahoma Senate after an uphill battle in the State House.
The Senate passed a bill which will allow a vote of the people on the lottery issue. It was voted on by 37 to 8.
They also voted for a special election to be held, and that was a vote of 35 to 10.
7 News supporter Carla Wade was at the Capitol today, and Carla joins us live tonight in the newsroom with more on that. Carla?
Well, Jan, prior to this afternoon's vote, we spoke with several state senators who predicted that the bill would have a much easier time making it through the Senate, and they were right.
After struggling to make it through the House of Representatives, the education lottery bill easily passed in the Senate Wednesday by a vote of 37 to 8.
But only after several key amendments were made to the bill.
The changes aim to guarantee that lottery proceeds will go strictly to education, including the teacher's retirement fund, and that the bill won't allow the expansion of Class 3 gaming.
I think all of these things strengthened it, where it made it more palatable, at least for 52 members, and that was what was needed.
I maintain all along, we want a good bill, and this is a very good bill in my estimation, to go to a vote of the people.
State Senator Calhoun lost the legislation in the Senate.
It's an important public policy question, and what in the world are we afraid of? Why shouldn't we trust the voters to make this decision?
Another amendment tagged onto the lottery bill was first proposed as separate legislation by Representative Don Arms. It will make charitable raffles legal.
It's illegal, because again, and I want to reiterate, the spirit of that donation is where the difference is.
It's not, yes technically it's probably gambling, but the spirit of that donation is for a charitable cause.
Most of the other things, forms of gambling, are for your own gain.
Arms was one of few Republicans to vote for the lottery bill in the House Tuesday.
And with gambling being such a moral issue for many groups in the state, it remains to be seen whether that last distinction between a charitable raffle and gambling for profit will make any difference to those who oppose an Oklahoma lottery intended to help fund education.
Jan?
Alright, thank you Carla.
Although the Senate today voted for the special election provision, it will be up to Governor Brad Henry to set the actual date for a vote of the people.
Well if you've been to the hospital lately, you know it is not a cheap deal. In fact, some families insurance premiums have doubled recently.
7 News reporter Jason Whitehorn visited with some area hospital administrators today. He joins us now live in our newsroom with more on the story. Jason, just how big is that issue?
Well it's fairly big, especially if you're a patient or receive medical care in any way. It affects everybody. The cost of health care is so important to our area that some of our local hospital administrators held a business forum today at Cameron University to talk about the challenges facing the health care industry.
As you see, when not everything runs perfectly, there are reasons why. Hospital administrators Tom Rine from Southwestern Medical Center as well as Randy Siegler from Comanche County Memorial Hospital both said today that the health care industry is important to any community.
But today, rising costs, tougher regulations and miles of paperwork are challenges the industry works with each day.
Well, I mean it's a national problem if you want to call it a problem, but health care costs are continuing to escalate. There's a couple of reasons for that. There's several reasons, but two of the main ones, utilization is up. There's a lot more people utilizing health care right now.
Emergency rooms have become overcrowded and at times, there's no room or not enough staff to accommodate all the patients. It's multifactorial. It's the aging population. It's the nursing crisis. Even though you have beds, you don't have the nurses to staff them across the country.
And there are other things that drive the cost of health care up, like paperwork and miles of it. Thousands of labs, lots of forms from outside medical companies for the physicians to fill out.
Amanda Herrera sees about 400 packets or about 3,000 pieces of paper come across her desk each day. Authorities in health care say that some caregivers are spending too much time on paperwork and not on their primary job. For every hour of patient care given, there's at least an hour's worth of paperwork to fill out.
Amanda says that some of this could be reduced by computers and creating a global network to allow all involved to communicate more efficiently. A lot of the outside medical companies have linking computer programs that can share information about patient medical history. That would be really convenient.
Even in the pharmacy, yes, the increased cost of prescription drugs causes your health care costs to increase as well. But even when costs are up, hospital administrators assure us they can't afford to sacrifice quality care.
I think all hospitals, us and Southwestern and everybody else, are trying to do their best to continue to provide the quality of care. We do everything that we can.
Now an even bigger issue seems to be the shortage of nurses and staff in the hospitals. Just for an instance, Southwestern Medical Center said that they're in short 18 positions that they can't fill right now. It's the same way across the country.
Some of the officials that we spoke with today said if you've ever thought about getting into the medical field, now's the prime time to do it and having an open job waiting for you after school. Dave, back to you.
Thanks, Jason. Another key contributor to the rising cost of health care in Oklahoma is the current budget shortfall. Just yesterday, the Office of State Finance announced more than $60 million in additional cuts.
Those cuts affect state agencies including education, prisons, and yes, health services. Since our first deployments from Fort Sill, communication services have picked up at the Armed Forces American Red Cross Center.
In fact, every day around the clock, that center delivers thousands of emergency messages to troops worldwide. Now the center first opened on post back in 1997, but it has never been this busy.
In just three months, their caseload has picked up at least 20 percent and that number is expected to grow as we inch closer to war. Seven News reporter Neely Soutil has more.
Corporal, I have a Red Cross message to deliver for a gentleman who is assigned to the 11th MES command element.
Angie Kurusko is one of the many caseworkers at the service center who relates important information to servicemen and women out in the field worldwide.
Using email and the telephone, Angie sends only the critical information to troops, situations such as birth, a serious illness, or death.
But before the message is sent, the caseworker verifies it and then it goes to the commander who makes a decision on whether the soldier can go home.
This is a service to the people in the military, in our armed forces, and it's a very valuable service.
But it's also important for the commanders because they have to make a very gut-wrenching decision sometimes, especially if they're overseas.
Of course, all the service members do important jobs and they're going to have to make a decision as to whether or not this person is allowed to come home.
Before deployments, caseworkers here at the service center sent out 50,000 messages.
And since deployment started in late January, that number has jumped to 60,000 messages going out. That's an increase of 20 percent.
With numerous people deploying overseas, people are more anxious about their families, more concerned.
And it's an important service for the service member when he's a long way from home. If there is some crisis at home, he will get a message and his commanding officer will get a message, by the way, that is verified by us.
At Fort Seale, Neely Soodle, 7 News.
And since we are on the brink of war, the service center needs more volunteers to help with the flood of messages they're expecting.
If you'd like to volunteer, you'd have to go through a three-day training program. There's a number on the screen that you can call for more information.
It's 458-2132. The call service center never closes, so it really could use your help.
Coming up on 7 News.
Well, our spring weather pattern continues in full force.
Talk about that coming up. Look at the pollen and mold, both of them in the moderate category today. When we come back, talk about the chance for some storms.
You're watching TexSolar's 7 News at 6 with Jan Stratton, David Bradley, Andy Wallace Weather, Nicole Jolly with MedWatch, and Vince Erickson Sports.
This is Skyward 7 Weather with chief meteorologist Andy Wallace.
Welcome back. Current temperature in Lawton, 82 degrees. It's wonderful out there. The winds are southeast at 15 miles per hour.
Dewpoint is very close to 60, so it's warm, it's humid, it's breezy outside, very much like spring should be around here.
Wichita Falls, live from up top of Bank One building, few clouds around 83 south to 20.
Duncan is at 77 south at 24, and the altus reading right now is at 88 degrees behind the dry line. Southwest winds at 15 miles per hour.
Yeah, it got a little toasty out there this afternoon. The high was 82, the low is 59. The record warm overnight low for this day is 60.
So that just tells you how warm we were. 65 and 38 are the normals. We didn't pay much attention to those today either.
Here's a look at the satellite pictures. Storms going on across portions of Missouri into Kansas at this point.
A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect. And we have a little dry line that's waved back and forth across the area.
We have a cool front that's just starting to dip south across western Oklahoma.
So later on tonight, that dry line might, pardon me, that cold front might fire off a few showers and thunderstorms.
And as the front moves through tomorrow will not be quite as warm as today, but still definitely palatable.
You can see the 80s in the southwest, 50s up toward Garden City in the cooler air, 57 from Topeka, a very nice 76 degrees from Tulsa, Oklahoma.
This is all false return out here in the Texas Panhandle.
Main storms have been across Arkansas, Louisiana, and just starting to see some in southeast Kansas as well.
But again, it'd be late tonight along that front before we would see a chance for any storms.
And maybe call it east of eastern part of the area, maybe Stevens, Grady, Jefferson counties,
maybe a slight risk for a severe storm late tonight with some large hail being the main weather threat.
The real big weather story that we're talking about and you'll hear us talk about for the next few days
is this thing off the west coast, which is stout, which is heading inland, which will drop south
and which will eventually be the first major spring storm of the year for someone.
Now, like I always tell you, you know, when these things are still out over water,
there's lots of room for them to curve, change, diminish, strengthen.
But the indications are that this will set up quite a severe weather pattern across the southern plains states,
somewhere in the southern plains states.
You've got to realize that's a good chunk of real estate.
And as we get into Monday, it could get rather active.
Do we play a role in that? That's still to be determined.
But there is certainly some possibility that at least we're not tracking any cold air.
That's all going this way.
Seem warmer at Bismarck, Minneapolis, temperatures in the teens and 20s, 33 Chicago, but then look at D.C. 55,
Kansas City 60, 83 from Phoenix. We're watching them get warm.
It's a sign that we're headed toward summer eventually, perhaps in another three months, if you will.
So tomorrow morning there may be some storms in the southeastern portions there.
They will be moving out. That front will move through.
So tomorrow won't be quite as warm as today, but by late in the day we'll see mostly sunny skies.
And then, here we go, just as quickly as we cool down, breezy, warmer on Friday.
The humidity starts to pull back up. Saturday is the dry line firms up.
There may be a couple of storms out in West Texas, one of which may drift our way.
Sunday may be a few more storms out in West Texas.
Then Monday may be the busier day.
In fact, the trend basically beyond Friday is windy, warm and humid,
with the storms increasing, maybe some potential for some severe weather.
Monday is when the whole thing moves out. Big storm system.
We'll either see thunderstorms or we'll see dust. It'll be one of those days.
We'll be watching what we call a dry slot.
You see that a lot during the springtime, it comes in and takes all the moisture out with it.
We'll just see what happens. It's still way down the line.
Seventy-one by ten, that's good. Fifty-eight tomorrow morning, seventy-five tomorrow afternoon.
Slight chance for a storm late tonight and tomorrow morning winds turn around to the northeast.
There's seventy-eight for Friday, near eighty over the weekend.
The winds increase, the lows increase because of the humidity,
and Sunday, Monday we are tracking closely the potential for severe weather.
You notice at this time, though, the chances for storms still haven't topped fifty percent,
and there will be a cool down beyond that.
Notice that the trees are well on their way to budding across some portions of the area.
The grass starting to grow. We are headed toward...
What a good day it was today.
I love it. Angels singing, all that.
Yeah, that's it. Good stuff.
Well, many churches are finding themselves divided when it comes to going to war with Iraq.
We'll take a closer look at the morality of the battle.
And a miraculous story from Utah.
Teenager Elizabeth Smart has been found alive for the nine months after she was kidnapped.
When you buy a car from the Diffie family, you hear things other dealers don't say.
Remember to go slow when buying a car. It's a big investment.
Take your time. When you arrive at the dealership, ask for the owner.
Get to know his family. Make sure your payment plan makes sense.
Ladies, when I go to buy a car, I need to know that someone cares.
That is the Diffie family difference.
Join the rush to Atwoods where the basics of spring farm and home are on sale now.
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Shopping in Atwoods is fun for the whole family.
No wonder Atwoods is America's favorite farm and home store.
Alright. Thank you. Oh boy. Oh boy. This isn't going to do it.
These burritos are a bit smaller than we expected. We're hungry.
Maybe 10? Yeah, 10 more. We'll make it like an even dozen. That'll probably do us.
Alright, this should do it. That's good. Did you order some?
Big breakfast burritos. Sonic's got them, others don't. Breakfast at Sonic featuring our new really big supersonic breakfast burrito.
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Thanks, Dexelma, for watching 7 News. You can count on us.
And as our weather warms up, mosquitoes will soon become a problem again.
And that means we could be seeing more of that West Nile virus.
7 News reporter, Stacey Naquan, spoke with a Lawton vet today about some precautions taken before the virus does strike again.
And she joins us live tonight in East Lawton. Stacey?
Well, Jan, Dr. Larry Chambers is recommending that horse owners start thinking about vaccinations against the West Nile virus now.
Some people may think it's a little bit early, but mosquito season is just around the corner and horse owners need to be ready.
Dr. Chambers saw 54 cases of the West Nile virus in horses last year.
But he also saw lots of horses vaccinated, which he says provides the only protection these animals have against the virus.
Just because we had a rather easy winter means that we probably didn't do away with too much of our mosquito environment for the future.
We need to stay focused on the fact that the disease was here and probably still is here.
So how much longer before we may see those pesky mosquitoes again?
We'll talk with Jim Coe from the county extension office about that and how the West Nile virus survived the winter.
That's tonight on 7 News at 10 o'clock. Reporting live in East Comanche County, Stacey Naquan, 7 News.
The Lawton Police Department will soon have another police dog to add to the K-9 unit. At Lawton's City Council meeting last night, the Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association presented Chief Harold Thorne with a check for $7,000.
The association raised the money by selling donuts and raising awareness of the K-9's importance in the community.
But their fundraising isn't over yet. They plan on continuing their efforts until funds for another police dog can be collected.
Former President Clinton says extending the deadline for RAC would take us in the right direction.
And find out why finding a resolution to use force against RAC could have a lot to do with the future of British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
I'm Nicole Jolly. A third of the deaths from colorectal cancer each year could be prevented.
We'll show you when you need to start screening for this deadly disease. Coming up in MedWatch 7.
I was born. County yellow. Being 100% Texan is a way of life. And the best way to live it is in a 100% Texas truck, a Dodge truck.
Through the end of March, you'll get our best trucks during Dodge Truck Month. You'll find our best financing offers.
Or you can get a generous cash allowance on Motor Trend's 2003 Truck of the Year.
Plus, our best protection, our fully transferable 770 powertrain limited warranty.
It all adds up to the best values in America. Dodge Truck Month, extended through March 31st.
The sound of your wheels as they carry you over hills and valleys, stopping and staring at an endless world.
The simple things that make life special.
Southwestern Medical Center's Chest Pain Center makes diagnosis quicker so that treatment is swift and accurate in the event of a heart attack.
We save precious time so that those simple things are possible.
Southwestern Medical Center. We're here when you need us.
The buzz, it's about communication, right? Connectivity and productivity.
For me, that's NTS Communications. They designed a whole data and voice network just for me.
Based on my business needs today and for the future. Mark Williams.
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Dinner's here.
Now Domino's delivers the excitement of NASCAR. Get a large one-topping pizza for $9.99. Add Domino's Pizza Buffalo Chicken Kickers or wings for $5.99.
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You're watching KSWO-TV 7news. You can count on us.
Here are the latest developments in Iraq. Iraq displayed a drone that the U.S. claims is designed to spread chemical and biological weapons.
The balsa wood device, which is held together with stick tape, is said to have a range of just five miles.
And a high technology briefing center has been built in Qatar to keep the world's journalists informed about the progress of war.
The briefing center cost the military about a quarter of a million dollars.
The United States and Great Britain are hard at work today trying to find language that will give new life to a U.N. resolution on Iraq.
The latest version seems headed for certain defeat in the Security Council where the U.S. wants a vote by the end of the week.
U.N. resolution approving the use of force against Iraq is much more important to British Prime Minister Tony Blair than to the U.S.
Polls suggest his political career hangs in the balance if he sends his troops to war without U.N. permission.
For Britain's Prime Minister, the political stakes of resolving conflict at the Security Council couldn't be higher.
Riding on the U.N.'s indecision about Iraq may be Tony Blair's future.
Today, Blair addressed speculation that the U.S. may be more on its own than previously thought.
Of course it is true that the United States could go alone.
But with more than 40,000 troops already in the Gulf, Blair went on to say that for now, Britain remains committed.
It is the British national interest that must be upheld at all times.
But the reason why I believe it is important that we hold firm to the course that we have set out is because what is at stake here is not whether the United States goes alone or not.
It is whether the international community is prepared to back up the clear instruction that it gave to Saddam Hussein with the necessary action.
Britain is pushing a plan to break the stalemate on the council, outlining benchmarks Saddam Hussein would have to meet by a deadline.
Conditions reportedly could include a television appearance by Saddam, renouncing weapons of mass destruction,
and Iraq permitting 30 weapons scientists to be interviewed in private in Cyprus.
What we're seeking here is a change of mind by Saddam Hussein, and he can do that pretty instantaneously.
He can fulfill these tests instantaneously.
The timeline remains under negotiation, although the British and the U.S. dismissed a proposal by undecided council members to give Iraq 45 days.
The Bush administration continues to flesh out the war option.
Early this morning, the president and vice president met with key cabinet members, including the defense secretary, CIA director, and the secretary of state.
The U.S. is deliberating over the British benchmark proposal, but a White House spokesman says the diplomatic situation is in its final phases.
A vote by the Security Council is still expected before the week's end.
The topic of war has moved into the pulpit. Some churches say they're divided over whether to support a war against Iraq.
When the president addressed the nation last week, he mixed words of war with prayer and God.
It sustains me. I pray for peace.
Father Pat Howell, dean of theology at Seattle University, says while the president's intentions may be good, he worries the president is using his faith to justify what is called a preemptive war.
Approach to the situation.
Father Howell says he urges the president to listen to his friends, advisors, and even critics when it comes to war.
Former President Clinton says he thinks a war with Iraq can be avoided if the U.S. backs a British resolution giving Saddam more time to disarm.
Clinton was speaking today at a convention in Washington. He calls the British plan for a U.N. Security Council resolution a good one, and that extending the deadline is going in the right direction.
And if they do that, if they go back and let Mr. Blitz say, OK, we need two weeks or whatever it is to do these five things or three or whatever he says it is, we can always believe me, this war is going to be over in a flash, so we can wait to do that.
Clinton also weighed in on North Korea. He says the U.S. should make one last deal with them to stop them from pursuing a nuclear weapons program.
And that brings us to tonight's Talk Back to Axonoma question. Do you think Saddam will disarm if given more time?
Give us your responses on our voicemail at 355-3874 or go online and vote on our home page at kswo.com.
We'd also like to hear what you have to say, so leave us your comments. We'll have your responses on 7 News tonight at 10.
The amazing conclusion to the Elizabeth Smart story. She has been found alive, not far from where she was kidnapped nine months ago.
Plus, imagine catching one of these, the state-record 85-pound blue catfish.
It's the ideal time. Details when we head inside the outdoors a bit later on 7 News.
Hope you'll join us for Good Morning Texelma. We have a story for every mom and dad.
We'll talk about the challenge of discovering who's boss in parent-child relationships. Patrick?
Thunderstorms remain in our forecast. Details at 6 a.m.
It's our eighth annual St. Patrick's Day weekend sale here at Dan Mullins Nissan.
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All right. Thank you. Oh boy. Oh boy. This isn't gonna do it.
These burritos are a bit smaller than we expected. We're hungry. Maybe 10? Yeah, 10 more. 10 more.
We'll make it like an even dozen. That'll probably do us.
All right, this should do it. That's good. Did you order some?
Big breakfast burritos. Sonic's got them. Others don't.
Breakfast at Sonic featuring our new really big supersonic breakfast burrito.
Fully loaded. Now just a dollar 99. Have a good morning.
Bullistic extreme bull sports is back in town on March 15th, 730 p.m. at the Great Plains Colosseum.
Extreme excitement. Extreme danger. Extreme athletes.
You won't want to miss Bullistic Extreme Bulls Sports, March 15th, 730 p.m. at the Great Plains Colosseum.
Be there.
I was born on a yellow West Dakota.
Around here, bigger really is better. And now there's a bigger and better reason to drive our best trucks. Dodge Truck Month.
Through the end of March, you'll get low financing offers or you'll find our best deals with a generous cash allowance on Motor Trends 2003 Truck of the Year.
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It all adds up to the best values in America. Dodge Truck Month. Extend it through March 31st.
If you see news happening, call our News Hotline at 3-5-5-NEWS.
Missing Utah teen Elizabeth Smart has been found alive.
She was found in a Salt Lake City suburb just a little over an hour and a half ago.
She'd been missing for more than eight months.
Police found Smart in a car with a drifter and another woman during a traffic stop outside the city.
A tip led police to the car.
Police say the two women were wearing unusual blue clothing that covered their faces almost like a veil.
Police say Elizabeth was wearing a wig.
The two are in custody this afternoon. One of them has been a suspect in the case for some time.
The family became interested in one suspect, Brian David Mitchell, in mid-October when Elizabeth's younger sister said he could have been the man who took her.
Well, most classrooms are noisy centers of learning. So how can a teacher be effective when she or he can't be heard?
7News reporter Jennifer Baldwin has more on classroom audio in tonight's parenting report.
Parenting from 7News at Lawton Christian School.
Step into a first grade classroom and you'll find it buzzing with activity.
But chances are it's buzzing with noise too, and that can spell trouble for early learners who are easily distracted.
This is the sound of a new school.
The first grade teacher, Marie Thomas, trains to make herself heard above the noise.
But once class begins, Mrs. Thomas is clear as a bell.
We read about penguins and then we wrote about what you learned.
The microphone she's wearing is part of a sound field system designed to improve classroom acoustics.
Speakers in all four corners of the room mean that even this child in the back can hear the lesson.
That's one of the ways that penguins get around when they're on land.
Experts have long known that overcrowding, loud heating, and poor acoustics combine to make a noisy learning environment at school.
Add to that a child's natural distractibility, an ear infection or allergy,
and some one million children who have a measure of hearing loss to begin with, and studies show that classroom learning suffers.
Kids that aren't hearing well for long periods of time during those early years may in fact miss out on certain key aspects of auditory stimulation or language development.
In this school district, the number of students needing special education is half the state average,
due in part to a better listening environment, and kids like it too.
Parenting magazine says amplification technology may be a sound investment, but it is costly as much as $1,000 per classroom.
I'm Jennifer Baldwin for 7 News.
Parenting from 7 News, brought to you by Lawton Christian School.
Parenting from 7 News, brought to you by Lawton Christian School.
In the distance, Roman generals believed an approaching storm was Mars, the god of war, coming closer, and the with him came in his attendance fear, dread, and terror.
They called on Mars to join them in battle, and in tribute named the month of March in his honor, the month of storms.
Each spring, the Skywarn 7 weather team tracks severe weather to give you advanced warning when storms threaten you.
The weather station is brought to you by Billingsley Full.
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ABC Tonight. Parents, talk to your kids about sex, even if one of you has to leave the room.
And before you know it, it's over. Really quick. Really, really quick.
It wasn't that quick.
Then, talk to your kids about racism, even if it hurts.
When I go shopping, security follows me. When I cut my grass, people want to know how much I charge.
Then, everybody is talking about the ultimate search for brains, beauty, stamina, and talent.
The premiere of All American Girls, following my wife and kids in a new George Lopez ABC Tonight.
MedWatch 7 is brought to you by Comanche County Memorial Hospital.
Colorectal cancers are the second leading cause of cancer death in the U.S.
and it's the third most common cancer in men and women.
But research shows a third of those who die from colon cancer could have been saved
if the disease had only been detected early.
If a colorectal cancer is detected in its earliest stage or stage A, it's virtually 100% curable.
The American Cancer Society recognizes five different screening tools to detect pre-cancerous cells known as polos.
They're ranging from testing for hidden or occult blood in the stool in combination with some method of visualizing the lower intestine,
whether that be with what we call a flexible sigmoidoscopy, which is a shorter telescope test of the left side of the colon,
or a double contrast barium enema x-ray, or a colonoscopy.
Dr. Pontikis warns the majority of cases occur in people with no risk factors.
So no one can consider themselves safe or immune.
The biggest risk factor is a patient's age.
Ninety percent of colon and rectal cancers occur in people over 50 years old.
But one study shows less than half the men and women over 50 are getting a screening test for colorectal cancers.
Dr. Pontikis says it takes years for a polyp to develop into cancer.
That's a window of opportunity that could save your life.
It's recognized now virtually all colon cancers start as polyps, and it takes probably seven to ten years for a benign polyp to change into a cancerous polyp.
So if they could all be caught in that first five to seven years, they can be usually removed without surgery.
If you would like to know more about colorectal cancer and when you should start getting screened for the deadly disease,
you can join Dr. Pontikis this Sunday at Comanche County Memorial Hospital for a free seminar.
It all starts at two in the afternoon.
For MedWatch 7, I'm Nicole Jolly.
MedWatch 7 has been brought to you by Comanche County Memorial Hospital.
For transcripts, click on the MedWatch link at kswo.com or go to memorialhealthsource.com.
And there is another reported case of a mismatched organ transplant.
A 17-month-old girl received a liver that did not match her blood type.
Now her parents are suing two Dallas hospitals and three surgeons.
The lawsuit alleges the little girl was given a liver transplant from her father instead of from her mother.
And the lab that did the blood typing allegedly mixed them up,
but the parents say medical personnel should have double-checked before the surgery.
Looks like our spring is going to continue throughout this week.
We'll talk about that coming up next.
DINNER
Dinner's here.
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Right, Mom.
Hey, Gail, what's with the, uh...
Oh, um, my wireless company didn't give me enough any-time minutes. I hired a minute manager.
A minute manager?
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Oh, sorry, Mom.
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Gotta go.
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Have you missed me?
Have you missed me?
Been a while.
Have you missed me?
The McRib is back on the new taste menu at McDonald's, but only for a while.
So hurry in for that one-of-a-kind super-saucey piled on a homestyle roll taste.
Have you missed me?
I need you to.
This is Skyward 7 Webcast with chief meteorologist Andy Walz.
Clouds are somewhat increasing across the area this evening.
Nothing that would bring us any rain yet.
You can see our sunset here going on right now.
And it looks like tomorrow we should see, once again, mostly sunny today.
The auto plot does not like lotting tonight.
Look at the current temperatures. It's missing. It's 81.
It's the second time that's happened today.
81.
Just put up a sticky pad here next time.
77 from Chickasha, 75 from Duncan.
It is 85 at Childress, 82 degrees from Atlas.
The high temperature today was, as a matter of fact, 82 degrees.
The low was 59.
The warmest low that we've ever seen on this day is 60.
So this is how warm this is. And the normal high is 65 degrees.
Now, there's a slight risk for severe weather tonight.
Eastern Oklahoma, portions of Texas, into Missouri and Arkansas.
There's already one to watch up north.
I don't really see us having a whole lot of problems,
but a little cool front is going to slip across the area tonight.
That'll give us at least a slight chance of seeing some showers and thunderstorms in the area,
mainly along and east of I-44.
This is false returns. Nothing out here.
But there's the stuff along the front into eastern Kansas right now.
And, you know, again, this could back-build as we go through time.
We could see a few showers and thunderstorms around here.
We are looking off the West Coast.
Fairly significant weather system out there.
Looks like it's going to move in as we get into Sunday and Monday.
Our thunderstorm chances will start to go back up, maybe even to Tuesday.
It's still way out there. It's a big storm.
There's lots of room for change in this.
But we're tracking it very closely.
Remember, while still out over water, we have a tough time getting all the information on it.
And then once it gets inland, we have all the weather-observing sites and such.
And that's when we can really start to get the forecast with a greater degree of accuracy.
Right now, once you go out beyond a certain point, you're mainly forecasting the big picture.
It does look like we'll see a chance for thunderstorms.
It does look like they could be severe.
But, you know, the Southern Plains is a very big area, so there's still a lot to be seen there.
But storms moving east of us tomorrow morning go throughout the day.
It won't be as warm as it was today.
But then as we go into Friday, the south winds start to increase.
Here's the trough, which will form into a dry line.
It will be breezy and warmer on Friday, breezy, warm, and humid over the weekend.
And again, with that increasing chance for storms.
Twenty to forty percent chance of storms in the southeast tonight.
Fifty-eight to sixty-four, the range on the lows.
Then maybe a slight chance for a morning storm tomorrow.
Seventy-six, Wichita Falls, eighty degrees from Graham.
In the southwest, dry tonight, forty-seven from Childress to fifty-eight from Throckmorton tomorrow afternoon.
We'll call it partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid-seventies to low eighties.
In the northwest, forty-eight, Sayre, forty-nine from Magnum and Hollis tonight.
For tomorrow, Althus rather, seventy-five, Frederick and Cordell, seventy-four degrees.
In the northeast, twenty to forty percent chance for a storm.
Fifty-four, Anadarko, fifty-eight from Lawton and Walters.
Then tomorrow, Lawton, seventy-five, Walrica, seventy-six degrees with the winds turning around to the northeast.
There's Saturday a twenty percent chance.
Chances get better on Sunday and Monday.
And again, we're looking at the trend right now.
It would speak that we may see some severe weather on Sunday and Monday.
Followed by perhaps some dust on Tuesday and a cool down for Wednesday.
Let's go back to Gina.
If you pay taxes, look out for scams.
That's the message the Internal Revenue Service is trying to get out.
They recently issued their Dirty Dozen list of scams for this year.
And some of those include Social Security tax.
The scammer offers refunds on the taxes you paid on Social Security for,
they say, a nominal one hundred dollar paperwork fee plus a percentage of your return.
Only problem, there is no law allowing refunds on Social Security taxes.
And there are quite a few other tricks up tax scammers' sleeves.
So to keep yourself and your money safe, you can log on to the newsroom section of www.irs.gov
or you can call 1-800-829-0433.
Americans are facing many financial challenges this year with the counting scandals and the sluggish economy.
In tonight's Money Watch 7, Jill Setzer tells us about one of the most pressing problems for the average person,
record breaking amounts of credit card debt.
Trying to make ends meet, groceries, gas, what about the extras?
Put it on a card.
Well, that's what Americans did and bankruptcies are breaking all historic records.
A million and a half people filed last year.
Blame easy credit.
The average household went from some two thousand dollars in credit card debt in 1990 to more than eight thousand in the last year.
Now people are paying some fourteen percent of their disposable income just paying the interest on debt.
Car companies convince people to go into debt farther,
buy new cars, or enticing people to trade up with zero percent financing deals.
And mortgage debt also climbed.
There used to be the theory that credit card debt was bad debt.
Mortgage was good debt.
But some people took out home equity loans and still kept spending, living well over their heads.
Over the last couple of years, it's been a feeling that you couldn't lose with real estate.
Real estate was going up and consequently people invested in bigger homes and borrowed larger sums of money.
It's a problem with it.
How does the plight of the individual compare to the rest of the economy?
Government debt is climbing. State and local governments are facing deficits.
The federal budget went from surplus to deficit.
But corporate debt is down.
Business cleaned up their balance sheets after the stock market bubble of 2000.
Corporations have thoroughly reduced their debt levels and are in significantly better shape
relative to their income, their cash flow needs, than they have been two or three years ago.
For Money Watch 7, I'm Jill Setzer.
Almost here, state turning time for six tech-seller teams looking to bring home the spoils of victory.
Vince is up next with a final preview of the class 6A and 5A teams gunning for the gold tomorrow.
Plus a whale of a finish in the Sooners-Colorado clash at the Big 12 women's tourney.
Keep it here.
Ballistic Extreme Bulls Sports is back in town.
On March 15th, 730 p.m. at the Great Plains Coliseum.
Extreme excitement. Extreme danger. Extreme athletes.
You won't want to miss Ballistic Extreme Bulls Sports, March 15th, 730 p.m. at the Great Plains Coliseum.
Be there.
A simple pain in the arm. Who would have guessed?
What seemed like indigestion turned out to be a heart attack.
By the time help arrived, I didn't know if he was going to make it.
I had him taken to Southwestern Medical Center's emergency department.
Good choice. Today he's fine.
I know they face life and death situations every day.
But this was our first.
I was born on a yellow Westacadillus
Around here, bigger really is better.
And now there's a bigger and better reason to drive our best trucks.
Dodge Truck Month.
Through the end of March, you'll get low financing offers.
Or you'll find our best deals with a generous cash allowance on Motor Trend's 2003 Truck of the Year.
Plus our best protection. Our fully transferable 770 powertrain limited warranty.
It all adds up to the best values in America.
Dodge Truck Month. Extended through March 31st.
Look at these specials in the dining room department at Mathis Brothers.
For casual contemporary, this seven-piece set is just $5.99.
You get the table, four side, and two armchairs.
This Cherry seven-piece set for $7.88 has a double pedestal table with six carved side chairs.
This big seven-piece set is also $7.88 featuring ash solids and veneers
including the table, four side, and two armchairs.
See these specials in the dining room department at Mathis Brothers.
Mathis Brothers Furniture.
This is Seven Sports Extra with Vince Erickson.
Sherry Cole Sooners in a cardiac, kid-like comeback against Colorado Big 12 Women's Tournament
down by 13 until Maria Vija Royale's drive brought them within three.
But they could pull no closer.
Cole's Troops fall 73-68. Is the big dance up next?
We'll find out on Sunday, everybody.
Hello again, everybody.
Just a day after the Associated Press proclaimed the Sooners Hollis Price as the Big 12 Player of the Year,
the league's coaches said otherwise.
Although Price was a coach's first teamer, they said Kansas' Nick Collison was the Player of the Year,
although they agreed that OSU's Tony Allen was the league's best newcomer.
And Rick Barnes of Texas edged out the folks at East Sutton as Coach of the Year for the coaches.
T-minus inside 24 hours until the Class 6A through 2A state tournaments tip off in Oklahoma City.
Max Girls are the first to hit the court tomorrow, then have six days removed from beating Harry here for the area crown.
Tomorrow, Tulsa East Central awaits.
We're the first game Thursday, so we're going to get there early,
let the girls do a lot of shooting on the floor,
and hopefully some of their nerves will be okay. Game time rolls around.
The I-Girls, meanwhile, hooked the follow-up last Saturday's Mustang win with the quarterfinal pop of Sepulpa,
but it may be that Norman North lost Thursday that may be the key.
I think it taught us that we cannot come out soft and play with anybody.
We have to come out hard, we have to come out with an attitude, and if we do that, we'll be fine.
Also tomorrow, the rematch, Ike, Tulsa Memorial where the Chargers ended the Eagles season this time last year.
Revenge, not a motivation, but it sure would be nice.
We've seen Tulsa Memorial play, they're a good team, but we match up real well with them.
I think they're going to have some problems matching up with us, so we're really excited.
We think we're going to win the game.
Also tomorrow, Class 4A's top-ranked Anadarko Lady Warriors here conquering Clinton last Friday.
They do Roland at 3.30 at the State Fair Arena.
Also the number one Darko Boys who popped Piedmont here last Friday to get to State.
They clash with Miami at Edmund Santa Fe at 8.30 tomorrow night.
Also, Carnegie's boys in 2A versus Tonka was 7 o'clock at Moore.
Early highlights and final right here tomorrow night at 6.
What a day to head inside the outdoors, golf, fishing, hiking, perfect for all of them.
And it's still a month or so from the start of the sand bass run and two months for the crappie spawn.
Those are the unofficial starts of the fishing season.
And last, you're talking about Texoma's biggest sport fish.
Yes, the blue catfish.
This is the state record, 85 pounds, caught a couple of years ago at Lake Ellsworth in the wintertime.
So even though spring has just arrived, it's the peak time to catch a blue cat.
You know, a lot of people under the assumption that you can only catch catfish in the summer or springtime or at night.
I know I was brought up thinking that if you fish with stink bait at night in the summertime,
that was probably your best bet to catch good fish and a lot of fish.
And it's true you can catch special channel cat like that.
But I've learned over the last few years that fishing in the wintertime and during the broad daylight is actually your best time for blues.
That's when I've caught 90 percent of my good ones.
And, you know, October through about the end of April is an awful good period to fish.
However, not every big blue is a keeper, and the wildlife department encourages conservation as much as sport.
We're going to turn this one back. I'd like to encourage everyone to turn some good ones back or even some small ones if you have enough to eat.
We need to preserve the future of the resource. This is a good brooder fish.
It'll produce a lot of smaller ones with the genetic potential to grow.
And we want to have fish for our children and our grandchildren to catch.
I'm going to turn him back in the lake.
Maybe we'll catch him some other day when he's a little bigger.
Lots of big ones in these parts. The big four lakes right there, Ellsworth, Fort Cobb, Frederick, and Warricka, Bait and Gere,
Cut Shad is the ticket. Use 30-pound test lines. Your pole should be 8 to 10 foot surf.
For odds, use as many as 7 on the shore. Now, for any other hunting or fishing information, just log on to kswo.com sports.
Then go to the wildlife department's icon on the right side of the page between hammer and cowboys, and that's inside the outdoors for this week.
Hey, new attendee, look on regional 7 sports, the best for tonight's NBA and NHL action, plus the new Southwest Oklahoma officials association,
Hall of Fame inductees, plus the sportsmanship awards, those at 10 o'clock.
All right, looking forward to it. And coming up, have you thought about dancing up the side of a mountain?
Probably not. We're going to show you a group of people who do, though.
Bullistic extreme bull sports is back in town on March 15th, 730 p.m. at the Great Plains Coliseum.
Extreme excitement, extreme danger, extreme athletes.
You won't want to miss Bullistic Extreme Bull Sports, March 15th, 730 p.m. at the Great Plains Coliseum.
Be there.
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Right. Yeah.
It's Think Big, Mutt & Sonic featuring our biggest burger ever, the Big Cheese.
Two patties, three slices of smoky cheddar topped with bacon and honey pepper sauce and made to order.
Thousands of drink flavor combinations like our new Orange Cool Breeze.
Local dealership saves public millions.
The Billingsley family of dealerships are drastically overstocked, and with new arrivals daily,
they are forced to sell over $10 million of inventory at unheard of prices.
Effective immediately, Billingsley is now including every rebate up to $3,000,
and every APR is low as 0% up to 60 months.
Billingsley must make room, and the sale will end without notice as soon as they see pavement.
The public wins and saves millions as once again Billingsley 4 delivers.
Here's a quick look at tonight's top stories.
The education lottery bill passed today in the Oklahoma Senate, but only after several key amendments were made to the bill.
The changes are to guarantee lottery proceeds will go only to education.
Another amendment would make charitable raffles legal.
The bill goes back to the House before going to a vote of the people.
And some miraculous news out of Salt Lake City.
This after teenager Elizabeth Smart was found alive and well this afternoon.
She was found in a Salt Lake City suburb with a drifter and a woman.
Elizabeth had been missing since June of last year.
And that's a look at tonight's top stories.
Side chance for a thunderstorm tonight. Temperatures still in the upper 50s.
Tomorrow a little bit cooler, but then windy, warm, and humid over the weekend,
and could see some thunderstorms around Sunday or Monday.
Still way out there. We will track it for you though and talk more about it at 10.
In tonight's light cap, the best way to describe what you're about to see is, well it's nothing like you've ever seen.
Take a look.
Yes, they are dancing.
And it's called Project Banda Loop.
This is where dancing meets mountain climbing.
The sky is the limit for this unusual and innovative dance troupe.
Now in this video, dancers are performing while hanging 2500 feet above Yosemite National Park.
But they are also known to dance while dangling from tall buildings.
I mean...
Who's watching them?
That's my question right there.
Where's the crowd? And the cameraman.
I mean, look at what those birds are doing up there.
That's what everybody's saying. They can't even tell if it's people or not.
They're quite beautiful actually, except I wouldn't want to climb up there to have to watch them.
Might be the next Olympic sport in the Kansas.
There you go. Thanks for choosing 7 News Tonight.
We'll see you at 10.