2000 — On January 31, a crowd
estimated between 12,000 and 15,000 partied downtown,
counting down the time until midnight arrived. Many
joined in the countdown and finally, the year 2000
arrived and a new millennium began.
Frank
Piccirillo was officially named the new Wildcat football
coach. He had previously been in Watonga.
The
Wildcat wrestling team outmatched Enid, with a 51-12
win. The Cats won 10 of the 14 matches, plus made bonus
points with four falls, two technical falls, a forfeit
and two major decisions.
Dr. Bill White was
offered the superintendent’s job in Broken Arrow, but
opted to stay in Ponca City. He was offered a contract
extension for three years to stay here, and he took it.
Conoco announced plans to construct an eight
million pound-per-year manufacturing plant in Ponca
City, the first of its kind to produce the company’s
patented petroleum-based carbon fiber. The $125 million
plant would be built adjacent to the refinery.
Construction was scheduled to begin in the spring.
Barry Bickle was named 1999 Outstanding Citizen at the
Chamber of Commerce Banquet, and he also became the new
Chairman of the Chamber for 2000, taking the reins from
Craig Myers. Mertz, Inc. received the Large Company
Award, and the Small Company Award was presented to
Precision Tool and Die.
A group of employees
appeared at the January meeting of Pioneer Technology
Center Board of Education. They asked that the contracts
for Superintendent Dr. Sally Downey and Asst.
Superintendent Janet Cox not be renewed. The group
claimed that 101 employees had been fired or forced out
since the two superintendents had taken charge in 1997.
The Board voted to stand by Downey, extending her
contract by three years.
Alana Smith was named
the 2000 Basketball Homecoming Queen. Homecoming King
was Jeff Furnas.
Local builders announced plans
for two major subdivisions, one five-house building
project, an apartment complex and housing units for
seniors. The housing market had become tight in Ponca
City, and with the new jobs being created by Conoco’s
carbon fiber plant, it was time to “jump start”
construction of some speculative housing, according to
Jan Jarrett, Chamber of Commerce executive.
January 17 was the official kick-off of a 125-day
countdown to Conoco’s 125th Anniversary celebration. At
midnight, a 16-foot tall wooden oil derrick, augmented
with a specialized digital counter, was set up at the
entrance of Conoco’s Houston headquarters. The derrick’s
clock would count down 125 days until the May 20
birthday celebration that would take place in 15
countries on five continents.
Chip Huston, 1995
Po-Hi graduate, and son of Terry and Steve Huston, was
named the assistant men’s golf coach at the University
of Houston.
Wildcat wrestlers won the district
championship, beating Stillwater 47-27, and guaranteeing
a berth in the Dual State Tournament. Coach Todd
Steidley credited the Cats’ success to the large group
of fans. “We’re dedicating this victory to the fans,”
the coach said after the dual. Ponca City had more fans
in the stands than Stillwater, and the dual was in
Stillwater.
Commissioners approved a resolution
for a proposed $4 million, 60-unit senior citizen
apartment complex on East Princeton.
Head
Country BBQ announced that their sales were up 30% in
February, due to the milder weather.
John
Stanley was elected president of the Ponca City Country
Club.
Two incumbent City Commissioners, Chris
Hand and Keni Ray, filed for reelection. Pamela Johnson
announced she would run against Ray.
Candidates
for the School Board included Vicki Graves and Mike
Joosten in Ward 7. Kyle Keffer chose not to run for
reelection. Filing for Ward 6 were Norris Frederick,
David Kinkaid, Kathy McLemore, and John Pangburn. Steve
Stalcup did not run for reelection, as he had moved from
the district. Norris Frederick was appointed to fill
Stalcup’s position. Vicki Graves won the Ward 7 seat.
Ponca City Arts & Humanities Council sponsored the
Wichita Children’s Theatre production of “Alice in
Wonderland” at the Poncan Theatre.
Conoco’s 1999
fourth quarter net income was $324 million, compared to
a loss of $263 million in the fourth quarter of 1998.
Asst. Chief of Police, Clayton Johnson, was chosen
to be a team member of the Group Study Exchange to
India, sponsored by the Ponca City Rotary Club.
Dr. Joe Surber and Betty Tatum were selected for the
Who’s Who in America. Beth Frantz, Pioneer Tech
Practical Nursing Coordinator, was selected as the
Outstanding Vocational Educator for the Health
Occupations Division.
Conoco announced that they
would pay for a total renovation of the Petroleum Museum
in the north wing of the Artist Studio at the Marland
Estate. Plans were to create a Marland Oil Museum. This
project was one of the many ways Conoco celebrated their
125th anniversary.
Ponca Tribe civic leader
Genevieve Pollak died in mid February.
United
Way collaborated with the Po-Hi Service Learning
classes, two 5th grade Garfield Academy classes, and the
Retired Senior Volunteer Program to provide tutoring for
pre-school children.
The United States Air Force
Band of the West performed for a full house of citizens,
sponsored by the Ponca City News and poncacity.net.
Louise Abercrombie, business editor for the Ponca City
News, got her first ever hole-in-one at the Ponca City
Country Club.
Construction on the new No. 1 Fire
Station continued during February. Commissioners
approved a change order in the amount of $11,004.
Andrew Cooper, a graduating senior at Po-Hi, was named
one of more than 2,600 candidates in the year 2000
Presidential Scholars Program.
Sen. Don Nickles
announced that Rory Peterson had been appointed to the
U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs.
Former Ponca City High School head football coach Keni
Ray was inducted into the University of Central Oklahoma
Athletic Hall of Fame.
In February, Don Nuzum
was elected President of the Ponca City Board of
Education, replacing John Young. Contract extensions
were granted to Jeff Denton, chief financial officer;
Dr. John Scroggins, deputy superintendent; and Dr. Joe
Surber, assistant superintendent of operations.
In March, Pamela Johnson defeated incumbent Keni Ray for
the City Commission seat.
Former D.A. John
Maddox was given 30 days to pay back $17,400 in
embezzled state funds. He received a two year deferred
sentence as part of a plea agreement.
The Ponca
Playhouse production of “A Few Good Men,” opened in
March.
Oklahoma Secretary of Education Floyd
Coppedge approved changing to the trimester scheduling
at Ponca City High School.
Two Po-Hi swimmers,
Rory Peterson and Shannon Mersman, were named to the
All-State Swim team.
The Po-Hi Robotics Team
placed 4th out of 38 teams at the Regional Competition
in Houston. The local team was the highest ranked rookie
team. They later attended the national competition in
Orlando, Florida.
Luann Harris, Liberty
Elementary teacher, was named District Teacher of the
Year.
On April 12, after much debate, Pioneer
Tech board members voted 3-2 not to renew the contract
of Dr. Janet Cox, deputy superintendent. On April 19,
Superintendent Sally Downey and two board members
resigned. On April 30, the board appointed Bruce DeMuth
as interim superintendent.
The City of Newkirk
was honored with one of the nation’s five Great American
Main Street awards. Karen Dye is the director.
The school system hired Chuck Bayha as principal of the
Alternative High School.
Kristi Hayes, education
editor for the Ponca City News, received a Marshall
Gregory Award for Outstanding Year-Round Excellence in
Education Reporting by members of the Oklahoma Education
Association.
The Ponca City Fire Prevention
Advisory Council held a “Risk Watch” Safety Carnival at
Lowe’s Home Center for children kindergarten through
eighth grade.
Due to a new School Board policy
that required students to read at their grade level, and
attend classes 90% of the time, 620 kindergarten through
8th grade students were required to attend summer
school.
The Interstate Oil and Gas Compact
Commission’s monument and time capsule were moved from
the Pioneer Woman Museum to the Marland Mansion grounds
in May. Oklahoma Secretary of Energy Michael Smith was
present for the dedication ceremony.
More than
50 performers appeared in the Ponca Playhouse production
of “Carousel.”
The Lady Wildcat golf team
participated in the state tournament and finished
seventh. Team members were Jenni Nimmo, Kelli Waddell,
Ashley Mott, Heather Staires, and Caley Snell.
The new pre-Kindergarten program in the public schools
was helping four year olds adjust to going to school.
The Ponca City Literacy Council was seeking
volunteers to help those who want to learn to read.
The Wildcat track team qualified seven students for the
state meet. The boys were Billy Broughton, Michael
Kirby, Jared Brashears and Kyle Henderson. The girls
were Jessica Jorgensen, Kendra Love, and Kassandra
Coldiron.
City Commissioners approved the plans
and budget for the extension of North Fifth Street to
Prospect Ave., and the improvement of L.A. Cann Drive
around Lake Ponca.
Josh Pitts and Sterling Foy
were the regional doubles tennis champions, and Daniel
Lee and Tim Frick placed third.
The Po-Hi Band
received a superior rating and the outstanding
performance award at the Dixie Classic Festival in St.
Louis.
United Way of Ponca City was chosen to
again sponsor the America Reads Challenge (ARC) Summer
Associate VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America)
program in Ponca City, working in collaboration with the
Ponca City Public Schools. ARC is an eight-week summer
program that matches up volunteers with children to help
raise reading levels. The program is aimed at helping
kindergarten through third grade students who are
reading below grade level in school.
Wildcat
golfer Matt Waddell was named to the East All-State golf
team.
Ponca City police had new uniforms, gray
shirts and dark blue pants, replacing the old brown
uniforms.
Nine Po-Hi seniors received Conoco
Scholarships. They were Brianna Bennett, Andrew Cooper,
Michael Goddard, Heather Herard, Charvek Karpe, Jerrod
Merle, Scott Mitchell, Rory Peterson, and Claire
Sonnichsen.
By mid-May, work had begun on Phase
II of the Standing Bear Native American Memorial Park.
On May 22, Conoco celebrated its 125th Birthday
with a party for thousands of current and former
employees at the Conoco complex.
Po-Hi members
of the All State Musicians were Lacy Goodger, Maria
Simpson, Emily Jack, Robert Hwang, Jerod Merle, Tim
Connelly, Katherine Paschal, Karalyn Eyster and Jacque
Salmons.
City Commissioners approved plans by
Lewis & Associates Architects for the Civic Center
Renovation Project.
In June, local gasoline
prices soared to $2.13 per gallon.
A new 14-lot
subdivision at the southeast corner of Pecan Road and
Homestead, known as Deer Place, caused some controversy
among area residents and the city commission. City
Planner Todd Kennemer assured the board that all
concerns had been addressed or met.
In June,
construction of the new 54-unit Copper Ridge apartment
complex began at Highland and Waverly.
City
officials announced that plans for building a
1,000-foot, $3.5 million runway extension at Ponca City
Regional Airport would soon be a reality. Initial
planning for the project had begun in 1993. In
September, funding was approved, including a $1.9
million grant from the FAA.
A dedication
ceremony for the city’s new $22 million Wastewater
Treatment Plant was held on June 23. Mayor Leonard said
that the city had been working on the project for nearly
ten years. The facility was built on the plant’s
original site.
Miller Market, 904 S. Fourth
Street, closed its doors on June 30, and reopened its
doors the following Monday as the second United
Supermarket store in town. Miller Market had operated in
Ponca City for 64 years. The Millers opened as a fruit
stand at 408 East South Avenue. It was the first grocery
in town to have self-service meat and also the first to
use scanning cash registers.
Ponca City golfer
Rod Murray qualified for the U.S. Senior Open in
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania at the end of June.
Dr.
Doug Major began his new job as superintendent of
Pioneer Technology Center on July 10.
Jamie
(Graves) Burtner, former Lady Cat’s basketball star and
all-stater in 1990, was named the new Lady Cats
basketball coach.
Gov. Keating earmarked an
additional $800,000 for the proposed Standing Bear
Cultural Center.
Queta Henderson, Po-Hi math
teacher, was selected as a state finalist in the 2000
Presidential Awards for Excellence in Math and Science
Teaching program.
In early July, Conoco
initiated an increased sulfur recovery program at the
Ponca City Refinery, which would mean cleaner air in the
area. This was the first step towards stabilizing the
refinery’s future by making it more competitive.
Dr. Ellis and Pam Oster donated an office building to
the Bluestem Council of Kay County Girl Scouts.
Sharon Scroggins was named principal at East Middle
School, following the resignation of Richard Dale.
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation proclaimed
Ponca City as the winner in the Trash-Off program. The
City was presented with a hubcap trophy for most trash
collected in a city of more than 16,000. City
Commissioner Lyn Boyer accepted the award.
Ponca
City Heat, sixth grade basketball team, won the
Mid-America Youth Basketball League national
championship in Manhattan, Kansas, with a perfect 6-0
record, and beat Midwest City, 54-47 in the finals. Team
members included Grey Mongold, Bradley Council, Caleb
Wynn, Eric Caughlin, Bryce Thistead, RaShawn Parker,
Chambray Parker, Josh Johnson, Kyndall Orange, and Ben
Cleveland.
At the airport, work began on hangar
No. 6 to relocate Big Sky Airline’s maintenance
facility.
There were 87 potential football
players at the first practice with new coach Frank
Piccirillo.
In August, Pioneer Technology Center
received the Oklahoma Vocational-Technical Education
Council’s Gold Star School Award during the Tulsa Summer
conference. Larry Buck, PTC board president, accepted
the award.
Jon Hoover became the Ponca City
Country Club men’s golf champion, winning a playoff with
Bruce Newman and Matt Waddell.
Wayne Leven was
elected Kay County Commissioner, District 2 position.
Ponca City Superintendent Dr. Bill White was named
the Oklahoma Administrator of the Year and represented
the state at the national conference.
Conoco
announced plans to build a supercomputer, a powerful
Intel-based geophysical computer for seismic
exploration.
Activities throughout September
included the Country Harvest Antique and Craft Show,
Cherokee Strip Chili Cookoff, Fine Arts Festival, United
Way parade, Standing Bear
Powwow, Cherokee Strip
Golf Classic, and Kay County Free Fair.
The
Oklahoma Municipal League named Gary Martin City Manager
of the Year. He was recognized with the 2000 Don Rider
Award.
Kay County Health Department applied to
build a 17,000 square-foot public health facility at a
cost of $1.5 million. The building would be on Fairview
Avenue.
The New York Times named Patrick
Jordan, Ponca City News employee, a freelance co-editor
for its daily crossword puzzle.
Catherine Haynes
was named one of 50 finalists for Oklahoma’s Woman of
the Year award which recognizes excellence in business
and community involvement.
The Vietnam Veterans
kicked off a project to help fund the creation of a
POW-MIA memorial at Resthaven Memorial Park.
Joe
C. Miller Jr., 95, died on September 15. Joe Jr. was
born on the 101 Ranch and was the last surviving
grandchild of the first 101 Ranch owners.
Ponca
Playhouse opened its season with the play “Sylvia,”
directed by Jo Ann Muchmore.
Chris Henderson was
named the new director for the city’s community
development department, formerly known as the planning
and code enforcement department.
State and local
dignitaries gathered in Ponca City to honor Chief
Standing Bear and dedicate the completion of Phase II of
Standing Bear Park. Shallimar Plumley recited the Lord’s
Prayer in sign language during the ceremony. A walking
trail, two orientation courts, and the six tribal courts
were unveiled, each representing one of the six area
tribes.
Karley Merrifield was crowned 2000 Po-Hi
Homecoming Queen by Student Council President Michael
Martin.
Po-Hi hosted the regional cross country
meet, and the local girl’s team qualified for state for
the first time ever.
The Wildcats football team
beat Sand Springs 28-10. It was their only victory of
the year.
Southwestern Bell introduced its
high-speed DSL Internet service, enabling customers to
access the Internet at speeds up to 200 times faster
than standard analog modems.
Michael Varnum was
named the new executive director of the Poncan Theatre,
replacing Kenn Wessel.
Beth Purvis was hired as
the new Business and Industry Services Coordinator at
Pioneer Technology Center, responsible for customized
computer training for area business and industry.
Chad Morris was hired as assistant director of the
Public Works Department.
In November, Foster
Johnson, Managing Editor of the Ponca City News from
1982 to 1999, returned to the News and resumed his
former duties.
Public Works Director Ken Parr
resigned to accept a similar position in Texas.
Parade marshals for the Veterans Day Parade on November
11 were Korean War era veterans.
Angel Central
opened in November, ready to offer holiday items for
sale and to serve as the information center for the
seventh annual Festival of Angels.
Jan Prough,
manager of the Pioneer Woman Museum, announced she would
retire on January 1, after 23 years of service.
Gary Puckett, one of the most famous singers and
songwriters of the 1960s, performed at the Poncan
Theatre on Dec. 30.
University Learning Center
offered a new bachelor’s degree in E-Commerce through
Northwestern State University at Alva. This degree is
one of the first in the nation.
Sen. Nickles and
Rep. Istook secured $4.7 million for the Ponca City
bandwidth project. The funding allowed the city to
increase its technology capabilities.
Eight
Po-Hi seniors met the rigorous requirements to be
eligible for Academic All-State Scholars. Students
chosen were Sunita Chahar, Raisa Durrani, Katie Homp,
Michael Keen, Mark Keller, Andra Nuzum, Eric Whitebay
and Ryan Yeakley.
Mayor Leonard was appointed to
the board of directors of the Academy for State Goals.
John Raley was named assistant municipal judge.
Raley filled the vacancy left by the death of Judge John
Northcutt.