July 29, 2020 Issue, Page 4 of 16

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Page 4, Section A The Elk City News, Elk City, Oklahoma Wednesday, July 29, 2020 Opinion Page “ElkCituNews Five factors to consider when examining virtual or Serving Western Oklahoma since 1901 Letter to the Editor Lenius was an asset to Elk City, state tourism in-person classes By Jacqueline McDaniel hypertension and kidney teaching methods based on nity activities like church, Until five years ago we heard very little about the travel Parenting in a pandemic disease as contributing to field experience can also be volunteer groups, etc. as an presents unique challenges the severity of illness when items warranting concern. alternative to typical class- and tourism industry in Western Oklahoma. In fact, Okla- for families. Planning for a person becomes sick with Seeking support from edu- room interactions. homa residents and visitors often confused Ark City with a return to school in mid- COVID-19. Ask your pedia- cators and other parents can Every family is different, August looms large as the trician for guidance if you help establish a baseline, with unique circumstanc- Elk City, not even realizing they represent completely dif- start date of the 2020-2021 have questions about your manage these issues and cre- es and children who have ferent parts of Oklahoma. school year approaches. child’s ability to return to ate a plan for what success varying needs. Talking with Concerns about student class in person this fall. Be looks like that is age-appro- When Julie Lenius joined the team of Oklahoma desti- school officials, your child’s safety, learning loss and so- prepared to present your priate. former teachers, his or her nation marketing organizations (DMOs), things changed cialization are on parents’ school district’s _ policies, Access to school-based pediatrician and other pro- - and changed quickly, She became an active member in minds as they decide to including strategies for so- programs and resources: fessionals can help. A family participate in a traditional cial distancing and the use Guidance for children who local, regional and state-wide tourism related events and counselor may also help you school setting, opt for virtual of masks, to help inform the access services like develop- activities and has becomea great resource for others. class models or seek alterna- discussion with your doctor. mental and speech therapies, discuss these important is- tives like homeschooling. Available —_ supervision English language learners sues so you can come to the Elk City has been consistently represented on both the While administrators work while learning at home: and others who need con- decision that is best for your Oklahoma Travel Industry Association and Great Plains to create new policies and Much of the guidance from sistent, specialized interven- household. address parents’ questions, the American Academy of tion may be better served in Finally, give yourself County Association boards of directors. Julie has also grace as you commit to the debate continues both in Pediatrics and other organi- traditional school settings. served as a member of the Oklahoma Route 66 Associa- broader societal conversa- zations advocating for the Materials like toys, books, working through these im- tion and the Custer/Washita/Beckham county district rep- tion and individual house- return to a traditional set- games and other manipula- portant conversations to help holds. ting is based on supervisory tives may only be available keep your family healthy. resentative for the Oklahoma Route 66 Association. Weighing factors like issues, Children will need through instructional use at Professionals from so many There is a distinct difference between occupying a the use of masks and so- basic, routine supervision to school sites. Lack of access sectors, from education to cial distancing in the class- ensure their safety through- to technology may also be public health and service board or association seat, and serving in these positions. room versus issues related out the school day while an issue that hinders learn- providers, are also working Julie has been engaged while serving, and while doing to supervision, quality of learning from home, Adult ing from home. Meals will to implement best practices curriculum and student mo- assistance with school sub- continue to be provided at at this time. Find more in- so represented Elk City in an impressive manner whether tivation can be overwhelm- jects will vary depending on school cafeterias through- formation about the latest during a meeting, securing television exposure or hosting ing. Although information the student’s age and select- out Oklahoma’s schools but in prevention strategies and the Lieutenant Governor’s Travel and Tourism Summit. continues to change in light ed course of study but addi- Supplemental Nutrition As- school recommendations at of this unprecedented public sistance Program (SNAP) www.cde.gov/coronavirus. tional work offline is a com- State-wide, Julie quickly became the “go to” person health situation and school ponent of many programs. benefits also will be avail- Jacqueline McDaniel is for tourism development in Western Oklahoma. Elk City plans are likely to shift in The presence of an adult is able via electronic deposit the executive director for response, parents are still also advisable for kids of all this school year, according gained recognition under Julie’s leadership and has been the Oklahoma Alliance for faced with an initial decision ages to prevent household to the Oklahoma Depart- Healthy Families. The Okla- at the table for discussions when it was previously not to choose a path that best fits accidents. ment of Human Services. their family’s unique needs. Professional guidance: Socio-emotional wellbe- homa Alliance for Healthy the case. Here are five factors to Parents are children’s first ing: People need people. As Families. is a non-profit Losing Julie in her role with the Elk City Convention consider when deciding be- teachers. However, dealing social beings, even young organization dedicated to and Visitors Bureau is a detriment to our mid-sized DMO. tween virtual or in-person with unfamiliar subject ar- children benefit from op- providing health care ac- classes: eas may give parents pause portunities to interact with cess to all Oklahomans efforts and will most certainly impact local momentum. Underlying health con- when it comes to teaching others. A variety of options through education, advoca- However, our loss will most certainly be someone else’s ditions: The Centers for academic concepts outside exist, such as video confer- cy and coordinated partner- Disease Control and Preven- their areas of expertise. Un- encing like Zoom and virtual ships. For information on gain within your community. Unless, of course, one of tion lists underlying condi- realistic expectations, poten- classroom experiences, af- the Oklahoma Alliance for us can talk Julie and her family into moving to one of tions such as autoimmune tial for frustration and the ter-school activities, home- Healthy Families, visit www. disorders, asthma, diabetes, inability to leverage other schooling co-ops, commu- okhealthyfamily.org. our communities to join our team to continue to promote The oil market doesn’t the travel and tourism industry she has embraced and im- mersed herself into over the past 60 months. We want to thank Julie for partnering with us to move need an intervention Oklahoma further into the forefront of visitor travel deci- sions. We want to commend Julie on her ability to better educate us to become more acquainted with Elk City. And we want to congratulate Julie on the amazing job she had By George Landrith ported oil to direct cash pay- prices had dropped below ing cloud data storage and In late spring, oil prices ments to energy companies. $30 a barrel, well below new software. Over the next done representing Elk City whenever and wherever pos- dipped below zero for the This desire to help energy what U.S. shale produc- five years, digitizing could sible. first time ever. Futures con- companies, and the millions ers needed to break even. slash the cost of oil produc- tracts for May delivery trad- of workers they employ, The government didn’t tion by almost 10 percent. ed as low as negative $37 is commendable - but ulti- come to the rescue, which By using sensor technology Cristy Morrison a barrel, as producers and mately counterproductive. forced frackers to get cre- - tiny, data-tracking devices Visit Stillwater speculators paid refineries In the long run, the industry ative. They researched how attached to oil-field gear - and storage facilities to take will emerge stronger if the to extract more oil for less, producer ConocoPhillips re- Amanda Davis excess crude off their hands. White House allows the free and came up with a variety cently cut in half the amount Visit Miami In some sense, this histor- market to resolve this crisis. of new techniques, like drill- of time it took to drill new Maria Gus ic moment was inevitable. This pandemic-induced ing several wells simultane- wells in South Texas. Oth- Oil markets are completely economic crisis is going to ously and using drones to er companies are using Visit Bartlesville saturated. Worldwide coro- be painful for the energy detect faulty equipment. As data analytics to search for Tanya Andrews navirus lockdowns have sector. Cost-cutting and lay- a result, the average break- the best drilling locations. depressed energy demand. offs are already underway. even price for frackers In short, the pressures of a Visit Claremore And in March, Saudi Arabia But the industry is strong dropped from $69 a barrel in downturn are likely to en- Have something and Russia announced they and adaptive, and has 2014 to an average of $40 a courage even more future- would increase production, bounced back from past barrel by 2017. Had the gov- focused transformation. The thus exacerbating the glut. crises by investing in tech- ernment tried to solve the industry doesn’t need to hide loshare? President Trump has tried nology. In fact, economic problem by slapping tariffs behind tariffs. If we trust to help beleaguered U.S. pressure encourages the on Saudi crude, the U.S. oil the free market to encour- producers. He — recently kind of innovation and belt- industry likely would have age creativity, in the long mediated a deal between tightening that helps compa- never set its all-time produc- run, we’ll all benefit from a Sen your letterto Saudi Arabia, Russia and nies thrive in the long run. tion record of 13.1 million cheaper and more efficient other major oil producers, The United States last faced barrels a day in February. energy supply. who collectively agreed to low oil prices in 2014 and We can be confident the George Landrith is presi- the editorto cut production by nearly 2015, when Saudi Arabia USS. energy industry will dent of Frontiers of Free- 10 million barrels a day. ramped up output to try apply its ingenuity to this dom, a public policy think But prices are still falling. to cripple U.S. producers crisis, too - because these tank devoted to promoting a And now, the White House that specialized in fracking days, it excels at invention. [email protected] strong national defense, free is toying with other ways to - a technique used to ex- In 2019, the oil and gas sec- markets, individual liberty, prop up U.S. oil producers, tract oil from underground tor increased adoption of and constitutionally limited ranging from tariffs on im- shale rock, By early 2016, digital technologies, includ- government.