July 26, 2019 Issue, Page 1 of 12

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Be Western Oklahoma Since 1901 Ryan Tillison, representing the Oklahoma Department of Commerce’s Aero- space Commerce Economic Services program, discusses the aerospace in- dustry during the drone conference Tuesday at Western Technology Center in Elk City. Staff photo by Don Munsch. By Don Munsch, Editor and impact can be achieved. He discussed Drones are not a fad. Drones are some of the products his company offers. growing in volume and __ their eco- “The [Federal Aviation Administration] nomic impact will be huge. put out a recent estimate in which they’ re ex- Harold Greene Jr. smooths over the concrete Wednesday morning for the new splash pad being constructed at Ackley Park West in Elk City. DWH Concrete Con- But the key to their success will be pecting the U.S. commercial drone fleet struction of Greenwood, Arkansas, did the concrete work on the pad, which is set to ensuring their safety, and their _ pri- to grow to between about 600,000 to 1.2 mil- open a week from Saturday, said Elk City City Manager Lee Litterell. Staff photo by mary use may not yet be imagined. lion commercial drones by 2023,” he said. Don Munsch. Those are some of the findings patrons He said FAA officials are find- heard from an aerospace industry official at ing their forecasts about commercial the Unmanned Aerial Systems Update held drone numbers are being exceeded. Mad scientist wows summer Tuesday at the Western Technology Center “Tt’s exciting for the industry and it’s ex- in Elk Center. Patrons, who represented cit- ies, including Elk City, and other organi- citing for the economic impact that that’s going to have on the United States,” he said. reading program participants zations, heard updates on how drones are When he spoke about commercial drones, affecting everyday life, including the econo- hedidnotrefertorecreationalorhobby drones. my. Around 40 people attended the seminar. “The industry and commercial are Kraettli Epperson, co-founder and chief gearing up for more serious flights, lon- executive officer of Oklahoma City-based ger ranges and new regulations, which Vigilant Aerospace Systems, gave a keynote are emerging rapidly now because the presentation on drones. Vigilant is involved FAA is really focused on them,” he said. in “both licensing and commercialization of Epperson presented data on the commer- NASA flight safety technologies and also cial drone industry, with the financial ef- developing and marketing new situational fect on various industries — from infrastruc- awareness, collision avoidance and autono- ture to agriculture to insurance, to name a mous flight products for both manned and few — to be measured in billions of dollars. unmanned aircraft,” according to its website. His company is focused on the problem Epperson said his company’s goal is on encounters between manned and un- to provide systems to allow safe integra- manned aircraft, as the number of incidents tion of unmanned aircraft into the na- See Drone Seminar page 2. Mad Science of Central Oklahoma Operational Manager Barrett Huddleston (right) directs tional air space so full economic value 3-year-old student Ivy Day, whois playing the role of an astronaut, through two rings held by other students Tuesday at the Elk City Convention Center. Staff photo by William B. Car- roll. Teachers to receive By William B. Carroll, Sports Editor mad scientist and offered up opportunities professional development The Elk City Carnegie Library, as part of its summer reading program, brought in a mad scientist Tuesday to teach stu- for those students in attendance Tuesday to take partin his experiments. The experiments and lessons specifically revolved around By Don Munsch, Editor the district is implementing a new STEM dents about astronauts and space trav- outer space and ended with a volunteer as- Many people in the public think educators program at the intermediate school. el, a theme consistent with this sum- tronaut crawling through hoops as though getsummersoff, and while itistrue classes are High school advance placement teach- mer’s “A Universe of Stories” theme. they were performing work in outer space. not in session during the break, many teach- ers have been to an AP conference. Barrett Huddleston with Mad Sci- Throughout the presentation, Hud- ers take advantage of professional develop- “T have a high school teacher that’s in ence of Central Oklahoma came to the dleston kept students on the edges of their ment training during the summer months. Shawnee today starting her ACT certified Elk City Convention Center Tuesday to seats. Most of the lessons came with a A recent USA Today spotlighted educator training and then she will fin- give a presentation replete with gags, ex- humorous flair as students were called teachers who work during the sum- ish it in New York in a couple of weeks,” periments, demonstrations and other sci- up to actively participate in the lesson. mer and attending trainings. Classes Coffman said on Tuesday. “And it’s pretty ence-based entertainment as part of the li- Huddleston said audience interaction is for Elk City schools begin Aug. 15. extensive. She had to apply and be ac- brary’s summer reading program Tuesday. one of his favorite parts of being involved “Just to give you a rundown, I’ve had cepted. Not just everybody gets to do this. According to Mad Science’s web- in teaching these types of programs. Hud- [educators] in Florida, Dallas, Reno, Olathe, I think it’s going to give our kids a defi- site, the company is a leading provider dleston, who is also a public speaking Kansas, Oklahoma City and New York nite advantage on preparing for their ACT of hands-on interactive science enrich- teacher at Oklahoma State University’s City for training this summer,” said Robin tests. So, we’re really excited about that.” ment programming for children ages 4-12. Oklahoma City campus, said that he en- Coffman, Elk City Public Schools cur- Counselors who went to Florida were Huddleston, who serves as an operation- joys being able to be a performer and mar- riculum director. “We pay for their travel at a conference where they learned about al manager and trainer for Mad Science, ry aspects of performing with teaching. expenses, but that’s really on their own resiliency in children, Coffman said. said he has been with the company for five He said Mad Science writes new pro- time. So we have a pretty dedicated staff.” “So a lot of our of social, emotional years and really enjoys being able to pro- grams every summer to coordinate with The type of training educators received learning and trauma — working with kids vide presentations to kids around the state. libraries’ summer reading programs. He this summer has varied. Elk City teach- in trauma — is what that was,” she said, not During Tuesday’s presentation, Hud- noted that Mad Science also offers a num ers have gotten STEM training because See Professional page 2. dleston played the role of acomically dressed See Scientist page 2. | Illi Weather / 71 Vol. 117, No. 60 Mail delivery View online « sre. tomorrow 75 cents, 12 pgs. 580.225.3000 elkcityoknews.com