September 29, 2021 Issue, Page 1 of 10

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¢ e il iy Serving ] >. _ Western Oklahoma 74 | Since 1901 Wednesday, September 29,2021 WeekdayEdition Elk City Chamber of Commerce sponsors annual college fair The Elk City News presents guide By Burgundy Lee Hanrahan On Tuesday, Sept. 21 the annual Western Oklahoma Education Expo College Fair, which is sponsored by the Elk City Chamber of Commerce, was held in the activity center of the First Baptist Church in Elk City. Representatives from several schools, primar- ily located in Oklahoma, were available to talk with students who Courtesy photos. came from many different local schools in order to learn more about the institutions of higher education. From the local South- western Oklahoma State University to the popular University Elk City Carnegie of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University, hundreds of high school seniors and juniors stopped by booths, collecting bro- chures and the typical pens and stickers. There were approximate- Library undergoing ly fifteen or so schools present, most public, of course, but there were some private universities such as Oklahoma City University. ‘There were also community colleges such as Oklahoma City Com- remodel munity College represented as the students contemplated their future plans. Upstairs Adult Library temporarily relocated ‘The Elk City News has consulted online sources, such as usnews. com, to comply a brief guide to colleges and universities. In to- day's edition we've included the two state universities and those See Fair page 2. Staff photos by Burgundy Lee Hanrahan. Annual book sale soon By Burgundy LeeHanrahan ‘The Elk City Carnegie Library's Upstairs Adult Library is now Local retailers facing supply issues ‘open again after being closed from Sept. 13 - Sept. 18 while they moved shelves and many boxes of books to their tem- porary location at Carnegie Hall. The move is necessary due Advise beginning holiday shopping now to remodeling within the Adult Library which will consist of an improvement in light fixtures and new furniture amongst other changes. The exterior of the library will also be receiving repairs. Thankfully, patrons won't have to go far to find where the stress that he and other business owners find themselves un- the adult collection will be temporarily — it is just a short walk- der led him to post the following, which at time of publication ing distance away at 215 W. Broadway. Due to the sheer size ell. had 313 reactions and 44 shares, on his personal Facebook page: of the collection of literature, the move took several days and “Friends, I've been talking to different retailers, screen printers, See Library page 2. business owners, etc. lately and we're all stressed. Like, more than usual stressed. Stressed we won't be able to get products for the holiday season. Worried that customers might not under- stand. For me, it’s shoes, tees, hoodies, records, record players Weekly COVID-19 data and the list goes on...But it’s affecting everything and most ev- eryone. Please have some patience with us this season. Maybe a Number of deaths in SW Oklahoma little grace, too. I can promise you that none of us want to let you down!! We all hate this crap!! Just please know we are all likely doubles in past week doing our best in this screwy world with it’s whacked out supply chain!! Peace & Love.” Pfizer booster shots now available Butcher tells The Elk City News that the response his post has re- ceived helps him to understand and realize that others are feeling Staff Report the pressure and stress as well. He says that he is having trouble On Sept. 22 the District Five Southwest Oklahoma County getting t-shirts and hoodies that he prints on. New Balance shoes Health Departments released their weekly COVID-19 report for are posinga particularly difficult challenge as well as record play- the week of Sept. 12 - Sept. 18. It was shared that Oklahoma ers. He says that most of the popular records are backordered. ranks 21 (out of all States and DC) in the cumulative death rate Butcher explains that this is especially troubling for him as most (per 100,000 persons) of reported COVID-19 cases in the last By Burgundy Lee Hanrahan record stores do 80 - 90% of their yearly business during the 7 days. There were 275 deaths to include 19 in SW Oklahoma. month of December. ‘The average age of cases was 39 years. There have been 2,560 Local retailers are feeling the pressure of the supply issues that COVID-19 hospital admissions in the last 30 days in Oklahoma. are plaguing the country. They're struggling to stock products Butcher shared that he has been stockpiling on merchandise, es- that they carry on a regular basis as wellas having difficulties ful- pecially records, when he can and suggests that other retailers 89.7% (2,295) of hospital admissions in Oklahoma during the filling special orders from customers. Retailers are placing orders do the same. The frustration and stress was evident in his voice last 30 days (as of Sept. 20) were non-vaccinated. 2.9% (73) were to be told by the companies that shipping times will be longer as he explained that he hopes people will be understanding and partially vaccinated. 7.5% (192) were fully vaccinated. Of the than usual and waiting the extended time just to be asked if they patient and that neither he nor his fellow retailers want to let hospital admissions, 83 are under the age of 18 and 25.1% of can wait longer or if they need to cancel the order. A lot of this their customers down or to have to tell them that something's new hospitalizations are from people who are 44 years of age and stems from the fact that ships are circling the waters off the coast not possible. younger. of the Southern California, unable to get to port to have their car- As of Sept. 22, Beckham County hada total of 3,198 cases with Lori Weatherly, owner of The Vogue Boutique, shares a lot of go unloaded. Then there are not enough trucks on shore to move Butcher's sentiments. She tells ECN “I thought last year was go- a total of 59 deaths. There are currently 60 active cases with 52 the cargo. It seems to be a vicious cycle in which the demand is at ing to be bad but I never in my wildest dreams figured that this a high but the supply just isn’t there. For Brady Butcher, owner of See Issues page 2. See COVID-19 page 2. local stores Carrol’s Shoe Corner and BTB’s Records and Rarities, . nm Ag HH Weather / 61 Vol. 119, No. 78 Mail delivery View online eratenm tomorrow 75 cents, 10 pgs. 580.225.3000 elkcityoknews.com