Collinsville, OK (October 15, 2014) – The Collinsville Chamber of Commerce is planning a family bingo event for Saturday, November 15, 2014 at the Collinsville High School. The high school is located at 2400 West Broadway Street in Collinsville.

The bingo event, named Turkey Bingo since it takes place a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, will serve as a fundraiser for the Collinsville Chamber of Commerce and will benefit the Collinsville Church of Christ Food Room.

Between the hours of 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm, approximately 25 games of bingo will be played with prizes for winners of all ages. Concession items such as pizza, soda, candy and other snack items will be available for purchase.

Admission prices are $5.00 for adults and $1.00 for kids 12 and under. Admission prices will include one bingo card per person. Additional bingo cards may be purchased for $1.00 or in exchange for a canned food item.

The Chamber is currently looking for event sponsors and/or donations of bingo prizes. There will also be vendor space available for a minimal fee. For more information, please contact Melissa Carlson at melissa@collinsvillechamber.org or 918.371.4703.
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Thank you,
Janice Fields
Indian Ed. Director
Collinsville Public Schools
(918) 371-5449 Office
(918) 371-3286 Fax

OKLAHOMA CITY – More than 20 veterans commit suicide every day in the United States and an estimated 60,000 are homeless. Sen. Frank Simpson and Rep. Tommy Hardin will be holding a joint interim study beginning next week to develop a better understanding of the two issues and figure out a solution to better assist Oklahoma veterans.

Simpson, a retired Navy veteran, said the statistics are disturbing and Oklahoma’s veterans deserve better.
“It’s appalling that these brave men and women dedicate their lives to their country only to return from war and have no support system. These individuals are suffering from emotional, mental and physical disabilities that, in many cases, are causing them to become dependent on drugs and alcohol, tearing their marriages apart and preventing them from being able to keep a job,” said Simpson, R-Ardmore. “We must find a solution to get our veterans the help they need.”

Statistics show that while veterans constitute only eleven percent of the adult population nationwide, they represent 40 percent of the male homeless population. The percentage of homeless veterans has decreased over the past decade but the numbers remain high. Simpson and Hardin fear that with so many serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, the problem of veteran homelessness may get worse.

Suicide is another issue that is more prevalent among veterans than the civilian population. Approximately, ten percent of Oklahoma adults are veterans but they make up over 25 percent of the state’s suicides.

While the federal Veterans Administration (VA) points out that the veteran suicide rate is declining there are still an estimated 22 veterans nationwide who commit suicide each day.

“Without support veterans and members of the military are left to battle their fears alone. Sometimes those struggles can turn into family problems, reckless behavior, or lead veterans to hurt themselves,” said Hardin, R-Madill. “In Oklahoma, we care about each other and sometimes even our heroes need our help.”

The study is scheduled for Tuesday, October 14, 2014, at 9:30 AM at the state Capitol in conference room 419C.

Several agencies and organizations who are working with Veterans in Crisis to address the homelessness and suicide rates will be sharing information with the Senate Veterans and Military Affairs Committee about the services they provide as well as making suggestions of how the state can provide more help.

“We must find a way to identify veterans in crisis and reach out to them. As we sadly know, in too many cases, the federal VA is not meeting the needs of our veterans,” said Simpson. “We must find a way to help our Oklahoma veterans who fall through the cracks before they also become victims of war. Our heroes deserve better!"

Interim studies are public meetings so anyone is welcome to attend. The meeting can also be viewed live on the Senate website (www.oksenate.gov) by selecting “Live Committee Meetings” at the bottom of the home page and then selecting the room number.

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For more information, contact:

Sen. Simpson: (405) 521-5607
Rep. Hardin: (405) 557-7383

Scholarship Preparation 101: Recommendation Letters

By Cara Cowan Watts

A well written recommendation letter can make the difference between the college of choice and thousands of dollars in scholarship money for college.

Great letters require you actually know the person you are asking for a letter and they know you well. At minimum, you should know the person writing your letter for at least one year and have several meaningful interactions with them.

Never ask someone for a recommendation letter without at least two weeks notice and all of the information required for the letter in one single ask.

Do not text or call the request for a Letter of Recommendation. Texts or calls may be used for follow-up and not primary request. One single email should be used. If an individual has to piece together multiple emails to write the letter, you are abusing and wasting their time.

If you use someone as a reference which is different than a recommendation letter, you must have their permission and notify them.

They should be a person of relevance and value or appropriate for the opportunity you are seeking. So, their network and/or position should be of value to your opportunity.

A great letter should be spell checked, edited for grammar and feel familiar with the real you. Other aspects may include highlighted components of your resume tailored to the opportunity, include positive things you do not say about yourself already on your resume and connects you with your opportunity in a personal and well-rounded manner.

A great recommendation letter pitches you as if the writer were on the internal decision-making team.

The initial email must include the actual full name of scholarship, job title or official name of the opportunity being written about for you as well as the name and address to address the letter to and more. If the name and address to mail the letter of recommendation to is different, include those details. The website page with the details or background on the opportunity should be included and clear with a direct link. Finally, the date the letter is due to be delivered should be clear.

To be truly successful, draft a letter for them and include it in your initial, single email. Pull out the basic details or background on the opportunity as brief bullet points.

Always, attach your resume as a pdf file so your information is readily available to the person volunteering to write you a recommendation letter.

Do not forget to send a handwritten thank you letter or do not ask.

If you are unable to make it to the Rogers County Building at 416 South Brady in Claremore on November 1st from 1pm to 4pm, email me for the handouts. Facebook messages, phone calls and text messages are not email.

To receive daily scholarship opportunities by email, email Cara your name, city and state at cara@caracowan.com and asked to be added to the OPC AISES listserv.

To receive Cherokee Nation daily news and event information by email, email Cara your name, city and state at cara@caracowan.com and ask to be added to the Cherokee Nation News listserv.

If you have questions, issues or concerns about the Cherokee Nation government, please email me at cara@caracowan.com or write me at P.O. Box 2922, Claremore, OK 74018.

For daily news and event notices, ask to be added to my Cherokee Nation News and Events email listserv. You may, also, find me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+ and Twitter. Lee Keener is at lee-keener@cherokee.org.

To contact the Tribe, call (918) 453-5000 or visit www.cherokee.org.

Cara Cowan Watts is an elected Tribal legislator within the Cherokee Nation for portions of Rogers and Tulsa Counties.

Cara Cowan Watts
caracowan.com