Which Areas Of Norman, Okla., Flood The Most? (The Day In Weather)

One year ago today, I was awakened at 5 a.m. more than 100 miles away from home with a message on my pager saying that a hurricane was moving through Oklahoma City.

Actually, don't laugh. It was a tropical storm, and seven people died when Erin rolled through central Oklahoma on Aug. 19-20, 2007. For those of you not familiar with the weather dynamic of the Sooner State, I'll keep it simple.

We get everything.

And, today we got torrential rains and flooding the likes of which hadn't been seen in these parts since, well, this week last August. Norman was particularly hard hit by flash flooding, and while most of these roads are again open as of 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, this list compiled by the Norman Transcript offers an insight into what floods where.

1. McGee Drive north of Lindsey Street


2. Midway Dr. /Independence Drive and Pinafore Drive


3. 24th Avenue NW /Hwy 77 (Flood Avenue) and Franklin Road


4. Franklin Rd. /24th Avenue N.W. and 12th Avenue N.W.


5. Intersection of 24th Avenue N.W. and Indian Hills Road


6. Franklin Rd. /Porter Ave. and 36th Ave. NE


7. Porter Ave. /Franklin Rd. and Tecumseh Rd.


8. 12th Ave. N.E. at Franklin Rd.


9. 24th Ave. N.E. at Franklin Rd.


10. Indian Hills Rd. /12th Ave. N.E. and Porter Ave.


11. 36th Ave. N.W. North of Indian Hills Rd. (NB)


12. 120th Ave. S.E. South of Hwy No. 9


13. Cedar Lane /132nd Ave. S.E. and 144th Ave. S.E.


14. Imhoff Rd. /Hwy No. 9 and 132nd Ave. S.E.


15. 108th Ave. S.E. South of Hwy 9


16. 12th Ave. N.W. /Tecumseh Rd and Franklin Rd (Vo-Tech Rd)


17. Brookford Dr. at 36th Ave. N.W.


18. 36th Ave. S.E. /Hwy No. 9 and Cedar Lane


19. Rock Creek Rd /48th Ave. N.W. and 60th Ave. N.W.


20. Robinson /48th Ave. N.W. and 60th Ave. N.W.


21. Lindsey /60th Ave. S.E. and 72nd Ave.


22. Main /Willoway and Independence


23. 168th Ave. N.E. North of Franklin Road


24. 60th Ave. S.E. south of Hwy No. 9


25. 48th Ave. N.E. /Indian Hills Rd and Franklin Rd.


26. 72nd Ave. S.E. Lindsey to Hwy No. 9


27. 60th Ave. N.E. and Franklin Intersection


28. Tecumseh /60th N.W. and 72nd N.W.


29. Rock Creek Rd. /60th N.W. and 72nd N.W.


30. 48th Ave. S.W. South of Main St.


31. 84th Ave. S.E. º mile North of Post Oak Rd.


32. 36th Ave. N.E. /Franklin and Indian Hills


33. Lindsey at Elm Avenue


34. Lindsey at Homeland

With the full intention of being as thorough and factual as possible on The Norman Files, the above list from the Transcript could be at least partly arbitrary. However, I recognize several of these spots as areas prone to flash flooding. In terms of which residential areas in Norman are most likely to flood, what I know is that new floodplain maps were drawn up this summer.

If you live in Norman, you should have been notified of your existence inside or outside of the floodplains "around Norman’s creeks or the Canadian River bed." I don't recall this notice, but I'm mail lazy. You can contact the city of Norman if you need to know right this very second.

One of the old jokes about Norman is that if you live here, you're in the floodplain.

Anyhoo, back to today's Oklahoma natural disaster du jour:

Several rescues were reported in Norman, and the one that comes to mind is the scene mid-morning at Franklin Road and 12th Street, in which a grandmother told one of my colleagues that she drove into two-feet deep water in the throes of a "blonde moment."

At least she was honest!

I am a big supporter of requiring people who drive into high water where there are barricades to pay not only for the damage to their car but also for the time, expense and even the depreciation of services and equipment used to rescue them. There is no indication one way or the other, for sure, whether there was a barricade here when she got stuck, but I am pretty sure there wasn't.

Norman Assistant Fire Chief Bob Bledsoe talks in this video about closing 12th and Franklin down, which is about the same time the woman and her grandchild was rescued.

Norman High Water rescue
Uploaded by normantranscript

Here's a video report from KOCO.com, and here is some coverage from NewsOK.com.

It could have been much, much worse in Norman. Up to our northwest, in Canadian County, several families were evacuated, and water did get into homes. A YouTube poster called CanadianVandal posted this clip from footage shot by KOCO and aired by CNN this afternoon, shot by uber-talented aerial photojournalist Jay Beauchamp.

Don't think he'll mind the credited shout-out.

Oh, and that hurricane that moved through central Oklahoma last year? You don't believe that it did or that it was tropical in nature? Well, YouTube poster storm45zz adeptly documented the storm on Aug. 19, 2007, right about when I said it came through.

Is it ok if I openly look forward to autumn now?

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Unsolicited Advice For Incoming OU Freshmen (Or Anybody New To College)

Hard to believe that it's been 20 years since I moved into Adams Center on the University of Oklahoma campus.

It's also hard to believe that freshmen moving to Norman in 2005 will (probably) be seniors by next spring. My second tour of duty in Norman, Okla., USA, will have already spanned one graduating class.

Part of the reason I wanted to start The Norman Files in August is because the biological clock of Norman starts in August. If this city were a business, August to July would be its fiscal year. The campus blooms in late summer, early fall, peaks over winter and then rebuilds the next summer.

This is a college town.

And, among the signs of its rebirth are students moving into dorms. Over the weekend, I saw young women sitting in lawn chairs at the corners of Lindsey and various streets, pointing newcomers in the right direction, particularly sorority girls.

There were cars everywhere on campus.

Wal-Mart was full of hormones buying things.

It all takes me back to 1988, knowing not a damned thing. Heck, of my freshman year, I recall moving in. I recall hating my roommate. I recall hating one of my suitemates. I recall partying and getting several really bad cases of "beer goggles."

And, then I remember moving out.

It's weird. For whatever reason, I recall adults telling us that college would be the best time of our lives. They were good times for sure, but that's a myth.

I had more fun in my late 20s and not-quite-yet-to-be-over 30s. Solidified a handful of college friendships and made other long-lasting ones. Alas, it all got me to thinking that I could put together a few words of advice for incoming freshman, the class of 2012 at the University of Oklahoma.

I would honestly give this advice to my closest loved ones, so this really is no BS. Enjoy.

1. Figure out in one semester if you really belong in college. Most of you don't. Most of you belong at a vo-tech or spending a few years following the jam band of the day, or the Jonas Brothers.

Whatever in the hell you all listen to.

Many of you are not even qualified to attend OU, which is saying something because in the world of public universities, it gets no easier admissions-wise than OU (or OSU).

However, society is such that all kids get pressured into college, whether the institution is for them or not. It doesn't mean you're doomed to poverty if you don't go to college. Hell, it means you can more than likely avoid $60,000 in debt. Nevertheless, don't take four years to figure out college is not for you.

If you're flunking out, if you're not interested, if what you really want to do is work construction, then go do that. Pursue happiness.

2. Don't rush into a major. The vast majority of you will do work that has zero to do with your major. If you think you know what you want to do with your life at 18, then great. Pursue it. However, most of you have no idea, and the good news is there is no rush.

3. When you do pick a major, pick it because the field of study interests you. If you're hellbent on becoming an engineer, then by all means, declare a chemical engineering major the day you move in to Cate Center. But the rest of you should pick a major with a course of study that interests you.

Passion in anything you do is an absolute key to life, and that goes for college. If you're taking computer science because your parents are both programmers at big companies, and what you really want to study is dance -- then, brutha, you are wasting your time.

Life is too short, and college is too expensive.

4. Learn to think. This is the purpose of college. Nothing more, nothing less. The vast majority of people who graduate from college don't master this at least until their 30s, if they're lucky. To learn how to think, you need to have a grasp of reading, writing and arithmetic for the purpose of forming a sentence, forming an argument and counting money.

If you cannot do these three things, you will get nowhere in life.

Contrary to popular belief, you do not need college to learn how to think. It helps because college students have access to books and professors, years of writing and experience. However, we all have access to public libraries, yet so very few of us read.

My point is this: If you do stick around OU and can stay sober long enough to hear what your professors are beating into your heads, then there is the chance that it will all "click," turning you into an intelligent, reasoning adult. It's an a-ha moment of epiphany, and I didn't have mine until my senior year.

I recall Professor Hale's campaigns and elections class, an upper-level political science class I took during the campaign of 1992. I recall writing my final paper, getting an A and seeing Prof. Hale's comments about how well written the paper was, and comparing that to work I had turned in as a freshman.

Night and day. It was as if I had figured out the formula.

I had learned how to think. You'll get there if you're lucky.

5. Be willing to study hard. Life is too short and college is too worthwhile for you to study just hard enough to pass. Read the damned book, and enjoy it. You have no other care in the world but to go to lectures, read books and write papers.

You know, if I were to win the lottery this week, that might be exactly what I'd do. Go back to college.

However, I was an efficient studier in college, not a particularly hard-working one. I wish I would have studied less for the purpose of getting grades and more for the joy of learning. The truth is it matters not professionally whether you were a C student in college or an A student.

It really, really does not. Nobody looks at college transcripts once you get older than 26 or so.

6. Have fun. Just not too much fun. I partied in college, no doubt. However, I also got really lucky and didn't die, didn't kill anybody and never got so much as ticketed by an officer for anything alcohol-related.

I won't preach to you, but the $10 you spend on a cab is the smartest money you can possibly spend. Walk. Or don't drink. There is no rule that says you have to drink or do drugs in college. However, it's really important that you do nothing so bad in college that it ruins the rest of your life.

You'll have plenty of time to ruin your life. It can wait until graduation.

7. Incur as little debt as possible. Go low on the student loans, or don't borrow at all. Work you butt off if you have to, but the less debt you have out of college, the quicker you'll get to a position of wealth as an adult.

So many college kids go through this phase of buying nice things for their apartments or dorm rooms, and I'm here to tell you: Nothing you can afford in college is five-times as close as to what you'll be able to afford in 10 years.

So, go cheap. With everything. Everything you buy now is super temporary.

Hell, there is beauty in the type of poverty you'll be incurring. It's like being a missionary. You are here under the precept of delayed income (Econ. 101), knowing that unless you really mess up, this will be the poorest you'll ever be. Let it teach you to be frugal and to manage your assets well.

If nothing else, these stories of poverty will be ones you'll tell forever, and I assure you: These days of simplicity you'll cherish forever.

8. Skip the tattoos. You don't realize as an 18 year-old that your future lies as an accountant with one of the Big Four. However, that ink across your neck ensures you'll be working in retail, if you're lucky, until you're 50 and can afford the surgery to remove it.

Seriously. The whole tattooing fad is a product of the past couple of generations. You will wish, big time, that you didn't have your "art" in 10 years.

9. Don't sweat the small stuff. Hell, don't sweat much of anything. Although stress will weigh upon your weary eyes and the thought of another paper will make your head spin, the truth is that you should be under no pressure at all. College is a giant playground of trial and error.

You have the opportunity to learn from almost any experience. (Re-read No. 6 though. You can really mess up there.) I would say this though: If college is important to you at all, you'll want to avoid plagiarism, which is the theft of words and ideas on paper, turned in to professors.

It really is theft, just like lifting makeup from a Wal-Mart, Jenna. Or a coat in Arizona, Demarcus. Theft is stealing is theft, and while it's not the end of the world in most cases, it can get your ass kicked out of OU right fast.

Overall, if you want to view the glass as half empty instead of half full, let me put it this way: Life gets more stressful the older you get.

Mortgages. Kids. Responsibility. Disease. Aging parents. Death.

You've got it mega easy right now. So, if you %^&# up, learn from it and move on. Or shed tears in front of your professors. They like that.

10. Take photos. Snap shots of everything. Roomies. Friends. Girlfriends. People. Places. Things.

I can't recommend you post it all to your Facebook page, but you will want to preserve these memories.

Besides, you'll want to remember how skinny you once were.

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One-Eared Pig Stolen From Norman Liquor Store

Sometimes it's prudent to note that I don't make this s*** up.

However, somebody stole the OU pig from on top of Campus Liquors, which is located at 800 W. Lindsey Street. Owner Aaron Petrone said it was probably taken awhile back but that he didn't notice it until recently.

On a very quick side note: The very same thing happened to me this weekend. I noticed somebody took one of my patio chairs, which I never use, from my sidewalk. Hope they enjoy it. Hell, keep it, or better yet, come steal the metal stand and companion chair, too.

But let's help Aaron find his liquor pig.

It's made of cement, so I'm guessing it didn't get too far. Uh, this liquor store is pretty close to fraternity row, if you get my drift. I'm not accusing. I'm just saying.

Oh, and it's missing an ear because the thief had to push it from the top of the store. Bastards.

If you see the one-eared liquor pig, I would bet Aaron might throw in a free bottle of scotch to the informant.

Source: Norman Transcript

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Norman Scanner Report: Liveblogging Storms In Cleveland County, Okla.

Just got home after a long day at work, but I beat it home before the storms moved through Cleveland County. A severe thunderstorm warning is in effect for Cleveland County, Okla., among many others until 9:45 p.m. Storms are moving across Oklahoma mostly from northwest to southeast, and it's part of a pattern that will stay with the Sooner State the next several days.

Given that The Norman Files is fairly new, I decided I would liveblog the storm and let you know in as real-time a fashion as possible what's happening in Norman and surrounding areas as we get pounded with storms. That is, I presume we're about to get pounded.

There IS a severe thunderstorm warning, ya' know.

So, if you stumble upon this post and it's still Thursday night, make it a point to refresh and refresh for the latest. I'll post info related to the weather below.

If you stumble upon this in the year 2082, just know I had a good time. Enjoy.

9:21 p.m. Possible residential fire reported at 2312 Augusta Drive in Norman. Caller advises that lightning might have struck the residence.

9:24 p.m. Nothing showing at the residence. Man, the fire department here is fast!

9:27 p.m. According to the Interactive Radar at KOCO.com, storms are moving from NW to SE and should be in Norman any minute now.

9:28 p.m. Report of wires arcing (she said "arching," is that right?) at NE 27th and North Eastern.

9:30 p.m. Report of a transformer blown at 308 Orr Drive in Norman.

9:47 p.m. Drivers stuck in water along or near I-35 at about SE 66th Street.

9:54 p.m. Thunder pretty steady, but -- again -- no big whoop. Report of "line trouble," although I'm not sure what that is at 4405 Katie Ridge Drive, which I believe is in Moore.

9:55 p.m. Dispatcher says they've had power problems for a bit tonight. I could make my usual rude comment about our electricity provider, but I'll keep my comments to myself. Of course until my power goes off, which should happen any minute given that it's raining.

10 p.m. Now THAT was some legitimate Thunder! This is still kind of a p**** storm.

This is terrible video, at least the lighting part for sure, but it's a look out my front door tonight as it rains. I'm working on getting my video ready for such an occasion as this. Bear with me!

10:03 p.m. Police advise that roads near the westside Wal-Mart in Norman be barricaded. Probably an area prone to flooding.

10:05 p.m. Report of a commercial fire alarm at 2020 Industrial Blvd. in Norman. This would be the Oklahoma Geological Survey warehouse. It's hard to say whether this is a legitimate fire, caused perhaps by lightning, or a lightning-induced alarm. Stay tuned.

10:09 p.m. Car wreck with injury at I-35 and Newcastle exit, which I do believe is at the Riverwind Casino. I also believe I heard an officer say "rollover" in connection with this crash. Almost certainly weather-related.

10:13 p.m. Call for a water rescue at Tecumseh and 36th Ave. NW. Folks drive into this stuff, water too high for them to see bottom. But in defense, it can be hard to see at night, particularly in poorly lit areas.

11:18 p.m. The storm is over here in Norman for tonight, but my Web connection pooted out right at about 10:15 p.m. Cox Communications is typically pretty good, but just as soon as I said something nasty about the ol' electricity provider, my cable modem decides to quit serving pages.

Alas, here's what you missed in the last hour of the storm:

• 10:18 p.m. Commercial fire alarm at Lowe's Home Improvement, 1501 S. Service Road.


• 10:22 p.m. OUPD got to the scene of what, I think, was the fire alarm at the Oklahoma Geological Survey and determined it was a malfunctioning alarm.


• 10:44 p.m. Car hits building at 1723 Lancaster Circle in Norman. I swear it sounded like the responding officer said the driver was trying to get out of a lease, but surely I misheard that.


• 11:10 p.m. Road signs blown over in the 1800 block of Imhoff.

OK, that's all for the ol' storm edition of scanner blogging tonight. If you stumble upon this and it entertained you and/or you'd like me to do this during more exciting storms (barring power/cable problems), then please subscribe at the top of the home page and post a comment below.

My thought process with regard to this blog is for folks who don't have access to detailed, specific Norman information during storms. Because of my day job, I wouldn't be able to do this all the time, particularly during the day. However, I know that we look to the Web for immediacy, and I hope I can provide that immediacy with a focus on hyperlocal information.

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Norman Scanner Report: Aug. 13, 2008

Calling state lawmaker Paul Wesselhoft! It was "vicious animal" night in Norman, Okla., on Wednesday.

It started with a call to Jackson Drive at 9 p.m., where authorities were investigating an animal that had bitten a child. And, do you know what breed it was?

That's right. It was a Shar Pei!

For those of you not familiar with the breed, here is one in action.

Cutest. Thing. Ever.

I am told, however, that adult Shar Peis can be mean little bastards. Nevertheless, I love all of God's children, animals that is.

But that wasn't our only "vicious animal" call of the night. Police got a call from a local hotel reporting a vicious Chow. If I heard the call right, a patron would not enter the establishment because of the presence of the dog. Chows are actually fairly aggressive dogs from what I've read, although I think I found the extent of this random YouTube Chow vid a bit over the top.

In other scanner fun and yucks from Norman, Okla., on a summer's night, two days before the skies are supposed to open up on us with massive amounts of rain ...

Police investigated a pair of drivers in a local trailer park off of Lexington Drive, which brings to mind this random fact: I did not know we had trailer parks in Norman.

Call came in at about 10:11 p.m. of a white construction truck running people off the road along Interstate 35 and Indian Hills Road.

In a pair of non-Norman calls: A black cow was reportedly lounging in the roadway at about 10:35 p.m. along 240th Street and Western Avenue in far southwestern Oklahoma City. Wasn't "Black Cow" a Steely Dan tune?

Also, a 40-year-old man overdosed on morphine and Xanax and was found lying in the street along West Seventh Street, presumably in OKC, but I couldn't say for sure. However, there has been a lot of lying in the middle of the street recently. Doesn't seem like it would be that comfortable, not without the morphine and Xanax that is.

Back in Norman, a woman in a blue Sunbird called police from an apartment complex along 24th Street SW after 11 p.m. to tell officers that her "baby daddy wouldn't give her her baby back." This brings up another random fact about Norman: I did not know anybody still drove a Sunbird here.

Finally, the line of the night goes to the Norman dispatcher who apologized to officers in joking fashion for her tardiness in getting back to them with information because she was watching TV.

"Sorry, I'm caught up in the Olympics," she said.

Aren't we all, honey. Aren't we all.

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Customer Appreciation Day At 'Native Roots Market'

For a town of 105,550, does it surprise you that Norman has three sustainable health food stores?

Would it surprise you more to know that each one has something a bit unique to offer the Norman community? It's true, but perhaps that's a subject for another time. What I wanted to do tonight is profile Native Roots Market, a cool, hip-looking market on Main Street in Norman.

Love Main Street in Norman. Steadily, it's becoming one of the coolest parts of town. Perhaps I should walk to The Diner in the morning for breakfast. Perhaps I should have bought some groceries at Native Roots, and I wouldn't be so hungry right now!

When I visited there last week, I talked with a guy who worked at the store, and he was super eager to tell the Native Roots story. I particularly appreciated this aspect of it: They exist at least in part to promote Oklahoma-raised and produced products.

In fact, this Saturday, Native Roots will be hosting a "customer appreciation" day. Part of that event will be to explain to patrons just how much money they have helped to keep in the Sooner State.

Unfortunately, I am not a big fruit person. Native Roots had fresh blackberries and grapes, and that just isn't my bag. I'm a veggies guy, and I would have liked to have seen more in the way of fresh vegetables. Native Roots did have its fair share of organic beef and poultry, too.

Again, that's not my thing, really. I like chemicals and hate salmonella.

Nevertheless, I really appreciate the go-Oklahoma concept behind this store. Furthermore, they had a pretty fair selection of gluten-free product and a really impressive collection of spices. For example, $2 would buy you some ready-to-go homemade taco seasoning.

They had homemade soap and cloths made from hemp and all sorts of vitamins and herbs, fare that both Dodson's and The Earth have. While Dodson's is uber-corporate looking and The Earth is very much kind of a hippie shack, Native Roots' building comes straight out of coolville.

Totally reminded me of something out of Dallas, particularly appealing to young adults living in the Norman area.

Now, I was going to suggest a coffee/tea bar to get folks to hang out a bit, but I think they had one. It was 137 degrees last week, and I seem to recall having no urge for a hot drink. This leaves my only suggestion for these folks to work on getting more fresh veggies there, salad material that is, and to update their blog.

No worries there. I'll dedicate a post to stuff they could write about, a public service from this blogger to our local, Oklahoma-friendly grocer.

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Tuesday Night Scanner Report

Didn't have as much time to keep an ear on things tonight as I would have liked, but I am working on a couple of interesting features. So, be sure to hit the subscribe button up top, to your right.

The evening started fairly innocently with a pursuit in southwest Oklahoma City, reminding me why I live in Norman. However, the quiet upon the scanner ended abruptly with a seizure at Louie's on Campus Corner.

It ain't a party until somebody breaks out in a seizure.

***

Fire crews were called to the University Commons apartments about 9:15 p.m., and this had all the makings of a big deal. An alert neighbor heard the smoke detector go off in an adjacent apartment and smelled smoke, so this person called 911.

Yay, smoke detector!

Turns out, thankfully, that it was just a pot of beans burning on the grill, which I thought was not supposed to happen via the wise words of George and Weezy Jefferson.

Fish don't fry in the kitchen;
Beans don't burn on the grill.

***

About 30 minutes later, emergency crews were called to Main and University where a man was spotted lying on the ground and clutching his head, yelling out "Help me!"

A bicycle was spotted in the area, which might explain things. Perhaps somebody does not understand that bicyclists have just as much of a right to the road as anybody else. Or perhaps our headache-riddled bicyclist was drunk, unaware of objects ahead of him.

***

An odd call after midnight, relative to a dog vs. human fight of some sort. I couldn't make out what was happening, but it did not sound like a "dogfight," a la Michael Vick. This sounded like a dog and a human in a fight along Carter Avenue.

***

Finally, I caught two of three Oklahoma City APBs that went out after 12:30 a.m., and this first one sounds serious. Authorities are looking for a pair of Mexican men in a blue Peterbilt with produce in the front of the trailer and 5,000 or 6,000 kilos of 10-75 in the back.

I'm guessing that "10-75" or "1075" might be cocaine. However, according to this list of Okla. police codes, 10-75 refers to intoxicated drivers. So, maybe they are carting almost 6,000 kilos of drunks across the country, doing their families a public service by not allowing them to drive.

Kidding. In all seriousness, this truck was last seen on Aug. 11 in the Oklahoma City area, heading east on Interstate 40.

In the second APB, police are on the lookout for a 67-year-old woman from Lucas, Texas, whose debit card was recently used in Atoka. They are looking for a 2003 Pontiac in this case, and I suspect they are concerned for her safety, not looking for her in connection with, let's say, a string of beheadings.

Like I've noted before, these Norman, Okla., scanner reports harm no police, fire or emergency officials and are posted well after they happen, meaning that active pursuits, situations, etc., are never threatened. They are posted to give Normanites and those who love Norman a behind-the-scenes look at what happened outside the walls of their homes and apartments as they watched television or slept.

Or as they partied, should they have run into a blue Peterbilt.

I am so gonna dream about the movie Duel tonight.

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Monday Night Scanner Report

A pretty quiet night on Norman's streets, at least for the mid-evening.

Kind of a sad story, somebody was found lying in the parking lot of what was described as Wal-Mart on 12th and Main streets but what turned out, I think, to be a little closer to somewhere near 12th and Alameda.

He was breathing but nobody could get him to wake up, and if I followed the call correctly, emergency first-responders determined he had taken a massive amount of pills. They were citing drugs I had never heard of.

I do believe he was described as a black male wearing a white shirt and jeans. Hope it all works out for the guy.

***

Mom and son fighting at a local apartment complex with the mom saying the son was "out of control." Perhaps he was merely espousing the possibility he would attend OSU.

***

Glass broken at Tornado Alley on Elm Street. I had never heard of such a place, Tornado Alley, that is.

*** If you like the daily news, commentary and perspective from the greatest college town in America -- Norman, Okla., -- why not subscribe to my posts at the top of the home page. That way, the news from Norman, Okla., can come right to you!

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Explosive! Loaded Grenades Found At Norman Rent House

Crap. There are some days when you think you can't possibly get to it all, all the news happening in Norman, that is.

In a case of all's well that ends well, police took two grenades into custody after the owner of a rent house on E. Frank Street spotted them under the house. The guy was cleaning up the place for the next renter, when he spotted these military-issue devices.

According to police, whoever owned these grenades took steps to turn them into ready-made explosive devices, lethal enough potentially to do as much damage as a pipe bomb. Given that there were two of them ...

Alas, our fair landlord takes these puppies and tosses them in the back of his pickup and DRIVES them to the police station. In a potentially Darwin Award-worthy performance, the landlord walks into the police station and informs those who protect and serve that there are a couple of grenades outside.

Talk about a "how-do-you-do."

Long story short, the Norman bomb squad was called out, and they secured the devices and returned to the rent house to look for more. That renter was forthcoming, allowing officers to look inside his new house on East Eufaula Street. Police are pretty sure this guy (or gal, I suppose) had nothing to do with anything.

However, it does make me wonder just how wise it is that grenades, even "training grenades," are available commercially. Sorry, and forgive me if I'm not up to speed on the latest sportsman techniques, but are grenades now used for hunting?

I'm being facetious.

But I ask you, what might your landlord find under your house?

Links:

Norman Transcript

NewsOK.com

*** If you like the daily news, commentary and perspective from the greatest college town in America -- Norman, Okla., -- why not subscribe to my posts at the top of the home page. That way, the news from Norman, Okla., can come right to you!

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New Parking Rules For Oklahoma Sooners' Game Days

Big local story over the weekend was the announcement that parking for University of Oklahoma football games would be different this season. So, Sooners' fans take note:

No longer will both-sides-of-the-street parking be allowed, particularly on streets near the stadium. Why? Makes it too tough for emergency vehicles to get through. Now, if we were all driving hybrids instead of Hummers, this wouldn't be a problem. But don't dare suggest an Okie give up his truck.

Kidding.

It reminds me though of when I was back in college, on my fifth or sixth Hudepohl Gold by the second quarter, leading a vehicular charge through masses of people at Lindsey and Jenkins, hoping to take a few out in the process. The goal was to get to Thunderbird Liquor in time for second-half kickoff without dying or tearing any more stuffing from the roof of my 1983 Chevrolet Celebrity, the piece of crap that was.

Back then I was able to navigate the streets near what used to be Parkview Apartments just fine. Then again, Gary Gibbs was coach, and we weren't that good. So, perhaps demand has a bit to do with the supply seen along George Street.

There will be a parking lot where those apartments used to be, and that will hold about 700 cars. Officials estimate that between 800 and 1,200 cars in all will have to find somewhere else to park for game days. So, before you freak out, I have a couple tips for you.

Instead of paying $20 to park so danged close to the stadium, why not get some exercise and enjoy a walk? Norman is one of the most walkable cities in the country, and if you map a walk that includes several stops and some shade, you'll have a primo spot, get your workout in and have a great time in the process.

Why not park along West Lindsey somewhere? I don't know. Pick a spot. I once parked at the Homeland at West Lindsey and McGee and walked the whole thing, and nobody knew the difference. And, the length of the walk is deceiving; it's not as far as you think.

First, you stop at the Donut Shop for a coffee and a fritter. The sidewalks along Lindsey, past Berry Road, are chock-full of shade, particularly in the area of the former university president's home. Believe it or not, a ton of OU fans take this route, and there are parking spots to spare along West Lindsey.

But, be warned. You'll want to be creative and discreet or else risk towing.

Toss out that coffee and donut and JJ's Pizza near campus, and pick up a slice and a beer for about $3. You'll be full and buzzing in no time. But, the two mile or so walk will have killed off a ton of calories.

Another good walking route is from Main Street. The trick to this route is to realize your path to the stadium is diagonal. Cut across the police station, over the train tracks, past McFarlin Memorial Methodist Church, and you'll be at Owen Field before you can say, "DeMarco Murray touchdown!"

Those are two routes I've walked before, and I'm a lazy bastard. But perhaps you have a better one? Post it to our comments below.

Side note: You can also park for free at the Lloyd Noble Center and ride the trolley up to campus. If you've got older folks, kids, lazy people or hungover buddies in your group, that might be your best bet.

More info:

NewsOK.com

NormanTranscript.com

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Weekend Scanner Report

It was a pretty boring weekend on the scanner front here in Norman on Friday and Saturday, but it got interesting Sunday night. Some of the highlights include:

Police investigated an ex-University of Oklahoma employee who was spotted inside an OU building late Sunday night making a rather large amount of copies. An ex-professor? Nope. A power plant employee, according to scanner traffic.

Authorities said they would investigate further but noted that making those copies on university property without having any business there technically constituted theft. Do you think he was photocopying his resume?

***

At the same time, a 31-year-old called in a medical emergency from the Physical Sciences building, saying that he had abdominal pains. The call came in at 10:30 p.m., making me wonder what in the heck he was doing there that late on a Sunday. Perhaps he's a prof, and the thought of another school year already has him in distress.

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Moments later -- and this is all on Sunday night -- marijuana smoke from the parking lot of a Norman apartment complex was reported. OK, this likely happens often in Norman. This is a college town, mind you. However, the kicker here is that the 911 caller reported that the "security guard at the complex was partying" with whoever was in the parking lot at this complex.

Good times.

***

Earlier this weekend, from the Blog Party porch, we heard an odd call for police to come investigate an odor. At first, we chuckled thinking some hygenic student had finally had enough of his engineering roommate. Alas, this call was to report the odor of gasoline, which can often indicate a meth lab.

No word as to what happened here. We either didn't hear or just got disinterested.

Periodically, I'll note things I hear on the scanner, stuff that will never make the paper but that is still available for the public record. My standard caveat is this, however: At no time would I post anything I hear on the scanner that could endanger anybody physically, period, particularly police or emergency workers. Anyway, I'm a pro at this, been doin' it awhile.

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