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EDITORIAL: ScissorTales: Oklahoma City woman gives mental illness a face

Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City) - 11/24/2014

Nov. 22--OKLAHOMA could use more people like Augusta Cox.

Cox, 39, of Oklahoma City, has schizophrenia and isn't afraid to let others know it. Why? Because she's trying to break down the powerful stigma associated with mental illness, which affects roughly one-fifth of the state's population.

For a time about five years ago, Cox began thinking that songs on the radio were being played solely for her, and that TV hosts were talking to her. She then began hearing voices, including some that told her to consume all the pills in her house.

She was admitted to a mental hospital where she stayed a month. Then, over a two-year period, she was in and out of the hospital before her schizophrenia was diagnosed. That led to a one-year bout with depression.

Now, she works as an outreach specialist for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, helping others find the assistance they need.

"It's really been an education in learning about mental illness, learning about how to manage mental illness," Cox told The Oklahoman's Jaclyn Cosgrove. "I call it my second education."

Kudos to her for being brave enough to confront her condition and help others to do the same.

Passive social media

We've previously noted that even when politicians supposedly have a "large" social media presence, the actual numbers involved barely represent a drop in an ocean of voters. This week a new report shows that even when politicians or political causes have a large number of online followers, it's often a sign of an echo-chamber effect, not widespread support. Case in point: The Washington Times recently hired an outside data analytics team to examine posts on the official Obamacare Facebook page. It seems 60 percent of the 226,838 comments generated from September 2012 to early last month were produced by fewer than 100 unique profiles. Many of those individuals created multiple profiles/personas to post on the site, which is controlled by Organizing for Action, the president's former political action committee. While Obamacare may have more than 771,000 Facebook "likes," it appears for most citizens that interest is passive at best.

Season's frettings

What's more common than salt? Dirt and sand come to mind. Not much else. So salt should be dirt cheap, right? It's not when it's road salt, the stuff used to help clear roads after winter storms. Some state and local governments are getting peppered by high salt prices due to shortages and the severity of last winter. They're paying as much as $65 a ton for road salt. Price increases over last year are as high as 57 percent in Indiana and 46 percent in Michigan, USA Today reported this week. Officials fear a second straight severe winter will strain supplies, which will create more shortages and price hikes. Not all weather forecasters agree that the winter of 2014-15 will be as bad as its predecessor, but it won't take much for road salt to reach historic price levels. As Thanksgiving turkeys were still in supermarket freezers awaiting a thaw, seasoning and roasting, Oklahoma has already had its first taste of winter precipitation and bitter cold.

The primary failures

Marcia Robinson Lowry, whose nonprofit group sued the Oklahoma Department of Human Services over foster care services, said recently that even after being sued and agreeing to address the problems, "Oklahoma continues to fail its most vulnerable children." This is standard rhetoric from Lowry, whose group has sued several states over the same issue. It's undeniable that DHS hasn't met the targets agreed upon as part of the lawsuit settlement, despite additional funding from the Legislature. Case workers still have too-large caseloads, DHS has a large backload of child welfare investigations, and it hasn't recruited enough foster families. The agency must do better. But this situation isn't happening in a vacuum. At the core it is Oklahomans themselves who are failing their children through abuse and neglect, producing a foster care system that is continuously overwhelmed.

Check those batteries

The recent cold snap and a spate of deadly residence fires offer a reminder to take safety precautions as winter settles in. An infant girl died Wednesday in an early morning apartment fire in Guthrie. The same day, a man died in a house fire in Ada, where on Tuesday a house fire claimed another life. Guthrie fire officials said it appeared smoke alarms were working in the Guthrie blaze, but the apartments didn't have sprinklers. In Ada, one of the fires was started by an electrical short in an extension cord. Sam Schafnitt, chief of operations for the state fire marshal's office, said the cold weather increases the likelihood of heating-related fires. "Be extra cautious with any heating appliance," he said. We'll add another suggestion: Check the batteries in your smoke alarm. And if you don't have a smoke alarm, get one.

A dose of perspective

State Rep. Jason Nelson, R-Oklahoma City, was engaged in a tough re-election campaign when, three weeks before the Nov. 4 election, the race became essentially meaningless. That day, Nelson's 8-year-old daughter, Grace, was diagnosed with a rare type of kidney cancer. A visit to the doctor for stomach pains wound up being an advanced stage Wilms' tumor. Grace has been undergoing chemotherapy and returns to the doctor Monday to see if the tumor has shrunk enough to be removed. She accompanied her dad to the Capitol this week for his swearing-in -- Nelson wound up winning with 53 percent of the vote. After what his daughter has gone through, Nelson said, "You just realize how fragile life can be and how much you don't have control over what happens. For me personally, I'm relying on prayer like never before." We join the many who are hoping for only good news for the Nelson family Monday and in the months ahead.

Casino hype

It's been 10 years since voters approved casino gambling in Oklahoma. The American Indian tribes who were the main beneficiaries of that decision understandably celebrate passage of State Question 712 in 2004. Even so, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker seems to have gotten a little carried away. In comments quoted by the Tulsa World, Baker said, "The tribes have become the economic engines of the state that are moving things forward. Had this not passed, the state of Oklahoma I'm not sure would have come out of the recession." There's no doubt that casino gambling has exploded in Oklahoma in the past decade, creating thousands of jobs. Even so, it's a huge stretch to say casinos saved the state from prolonged recession. Most economic analyses we've seen identify Oklahoma's oil-and-gas industry as a major economic mover in recent years, while casinos go largely unmentioned.

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