If you’re looking for a certain article I wrote in a past issue of “This & That” you might find it faster by doing a “search” with your browser. With Netscape just click your mouse at the top at EDIT and then FIND and type in the word or words you’re looking for. Since I don’t use Internet Explorer, I’m not sure exactly how you do a search there, but I’m sure you can.
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From: Butch Bridges ~
Saturday, March 15
Today is the Ides of March. Suppose to be bad luck, so I probably shouldn’t send any email today. But oh well, if it wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have any luck at all, so here goes,
1997 POLICE GUIDE AWARD
The Sheriffs home paqe received the 1997 Police Guide “Award for Excellence” the other day. I’m still not real sure exactly what that is, but we’re still proud to receive it. You can visit the Police Guide Home Page at http://www.Policeguide.com and find out for yourself. We are displaying their icon at the bottom of the Sheriffs home paqe.
EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT FINGERPRINTS
About midways down the Sheriffs Home Page you will find a link to Pontotoc County DA Investigator Wes Edens’ Page on FA~Qs on fingerprinting. Among other things, Wes is an expert in the field of fingerprinting, and his Fingerprint Page and the info on it is greatly appreciated, especially by law enforcement.
LINK TO SCAM CONSUMER SCAM ALERTS
On the sheriff s home Page you can find a link to a San Fransisco Home Page that exposes all the scams being pulled by scam artists on people across the country. Very informative.
CRYSTAL GAYLE DITTMEYER MISSING NINE MONTHS
Beautiful little twelve Year old Crystal Gayle Dittmever disappeared from her mother’s apartment in Oklahoma City June 13, 1996 and has never been seen since. We have Posted her photo on the Sheriffs Home Page in hopes of helping find this Oklahoman.
MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN PROFILED
On the Sheriff’s Home Page you will find a photo, which is changed every ten minutes, of a missing child. These children are from all over the United States. The photos are linked to the National Association for Missing and Exploited Children Home Page.
CITIZEN’S GUIDE TO LEGAL RESOURCES
On the Carter County Government Home Page there is now a link to a comprehensive quide to legal resources available on the Internet. Very impressive and a great help to people who get lost trying to find something in that qreat big huqe.gov domain.
COURT CLERKS COMPUTER SYSTEM UP AND RUNNING
After a bumpy start with Windows 95 not liking the *print* commands it received from a DOS base program, the new computerized court clerk system is flying high. Karen Volino and all her deputies are now finding out how powerful this program is. Just one example is the daily receipts accounting feature. They can print a report on all receipts taken in that day, compare the report to the actual monies to to make sure they balance, sign the report, and turn it along with the monies to the Treasurees Office. Takes only a very few minutes, compared to over an hour the old way. There are many more powerful features such as printing Court Dockets, listing cases assigned to an Assistant DA, or listing all the cases filed by an individual officer, etc. I will tell a little bit about the different features as time goes by.
DA’S OFFICE SOON TO BE ONLINE
I have been pulling computer cables all over the courthouse, it seems, getting ready to tie the 15 computers at the DA’s office into the Court Clerk’s Program and Fileserver. All the ladies at the DA’s office is anxious to be online, since most of the info the court clerk’s database contains, is needed on a daily basis by them too. They will have READ ONLY rights to the database since “lookups” are all they want.
AMISH HORSE AND BUGGY
I was north of Wapanucka, Oklahoma the other day, and took a great photo of a horse and buggy at an Amish settlement. Their buggies are all enclosed. You can find the pic on my home page under “Sites in Southern Oklahoma”.
DEVIL’S DEN PICTURES
Devil’s Den, north of Tishomingo, has been closed down since 1980. 1 remember going there as a child to picnic and swim. Leroy McDaniel let me borrow several pics he took in 1950 of Devil’s Den and I have placed them on my Home Page under “Glimpse into the Past”.
1943 COTTON GIN FIRE
Leroy McDaniel, when 16 years old, took some pictures of the big cotton gin fire that took place in the 300 block of South Washington here in Ardmore. I have those pics also on my home page under “Glimpse into the Past”. Leroy said the fire was so hot, it blistered his face while he was taking the pictures.
HALE-BOPP COMET
Hope everyone has seen the beautiful Hale-Bopp Comet in the eastern sky. It is the brightest comet since the 1500s and well worth setting your alarm clock at 5:30am to get a glimpse of.
That’s about it for now, talk to everyone next weekend, until then take care and be nice to yourself and others.
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From Butch Bridges
Saturday, March 22, 1997
Another week flys by. Lots of things to tell everyone. I hope everyone finds something of interest –
HORNS RUNNING AROUND WITHOUT THEIR HEADS
On or about March 10, 1997 Some Moose horns and Carribou horns were stolen from the Strader ranch NW of Lone Grove, Oklahoma. If you see any of these type horns that are unattached, they may belong to the Straders. They are offering a $1,000 reward. Here a person could make some bucks and doe too.
COURTHOUSE DOME TAKES ON A NEW LOOK
The last couple of weeks maintenance workers cleaned and then painted the Carter County courthouse dome. It is a kinda of “off white” color which looks pretty nice. The dome was originally copper, but through the years many of the square plates have had to be replaced with tin plates. Painting the dome was about the only recourse to making it look nice.
HERMAN IS ON GUARD ON TOP
There is a new resident on top of the courthouse dome. He is Herman, a plastic owl. An experiment has been underway to see if Herman will help keep some of those blasted pigeons scared away. So far, he has done a fairly good job. Plus other measures are in the mill to keep those pesky pigeons at bay. LATE NOTE: Herman was not a very good scarecrow. He retired in about 30 days.
OLD “STAMPS” OF MANNSVILLE, OKLAHOMA
Jimmie McDaniel allowed me to scan some kind of old “stamps” that supposedly date back before. 1907. Each “stamp”is a different scene of Mannsville, Oklahoma back in it’s heyday. I have the “stamps” on my Home Page under “Glimpse into the Past”. If anyone knows just what kind of “stamp ” these are, please let us know.
DEVIL’S DEN REVISITED
I have been able to obtain picture Number 4 of Devil’s Den north of Tishomingo, Oklahoma. It is an even better glimpse of this now closed-down swimming and picnic resort. You will find it on my Home Page under “Sites in Southern Oklahoma”.
RINGEL, TINGEL, COINS WITH THEY JINGLE A friend gave me a couple of “house token” he won from the gambling casinos out in Las Vegas the other day. Very beautiful. I wish I had a tub full. My friend said he won over $300 worth. Of course, he didn’t tell me how much he lost Pictures of the gold and silver coins can be found on my Home Page.
MEMORIAL HOSPITAL “COASTER”
Years ago a friend gave me a “coaster” that was produced by Memorial Hospital of Southern Oklahoma as a tribute to the 6 employees who were still employed by Memorial Hospital twenty years after their first opening the doors in 1955. All were personal friends of mine, some have since passed away. The”coaster” is truly a masterpiece.. You can see it on my Home Page under “G!impse into the Past”.
SWINGING BRIDGE OF TISHOMINGO
I have a photo under “Giimpse into the Past” of the old swinging bridge that used to be in downtown Tishomingo, Oklahoma. I remember back in the early 70’s going over that bridge and making it “rock” with my car. Young and foolish….. what can I can say? Anyway, take a look at this bridge of the past.
COUNTY NETWORK GROWING
The Carter County Court Clerks Novell network is running smoothly, and all her Deputies are busy, daily entering the court’s records. All of 1997’s records are entered into the database. I have been busy the past week hooking up the DA’s Office to the network. So far, I have about half of his employees online. I have installed a 16 Port Hub in the DA’s Office and an 8 Port Hub off that in the Annex Building located next door to the courthouse. The 8 port Hub will eventually tie computers in that building to the network. Steps are being taken, so hopefully soon, City Hall and the Sheriffs Office computers will be able to access the county’s Novell network. But it is all taking time, and I’m learning Novell as I go. By the way, Does anyone know somebody well versed in operating a Novell network? I sure could use a little help with some of the Novell networking areas I’m having problems with. Any help would be appreciated. Just let me hear from you. Please??????
That’s about it for now….. see everyone next weekend…. Take care.
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From: Butch Bridges
Saturday, March 29, 1997
A week flys by. So much happens in one week. This week was no different, so here goes……
HOUSE IN DOME PAINTED
Carter county maintenance employees painted the little wooden house in the dome of the courthouse brown last week. The wooden house was built around the clock in 1928 to keep the elements, dirt, and pigeon poo poo off the delicate clock works. Also a fresh layer of aluminum paint was put on the spiral stairways leading up to the clock and dome. Nice.
COURTROOM RECEIVES PAINTING
Judge Walker’s courtroom was painted last week by maintenance a very appealing pastel blue. Also some other court rooms received some paint. Sure spruced up the third floor.
DA’S COMPUTERS ON THE NETWORK
I have placed nearly all the DA’s 15 computers on the Novel network. The employees are really happy. Saves them calling the court clerk humpteen times a day checking on cases. Plus I setup each workstation with access to the county’s 1,900 outstanding warrants. Yesterday I gave the DA employees access to the 400,000 felon records the DOC maintains. They already had the database, but just on this one standalone computer. Sure makes it easier for all the girls to look up the felony records right from their workstation.
COURTCLERKS COMPUTER RUNNING
All the court clerks new Novell network computers are operating like they should be. All the girls are working everyday entering the court’s records and the database is already quite impressive. This was really a giant step forward for out county courthouse. And let’s don’t forget that without Judge Walker and his efforts, none of the computers would be a reality today.
CEMETERIES IN CARTER COUNTY
I have placed a Page off the Carter County Gov Home Page listing all the cemeteries in the county. Fifty of them. So, genealogy buffs enjoy!
HALE-BOPP A BEAUTIFUL SITE
I hope everyone has gotten a glimpse of the Hale-Bopp comet in the northern sky. Truly beautiful. I told everyone in my “This & That” e-mail about two weeks ago, the fruitcakes would be “coming out of the woodwork” with the coming comet. After leaming about the 39 fruitcakes that was an understatement.
AM I MISSING SOMETHING
The other day a friend gave me a small Sharper Image shortwave radio with two stereo “ear buds” (guess earplugs are old fashioned now). Anyway, the ear plugs were marked for “L”eft and “R”ight ears??????
DALLAS SIDEWALK SALE
Don’t forget next next Saturday, April 5th, is the humongus Computer Sidewalk Sale in downtown Dallas. Got to get there around 6:30am to find the bargins. Takes 3 hours just to see it all. It’s off Ross Street just east of the Catholic Church in downtown Dallas. The sale is held the first Saturday of each month.
Got to close for now…. Got to be at the “computer sale” at the Holiday Inn here in Ardmore at 10am. Some company comes in here every few months with their computers and stuff, guess I’ll go check it out.
Talk to you all next Saturday…
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From: Butch Bridges
Saturday, April 5, 1997
This week as been fast and furious, Rush, Rush, Rush. I hope your week as been slower paced then mine. All the rain we’ve had the last couple of days should bring May flowers. I’ve not a whole lot to pass along this week, but a few things…..
COURTHOUSE EXTERIOR TO RECEIVE A CLEANING
Carter County Commissioners approved last Monday to hire a company headquartered in Iowa to clean the outside of the courthouse. They will start immediately and repair some cracks in the granite, sandblast where needed, and powerwash from top to bottom. With one of the most beautiful courthouses in Oklahoma, I for one, want to preserve it for future generations to see. It’s been over 20 years since it was last given a face lift.
DETENTION CENTER TO RECEIVE NEW COMPUTERS
In a few days Security TeleCom of Grand Prairie, Texas will install three computers at the sheriffs office. The company’s comprehensive Jail Management Program and Photo Imaging System is used by 120 agencies in 22 states. Once these three computers are in place, then in July, seven more will be added to the system. It is all run on a Novell network, making it compatible with the courthouse network. VIA a cable, soon the two networks should be tied together.
COURTCLERK’S SYSTEM CONTINUES TO GROW
The Carter County Courtclerk’s Network is growing, computer by computer. I just added a couple more of computers in the DAs office to the network bringing the total to 19. I hope to finish adding another 6 computers to the network in a few days. I predict in the not too far distant future our courthouse network will be tied to Oklahoma City and other courthouses across the state via leased lines. I can even see the day when the general public will access the courthouse records from their personal computers through a bank of modems. It’s going to happen, Patience.
Well, I will close for now, must go to the courthouse and change out an old computer with a 166 Pentium motherboard with 16 megs of RAM. That should prove interesting. Never goes like the book says. Until next Saturday, take care of yourself and remember a smile is contagious.
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From: Butch Bridges
Saturday, April 12, 1997
Times flies by when you’re having fun. This week has been no different. Yesterday I knew it was time for a break after trying to pay someone elses water bill. I received a water bill in my PO Box, assuming it was mine, I went over to City Hall to pay it. The lady looked at it, looked at me, and then said, “This is not your water bill.” It belong to a man on South Commerce Box 2 and not P.O. Box 2. Anyway, now all my friends want to have their water bills sent incare of my PO Box!
NOW REACHING 50-PLUS BY ELECTRONIC MAIL
I just wanted to say thanks to those of you who have emailed me and said how much they appreciate my This & That each week. I received email from a former Ardmoreite, who lives in Saudia Arabia. Her husband is stationed there in the oil industry. She said my This & That keeps her informed on some of the things going on in Ardmore. She used to work at the courthouse. Also I received email from a former Ardmoreite who works for the New York Times. He is now on the mailing list. One man told me he printed 9 copies of This & That and snail mailed them to 9 of his friends and relatives! If you know anyone who might like to receive my Saturday mailings, let me know.
SOCIAL SECURITY TAKES DOWN EARNINGS INFO FROM WEB
After much heated controversy and complaints, the Social Security Administration took off their website, the ability for individuals to retrieve their earnings records. The public was concerned about others being able to retrieve confidential records. Probably for the best, since the World Wide Web seems so “insecure”. The SSA is planning to hold meetings across the country for citizen’s input.
FALL BACK, REGROUP AND CHARGE AGAIN
Last week KellPro of Duncan, who made the Court Clerk Program, called on the modem and uploaded some updated files to the court clerk’s server. After they were through, none of the DAs 10 workstations could access the Fileserver. But after two days of hard work, the KellPro techs finally figured out what was wrong, fixed it, and everyone is back online. I must give credit to Matthew, Tomas, Richard and the other KellPro techs for getting the problem fixed without delay.
SMELL OF SUCCESS
We now have 22 workstations on the Court Clerks Novell System. The last workstation I added was to me the most challenging. We ran a cable from the second floor of the courthouse at the DAs hub, down the chase, across the first fllor, and then down another chase into the basement. From there, through an underground tunnel and into the Annex building next door to another 8 port hub. Another cable from that hub, ran upstairs to the District Attorney’s DA Investigators Office and tied their computer to the network. The first cable was almost 300 feet and the other cable was going up to the Investigators office, another 100 feet. I held my breath when I loaded the Novell software, and turned it on for the first time. But hey, it worked! I love it when a plan comes together!
PHOTO IMAGING SYSTEM ON MAY 12TH
The Carter County Sheriffs Office is scheduled to receive their Jail Management and Photo Imaging System on May 12th. Security TeleCom of Grand Prairie, TX has set that date to install the Photo Capture Station, and two workstations, connected to a Novell Fileserver. Needless to say, the Sheriffs employees are all anxious to ge it up and running. In July another 7 workstations are secheduled to be installed. We look forward to the day when the courthouse network and the sheriff’s network can be tied together. Both networks are Novell.
PLEASURES OF A NETWORK
The DA’s secretaries are all learning how nice being tied to a network can be. They use WordPerfect constantly, all day long. I showed them how a Drive G: has been setup just for their office use. They save a document on Drive G: and any of the other workstations at the DAs office can access that document. Sure beats carrying a diskette from one workstation to another. And to put the icing on the cake, they’ve learned that Drive S: can be acessed by ANY workstation on the system. They also have a Drive F: which is each one’s own private drive. only available to that particular individual. Documents they save on their Drive F: are backed up every night at midnight to tape. Nice peace of mind.
Anyway, so much for all this technical stuff on networking. I sure hope everyone has a good weekend, enjoys life, and does something good for someone. Be nice to yourself and to others, it pays dividends. Until next Saturday….
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From: Butch Bridges
Saturday, April 19, 1997
I hope everyone has had a good week, and is enjoying the weekend. I know I sure am going to rest a little, way to much happening the past few days. We’ve added several new names to the mailing list. The little This & That is getting quite popular it seems. Anyway, I have a few things to pass along to everyone –
TROJAN HORSE IS LOSE
The DOE and it’s CIAC division released a bulletin Apr 16 telling about the AOL4FREE.COM file being sent round. This is NOT the email type hoax that goes around from time to time. But it is an executable file which, if Run, will delete file on your hard drive. If you get it as an email attachment, do not double click it. Tis will Run the program and destroy files on your hard drive. If you receive a file AOL4FREE.COM be sure and delete it.
PS/2 REFERENCE DISKETTES
Anyone who has bought a used IBM PS/2 computer but did not get the Reference Diskette with it, knows how frustrating it can be to find this most important diskette. Or maybe you just lost yours, or even worse the Reference Diskette went South. Anyway, without it, you can change any hardware, change CMOS settings, or even set the time and date, etc. I have found a place on the Net where you can download the IBM PS/2 Reference Diskette for ALL MODELS. Plus they have a lot more helpful info on the PS/2 machines. You can find it all http://gtweb.net
A LAW ENFORCEMENT WEBSITE THAT HAS IT ALL
CopNet is run by John Evans. This web page has links to everything that is law enforcement related. Links to world-wide police associations, PDs, Sheriffs, K-9 info, Rescue, Firearms, Training, Most Wanted, Traffic, High Tech Crime, and more. Visit at http://www.cop.net
COPS SHOW ON THE NET
Course if you want to see (and hear) something awsome, just vist the Saturday night COPS TV SHOW which has a website. Takes about two minutes to load, so be patient. Visit COPS at http://www.tvcops.com Cops is suppose to start spotlighting a different law enforcement wetsite at the beginning of their TV show soon. I’ll keep you posted.
DURANT, OKLAHOMA FRIEND
A while back, a friend of mine n Durant gave me an old dot matrix printer. I have found a good use for it the past week. The Carter County Court Clerk was in need of a printer for just printing labels. The labels are placed on the outside of the Traffic Summons folders. The old, slow, but still good printer works great for labels!
DRIVE D: DRIVE F: DRIVE G: DRIVE S:
Boy all these different drives on the courthouse network could confuse anyone. But the ladies at the DAs office sure has it down to a fine art. They are sharing files with each other using the different Drives, and no longer have to carry diskettes around the office. Deanna, Robin, Patti, Leah, and Pam are finding out first-hand the convenience of being on a Novell Network.
I’ll close for now, remember to smile and make the world wonder what you been doing……. take care until next week……..
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From: Butch Bridges
Saturday, April 26, 1997
Wet is the word here. Raining for two days and everything is soaked. But they say it should clear up Sunday, I hope. This week has been slower then previous weeks, thank goodness. I was needing a break. I have several things to pass along to everyone……
VIRUS FOUND ON SEVERAL COMPUTERS
I have been asked to take viruses off several computers here lately. So, everyone needs to remember, CHECK YOUR COMPUTER regularly for a virus, because it does happen. I have used nearly all the virus checkers. I have found F-PROT from Iceland to be one of the easiest to use. And it works perfectly, no hassles. You can get it off the Net, or just got to http://www.shareware.com and get it. Just SEARCH for F-PROT.
1003 FREE THINGS OFF THE NET
If you go to http://www.refdesk.com/free.html you can get links to 1,003 free things, just for the asking. A person can spend the evening just looking at all the freebie stuff.
FREE EMAIL IS NO MORE
Juno stopped allowing people to use their free 800 number to send and receive email. But it’s still a great deal, for those who don’t have Internet access, for whatever reason, to send email world-wide. You can download the latest Juno Email Program at http://www.juno.com and give to a friend, so you can stay in touch with them. Even if their call may be long distance to pick up their email, it’s just for a minute. So, it’s still cheap email.
ARDMORE’S TV STATION ON THE NET
Ardmore’s KXII tv station now has a website. You can visit at http://www.kxii.com Just remember it’s in the construction phase.
SHERIFF’S OFFICE TO COURTHOUSE CONNECTION
The wheels of progress turn slowly. But come May 12th, the Sheriffs Office should have their Novell three station network installed. The courthouse and it’s 24 workstations are running great! The courtclerks office and the DAs office plus the Judges, are all online. Now to get that cable run between the courthouse and the Sheriffs Office somehow. Maybe soon, I hope.
LOTS OF WINDOWS 95 STUFF
For those who run Windows 95, if you visit http://www.windows95.com you can find all kinds of help, tips, programs, etc., for the asking. Everything there is just for the Windows 95 platform.
OKIES DO HAVE REFINEMENT
Just so the world will not think we Okies are not learned in the fine arts and related topics, I have added a Page on my Home Page about Rembrandt’s painting, The Night Watch. I address a 1911 incident concerning the world famous painting, that seems to have become lost down through the years. You can find the Page at http://www.brightok.net/~bridges/rembrand.html under my “Mysteries, The Unexplainable, and Who Done It” link.
Guess I better close for now. Got to get to the courthouse. A high powered computer technician is coming in from another state to look at a program he developed. They are having some trouble with it. I’m just going to pick his brain, and hopefully learn something 🙂
Until next Saturday, everyone take care, and be kind to yourself and others.
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From: Butch Bridges
This will be my third time today to try and send email to all of you. The other two times it said “error……notify your server” or something like that. So here goes again at 4:15pm…….
Saturday, May 3, 1997
This week has been a long one for me. Monday was so crazy, I bet I received 20 Pages. But I knew by Friday afternoon, that I needed a rest. I was calling tech support to this company on the phone. Of course their computer answered and stated to “press this” and “press that”. When “she” said “Press 1 for Model TS300” I pressed the nbr 1 on my keyboard! Duh! Anyway, I got lots to pass along, so here we go….
PROTECTIVE ORDERS WITH A PUNCH
Starting Sunday, May 4, 1997 the long arm of the law will get a little longer. That’s when Protective Orders issued by Judges can be entered in the national police computers called NCIC. When a Judge issues a Protective Order, he can specify it be entered in NCIC as a Temporary Protective Order (45 days or less) or a Permanent Protective Order, meaning it is never removed from the NCIC computer. The database is accessible by law enforcement agencies nationwide. Abusive spouses, stalkers, etc., may go straight to jail a lot faster, even if the incident happens at 2am in another state. You can find more info on the Sheriffs Home page at http://www.brightok.net/chickasaw/ardmore/county/sheriff.html
INSCRIPTIONS ABOVE THE COURTHOUSE DOORS
In 1910 when the Carter County courthouse was built, there were inscriptions sand blasted into the granite above the entrance ways. You can read about these sayings uttered by emperors, writers, philosophers, poets, etc., by visiting http://www.brightok.net/chickasaw/ardmore/county/inscribe.html
OLETS NOW ISTALLED AT SHERIFFS OFFICE
The state OLETS police computer is now installed and being used by the Sheriffs Office here in Ardmore. It allows them to run tags, drivers licences, criminal histories, warrants, the new protective orders, and much more. Just one day after the computer was up and running, the court sent over 4 warrants. The day shift operator, Jennifer Tyler, entered the warrants and sent special notices to three towns within this county that had OLETS/NCIC terminals. Within one hour, one of the females being wanted on a warrant was arrested by the Wilson, Oklahoma police chief. This new technology proved immediately it can help keep the bad guys off the streets in this county.
COURT CLERK PRINTING BENCH WARRANTS
The Carter County Court Clerk is using their new program to the fullest. They really like the ease of letting the computer print the Bench Warrants, instead of doing it on the typewriter as they used to. And effective May 1st, they only enter Cases on computer and do not enter them by hand in the “red books” as it has been done since 1907. It is really a new era for Carter County and a giant step forward. And much more is in the planning, and we will be talking about it in the weeks and months ahead.
I’ve got a couple of dozen photos scanned for those “Glimpse Into the Past” and will try and get them online soon. Until next Saturday, be sure and smile and make the world wonder what you been doing 🙂
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From: [email protected] (Butch Bridges)
Saturday, May 10, 1997
I am using a new program called Autosponder to send this email to everyone. There are about 90 of you on my email list. I hope this Autosponder does what they claim. The main advantage of Autosponder is you will not see all those “CC” and list of names a mile long.
COMPUTERS AND LIGHTENING DO NOT MIX
A couple of years ago, a friend of mine’s house was struck by lightening. He had unplugged his computer, but it was still damaged. How? He did not unplug the telephone cord going to the modem. He spent over a thousand dollars repairing it, part by part. With the stormy season here, it would be wise to disconnect your computer during any lightening storm. Plus make sure you have a surge protector for the computer AND the modem phone line.
CHEROKEE INDIAN WEBSITE
I have found through a friend, a website with an enormous about of info on the Cherokee Indian including genealogy information, newspapers and newsletters, links to other sites and much more. You can visit it at – http://www.phoenix.net/~martikw
“I have Indian blood in me. I have just enough white man blood in me for you to doubt my honesty.” – Will Rogers
COMPUTERS ARE STACKED UP AND WAITING
The Carter County Sheriffs Office has received about 10 computer systems, and they are waiting for installation next week. On May 12th the Dallas company will be at the S.O. to install the new Novell Network and Jail Management Program and Imaging Program. Needless to say, everyone is very anxious to get it all up and running.
When the new network is running smoothly, the next step will be to connect the Sheriffs Office’s network to the courthouse network. It will only take a cable, and hopefully, soon, that cable will be installed.
COURT CLERK IS NOW ALL ELECTRONIC
As of May 1, the Carter County Court Clerk is now entering all the Cases on computer and no longer in the “red books”. They have been printing Bench Warrants, printing labels for the Traffic folders, receipts for individuals, and much, much more. And the reports they are now capable of printing in a few minutes is awesome. To preserve the integrity of the data, it is backed up each night at midnight, each night to a different tape. Soon we will have the Fileserver configured to backup also to another soon-to-be-added Fileserver. This will keep our data protected for generations to come.
MORE WORKSTATIONS BEING CONSIDERED
We are looking at adding several more workstations in the weeks ahead at the courthouse so other departments and officials can access the court clerk’s information base. Several have contacted me the past few days, so the courthouse novell network continues to grow. More on this later.
COURTROOMS RECEIVE A LITTLE REDECORATING
The courtrooms have received some fresh paint the past few weeks. They look very nice and makes the atmosphere refreshing. You can see some of our maintenance man’s handiwork by click on the jpg file below. http://www.brightok.net/chickasaw/ardmore/county/walkerrm.jpg
I will close for now, and hope everyone is in good health and enjoying the weekend. Be sure and do something nice for someone you love, you will help them and yourself. See you all next Saturday.
Butch Bridges, Ardmore, OK http://www.brightok.net/chickasaw/ardmore/county
P.S. Since I am using Autosponder to send this message to over 90 people, let me know if you do not receive it in good condition or anything crazy about the format.
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From: [email protected] (Butch Bridges)
Saturday, May 17, 1997
The last three days I have been in Dallas attending a Novell workshop hosted by Security Telecom (the company that installed the new computers at the Sheriffs Office). There was so much to learn, I hope I retain everything our instructor, Dave McEvilly taught us. Guess the real test will come when I try to customize the configuration of the 9 new computers at the Sheriffs Office. Anyway, since I’m still in the recovery phase of 3 fantastic days in Big D, this may be a short newsletter.
A GLIMPSE INTO THE PAST
In 1930 a man had been missing for days in Madill, Oklahoma. There was no clue to his whereabouts. Relatives and friends in Madill contacted a mystic in Ada, Oklahoma for help. The mystic told where the body could be found. They went to a ravine near a school S.W. of Madill, and there they found the body, shot in the head. Authorities arrested two Madill men in connection with the shooting and placed them in the Carter County jail in Ardmore. Recently I have seen on TV shows about law enforcement seeking help from mystics. Though many people may think this is some kind of new tool for law enforcment, after reading the Madill, Oklahoma incident, it does not seem to me to be something that new. You can read the 1930 happening in its entirity by going to: http://www.brightok.net/chickasaw/ardmore/county/mystic.html
LISTSERVER FOR OKLAHOMA COUNTY GOVERNMENT
I am in the final stages of setting up a Listserver for county government. AutoSponder, when I have it configured correctly, will take an email, scan it for a certain word i.e. “listserver”, and then resend that message to all 100 people on my mailing list. Example: Ron Smith sends email to my email address and wants the message passed along to everyone on the list. He puts in the body of the message the word “listserver”. AutoSponder, when seeing that word, will automatically resend Ron’s message to everyone listed in the ASCII file in AutoSponder. Right now there are 100 people listed. I believe in time, as county government’s email capabilities grow, this neat “automatic” emailing will become more and more valuable. Hopefully in a few more days I can let everyone know this feature of AutoSponder is ready to use.
SHERIFFS OFFICE NOW HAS 9 NEW COMPUTERS Security Telecom of Dallas was at the Sheriffs Office here in Ardmore on Wednesday, May 14th to install a Novell fileserver and 9 workstations. The computers will be running Security Telecom’s Jail Management System plus some other programs we use on a day to day basis. Over the next few weeks the employees will be learning all the neat features the program will do, so everyone is excited. I will be talking about some of the features in the weeks to come.
DA NOW HAS A FILESERVER
The DA here in Ardmore now has a new Novell fileserver. This will make two fileservers in the courthouse, so the two fileservers can compliment each other. For example, each night data will be backed up from one file- server to the other. This will be just one more safety net we have built in to the courthouse computer system. Plus soon the DA will have a program made by the District Attorney’s Council installed on his file- server, which is designed to completely computerize his office. And when the cable connecting the courthouse and the sheriffs office is installed, well, all I can say is some great things are starting to be seen on the horizon. I will tell you more as time goes by.
Until next Saturday, take care, and enjoy these warm Spring days. And remember to smile, you never know, someone may smile back at you 🙂
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From: [email protected] (Butch Bridges)
Saturday, May 24, 1997
SHERIFF’S COMPUTERS UP AND RUNNING
The Sheriffs Office 9 Novell workstations are working great. The employees are getting familiar with the new Jail Management program and seeing first hand this new technology for law enforcement. The system is paid for from the revenue from the inmate phone system which Security Telecom of Dallas will be prviding July 1st. For a look at the company and services of Security Telecom, visit their website at: http://www.securitytelecom.com
FREE LAW ENFORCEMENT CD
The Backup Company will send out their monthly CD to law enforcement free of charge, just visit http://www.thebackup.com for more info.
OKLAHOMA COUNTY GOVERNMENT LISTSERVER ONLINE
I really need everyone’s help on getting the word out on this one. We now have a Listserver up and running dedicated to county government in Oklahoma. The Listserver will take a message posted by a member and resend that message automatically to everyone on the member list. We are looking for any one connected to county government in Oklahoma i.e county commissioner, county official, county employee, etc. and their email addresses. Help us find these people across Oklahoma, and we will let them know about the Oklahoma County Government Listserver. Just send us their email address and we’ll do the rest. We will probably be surpised just how many county government affiliated people across the state has email addresses. I found two yesterday by way of a friend in Atoka. So, let’s roll up our sleeves and find these potential Listserver members. Your help is greatly appreciated.
SOME GREAT SHAREWARE
You can find a very good assorment of shareware, such as games, screen savers, programs, etc., at http://www.galttech.com/a2z/shtml
SULPHUR, OKLAHOMA USERS GROUP MEETING
There is a group of computer users meeting each Wedneday in Sulphur, Oklahoma at 6:30pm. They meet at the Sulphur Public Library. Bill Uhles said the meetings have really been good and lots of fellowship for those attending. For info write Bill at [email protected]
ARDMORE, OKLAHOMA POLICE CHIEF TERMINATED
After weeks of high tention drama involving a fatality accident, an Ardmore police detective, a FOP vote of no confidence, and charges and counter charges, Ardmore Police Chief Snelson has been terminated by the City of Ardmore. For a complete overview of everything that transpired from day one, visit The Daily Ardmoreite Website at http://www.ardmoreite.com
So much for this week in review, I hope everyone enjoys this long Memorial Day weekend, takes advantage of the warm weather. Don’t forget to take a few minutes on Monday to remember those who gave their lives in past wars so we can enjoy our freedom. Stay safe, and I’ll see you all next Saturday.
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From: [email protected] (Butch Bridges)
Saturday, May 31, 1997
This week’s mailing is a little unusual. Normally we mail out to just a little over 100 people, but we’ve added another 120 email addresses. They are the OSU Extension Centers/Agents all across Oklahoma. We are contacting them in hopes they can assist us in finding other county employees in Oklahoma with email addresses. We are looking for some good things for the new Listserver in the months ahead. Nearly four fast growth months of This & That have now pasted. Not a week goes by that we don’t receive email from someone who wants to be added to the mailing list. Not to mention the great comments on the history files, the photos, the links, and Carter county website. But we know with the help and support of all you, This & That would not be a success. So much for the intro, now on with the news…..
THE CARTER COUNTY LOOKING GLASS
I have added a new page to the Carter County Government Home Page. The Looking Glass Page has some memories of the past. Presently you will find info on the WPA and it’s role in creating jobs across the U.S.A. back in the 1930s. An interesting program was the Packhorse Library Program in Kentucky. Plus you’ll find other photos of buildings and sidewalks which were built in the 30’s by the WPA work programs. Visit The Looking Glass at http://www.brightok.net/chickasaw/ardmore/county/thelook.html off the Carter County Government Website. Look for more memories from the past on The Looking Glass Page in the months ahead.
OKLAHOMA COUNTY GOVERNMENT LISTSERVER OPERATIONAL
The Listserver dedicated to serving Oklahoma county government is up and running great! If you are interested in being a member of this new Listserver, just drop us a line and we will send you info. Also help us find county employees and associates across Oklahoma with email addresses who might be interested in the Listserver. A Listserver takes an email sent in by a member, and re-sends that email automatically to all the other members. Anyone who has interest in county government is welcome to be a member of the the Listserver. Let us hear from you.
SOME GREAT SENIC PHOTOS ADDED
Thanks to some help from Larry and Debbie Boston, former Tishomingo, Oklahoma residents, we have been able to add some really nice photos of Tishomingo area sites. There is the Slippery Falls Boy Scout Ranch, a magnificent photo of the huge boulder rocks around Tishomingo, and also another great photo of Turner Falls in the Arbuckle Mts. To see these beautiful pictures just go to http://www.brightok.net/~bridges and look under “….sites in southern Oklahoma…..”.
SOME GREAT SHAREWARE
Last week I had a typo in galttech’s shareware home page, it should be http://www.galttech.com/a2z.shtml Also there is a lot of nice shareware at Softseek’s Home page at http://www.softseek.com
I hope this past week as been a good one for you, and remember to be kind to yourself and to others. It pays dividends. Stay safe, and I’ll see you all next Saturday.
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From: [email protected] (Butch Bridges)
Saturday, June 7, 1997
Hope everyone had a good week. I am trying to type this “newsletter” but I type and sneeze, type and sneeze, type and sneeze. So if you see a, typo you know it was from a sneeze. This is not like me, what’s in the air? Where’s the EPA when you need them? Oh that’s right, this is Saturday, and they’re off. Oh well, such is life.
Seems like there is never enough time. I bought a new, in the box, 800mg Ditto external tape backup from Wally World days ago for $60 (one of those can’t refuse, close-out deals) and still haven’t had time to try it. If anyone has any TR-1 (traven) tapes they don’t need, let me know. I could use several.
LIGHTS, ACTION, CAMERA
I have been really busy the past couple weeks, learning all about cameras and video teleconferencing. A friend and I have been doing some experimenting, and it looks promising. So, I took the plunge, and went and bought a color camera that plugs into the parallel port and keyboard. As soon as I learn more what I’m doing, I’ll pass it along. Does anyone out there have a camera attached to their computer? By the way, if you can spell parallel with hesitation, you can be my proof reader.
GLIMPSE INTO THE PAST
A friend sent me a picture of Ten Acre Rock north of Ravia, Oklahoma. It is said all the granite used in the Oklahoma state capitol came from that granite quarry. Ten Acre Rock is on private property, but I’ve heard people can still go there for a look-see. You can see Ten Acre Rock at http://www.brightok.net/~bridges/glimpse.html
I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT REMIND
Ever forget an important date? Fear no more. The Reminder Website will keep you out of the dog house. They will even send you email automatically so you don’t forget. It’s all free too. Learn all about this electronic remind service at http://www.getreminded.com
ONE MAN’S TRASH, ANOTHER MAN’S TREASURE
I’m always looking for computer bargains. Our hospital here had a parking lot sale the other day. I found a really nice IBM VGA color monitor for $5 bucks! Works great. I was told yesterday the Veteran’s Center here in Ardmore has completed replaced their computer system. They are having an auction Sat June 14th and hopefully some of their old computers and the like will be available. I say hopefully because BEFORE the auction, qualifing state agencies gets first pick. What’s left will be auctioned off that Saturday along with gobs of other stuff. Might be worth checking out. I believe the auction starts at 10am.
THE LOOKING GLASS
In 1936 the first radio station in Ardmore went on the air. It was KVSO 1240 am on the dial. A friend of mine happened to be the man who helped install all the radio equipment that summer of ’36. He let me scan a photo of the broadcast room and all the equipment he had taken. You can get a glimpse of this rare photo on the Carter County Government Website under The Looking Glass.
Speaking of bargains, I learned the other day from a friend, if you have a Hastings nearby, and qualify as a student, you can have them order the Academic version of many programs at a bargain price. I know you can get WordPerfect 8 for $37 which is the lastest version out. They do have to order the academic versions, it takes couple of weeks before you can pick up the software. Something else work cheking out.
I’ll close for now, got to fix me another cup of hot tea, and hit the back yard with the mower. The city will condemn my property if I don’t do something about the high grass. But I hate to mow about as much asI can think of. Much rather be on the computer.
So, everyone be careful, and smile once in a while…. it’s good for enviorment, and I’ll see you all next week.
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From: [email protected] (Butch Bridges)
Saturday, June 14, 1997
I hope your neck of the woods has been cooler then here in Ardmore. The humidity and heat has been HIGH. Plus last Monday evening, we had lightening and rain like I’ve not seen in a long time. For about 30 minutes, it seemed like the end of the world. But we all made it through the torrential downpour and high winds with no deaths. I do have several things to pass along to everyone, so here we go…..
CASA IS ON THE INTERNET AND HAS EMAIL
CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) on the 4th floor of the courthouse is now surfing the World Wide Web. You can see their home page on the Carter County Government Website. Ann, Marie, and Marilyn and the other volunteers would love to hear from others across the country, who have similar duties, representing deprived children in the court system. Their email address is [email protected]
LINK TO OKLAHOMA STATE STATUES
We have added a link to a searchable database of the Oklahoma State Statues on the Carter County Government Home Page. This database let’s one enter a key word, and search for pertaining statues.
PEGASUS EMAIL FOR NOVELL AND THE INTERNET
We have some of the Novell workstations at the courthouse using a pretty neat little email program called Pegasus. Pegasus is freeware and was developed by a Novell user in Australia in 1989. The employees really enjoy being able to send email to others on the network. And the program even works on the internet, if you have an internet connection. The girls in the court clerks office are still without email though. I am having a problem with the Client 32 and Pegasus, or something. I’m still learning what Client 32 is, but soon, I’ll get it. Patience is a virtue.
ARDMORE THROUGH THE EYES OF A 15 YEAR OLD
I stumbled across Marvin Moss’ Home Page the other day. He has a lot of pictures from all around Ardmore, and well worth a look-see. Marvin attends Springer High School and is a computer genious to say the least. Visit Marvin’s home page at http://www.brightok.net/~mm
PC ACTING UP AND NEED HELP?
If you’re needing help with a troublesome computer problem or one of it’s components, you probably can find help at PCHelponline. They have names, addresses, phone numbers, email and web pages of probably every manufacturer of computers and computer components listed. Next time that hard drive or motherboard acts up, you might find the solution at http://www.pchelponline.com
TALK ABOUT NEEDING HELP
Three mornings ago, I turned on my computer and zilch. Nothing. It didn’t even boot up. I started checking things, thought the hard drive had quit, then I thought it was the video card playing a game with me, and after what seemed like agonizing hours, I found it. One, or both, of the SIMM memory cards was not seated in its socket good. After a push or two on the SIMM, it all came back on. Are you ready for a computer crash? Have you backed up your hard drive? Be ready, it will happen, and when you least expect it. BACKUP YOUR FILES AND PROGRAMS BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.
FLAG DAY ON THE COURTHOUSE LAWN
On Friday, June 13, at noon we celebrated Flag Day at the courthouse. We had lots of hotdogs, hamburgers, snow cones, and more. There was also live music and entertainment that everyone enjoyed. I took some great photos of all the fun, and will put it on our home page in a few days. Those who didn’t get to join in on all the festivities will still be able to see all the excitement they missed, and maybe make it next year.
I’ll close now, and hope everyone enjoys the weekend, and finds a cool place to stay in out of the heat. Drink plenty of liquids to avoid dehydration. Dehydration hits the young and old alike. I saw a lot of it when I was on the ambulance, and believe me, it can be serious. Learn the difference between heat exhaustion and heat stroke. It may save your life or someone you love. So, take care, and I’ll see you all next Saturday.
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From: [email protected] (Butch Bridges)
Saturday, June 21, 1997
Another week flies by. So hot and muggy here there is not that much going on it seems. So, this will be a short message. But I will say one of the most interesting this this week was gettting a tour of my friend’s truck tracking system using the GPS technology that’s out there for the private sector. More on the GPS in a second.
WORDPERFECT 8 MAY CONFLICT WITH EMAIL
The following is a message I got from a friend. It seems the newest version of WordPerfect conflicts with some email pickup.
“New WordPerfect Suite 8 and Microsoft Exchange are in conflict. Upon installing WordPerfect Suite8 you will loose your e-mail capability if you are using Microsoft Exchange with their MSN provider service ( or through Windows95 Exchange ). Solution is to delete exchange, then re-install it and replace the new version of the “mapi” file with the older version on your Windows95 set-up disk. I lost my mailing capability for about 10 days and went through 3 different Microsoft support dudes before we figured it out.”
KEEPING TRACK OF TRUCKS
I am amazed at the new technology that is out there. A friend of mine just installed satellite tracking dishes on their 40 or so trucks. He can sit at his office and see exactly were the trucks are any where in the United States. He typed in “Dallas” and “50 Miles Radius” and the program showed he had 3 trucks in Dallas. This is live time. He clicked “Map It” and it drew a map of Dallas and all the major streets, highways, and interstates. It showed on the map the location of those three trucks. It’s accurate to within 300 ft! This type of system, monitoring 40 tractor trailer rigs, costs about $25,000.
LIGHTS, CAMERA, BUT NOT MUCH ACTION
I finally received my colorcam and hooked it up to my computer. But there is no much to learn, adjust, and set, it will take days for me to figure it all out. But is seems promising. I’ll keep you posted as I learn how to work the camera on the internet.
INMATE BOOKING ALMOST READY
The new inmate booking system at the Carter County Sheriffs Office here in Ardmore is almost ready to go online. Over next ten days there will be plenty of in-house training for detention staff on all the features of the booking and photo imaging program by Security Telecom of Dallas. As the weeks go by, I will spotlight some of the new technology that comes with the inmate booking system.
TURNER FALLS STILL A GREAT PLACE TO GO
I was at Turner Falls the other day. The water falls, the rock climbing, nature, and people swimming, made for a great day. It costs $6 per person, but it is a fantastic place to spend the day and cool off in the clear, cold mountain stream called Honey Creek. Turner Falls is about 15 miles north of Ardmore in the heart of the Arbuckle Mountains. Here is a photo of Turner Falls http://www.brightok.net/~bridges/tfalls2.jpg
I hope this past week has gone well for everyone. Several of my friends have had sickness and medical problems. We should be thankful when are health is good, it means so much. Take care, stay safe, and I’ll see you all next Saturday.
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From: [email protected] (Butch Bridges)
Saturday, June 28, 1997 Vol 1 Issue 9
The past couple of days, I’ve been up to past the midnight hour getting my computer working like it should with the new color camera. I had to completely start from stratch, format my hard drive, and re-install everything. Reason? Nothing to do with the camera, it’s just that my Windows 95 has been kinda “messed up” all along as far as using the Dial-up Adapter and attaching to the internet. But it’s all working great now. I have even increased my download speed from about 2.0KB per minute to 3.3KP per minute! Wow!!! Anyway, on with the news……
Quick note: Only 23 copies of This & That went out this morning. Got to see what went wrong. If you get two or three copies, please forgive me. Not sure what I’m doing at the moment.
LIGHTS, CAMERA, STILL NOT MUCH ACTION
I have the color camera working on the Internet, after many hours of frustration, Win95 installations, formattings, and several cups of hot tea. The camera works great. But the quality of transmissions is much to be desired (so far). I have only used it with Microsoft Netmeeting. But will look at some other programs before I anwere that final question….. “is video transmissions on the internet a joke”? If you have a camera attached to your computer, let me hear from you. Maybe we can share some experiences, and learn together some new things.
SEVERAL NEW PICS ON THE HOME PAGES
I have scanned several new photos and placed on the home pages. There are some great shots of the Flag Day celebration on the courthouse lawn. I’ve also added some new photos taken inside the sheriffs office and detention center. And last but not least, I’ve added some updated photos of the courthouse clock, the repainted dome on the inside, and the “little house” inside the dome where the clock works is located.
Until next Saturday, hope everything goes your way, and life treats you good. Remember to smile, a friend may need it.
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Oklahoma History
Online since April 6, 1996
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A Home Grown Home Page
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