ONLINE AT NEWSOK.COM

A look at the brighter side of newsIt has been a serious couple of weeks.

NewsOK.com has had updates every day — manytimes per day — on the unrest in Ferguson. Andthe site has had the gruesome updates of journal-ist James Foleykilled by IslamicState extremists.

It has had localstories on teachershortages, high teenbirth rates andcyber-attacks onhospital data. It’s atough world outthere.

NewsOK has that stuff on its home page everyday. But we also often have a lighter fare on thehome page.

Today seems like a good day to highlight fouritems that made me smile while browsing News-OK this week.

1. Stealing my dance movesBlogger Richard Hall shared a video he found on

the Internet — the one of former presidential can-didate John McCain dancing the robot at a fund-raiser.

Richard’s line: “The Roots and Jamie Foxx wereperforming for some Republican dignitaries, andformer Republican presidential hopeful JohnMcCain decided he wanted a piece of that.”

I laughed. Not an LOL, but a healthy chuckle.

2. Berry Tramel’s effortless popularitySports columnists Berry Tramel and Jenni Carl-

son recorded their ice bucket challenge on theirweekly Press Row video.

Berry, who knows everything about sports inOklahoma but very little about what’s going on insocial media space, repeatedly said, “That’s whatthey tell me,” as Jenni explained the challenge andits massive popularity on Facebook last week. “I'msocial and I’m in the media, but I’m not into socialmedia.”

I chuckled while shaking my head, because Iknow that Berry’s Twitter account has more than20,000 followers and that every blog post hepublishes immediately reaches our list of top-viewed stories based on Twitter distribution alone.Yeah, he’s on social media.

3. An app for the pastI learned about an app that grew in popularity

this week. It’s an app that “gives the illusion oftyping on a manual typewriter.”

We shared a story from Time Magazine. Timealso reviewed the app.

The whole thing was merely interesting. That’swhat our ‘Around the Web’ section on NewsOKcan do — show a variety of interesting news andinformation items.

But it went from interesting to funny when acolleague glowingly used the app and explainedhow cutting edge he was — by using a new app tobring back old technology.

That’s worth a chuckle.Then came a Twitter post from our own Linda

Lynn on Throwback Thursday. It showed a com-puter used in The Oklahoman’s newsroom in 1989.

I turned 15 that summer. And that might actuallybe the year I last used a manual typewriter.

4. Thundering upAnd like every other red-blooded Oklahoman, I

enjoy AC/DC’s classic rock song, “Thunderstruck.”It’s the Oklahoma City Thunder’s fourth-quarteranthem, right? But the lead singer’s voice doesn'tsit well with everyone in my family. It’s not foreverybody, I guess.

So to wrap up some of the items that made mechuckle this week, I watched Finnish band Steve’n’Seagulls’ version of “Thunderstruck” about 10times this week.

It wasn’t on NewsOK — until now.Just do a search for my name on NewsOK.com

to see all this stuff.

20A . SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 2014 THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COMMETRO | STATE

NEWSOK POLLResults for the question: Haveyou ever written a poem?

Yes: 57 percent No: 43 percent

Today’s question: Are you a Willie Nelson fan? To vote, scanthe QR code or go to NewsOK.com.

WHAT YOU’RE READING

Top stories on NewsOK.com for the last 24 hours:

1. Actress Chloe Grace Moretz talks about role in‘If I Stay’ 2. Oklahoma football notebook: Barry Switzer‘very impressed’ with Joe Mixon 3. Obama administration proposes new rules onbirth control coverage4. Oklahoma football: Dorial Green-Beckham’swaiver appeal denied by the NCAA 5. Oklahoma football: Stoops brothers talk de-fense6. Oklahoma City RedHawks will be Los AngelesDodgers’ Triple-A affiliate 7. Criminal investigation is underway into possiblepublic corruption, campaign violations8. Oklahoma football: Eric Striker a perfect repre-sentative for Sooners’ reinvigorated defense9. Oklahoma City police officer under investigationvictimized one woman twice, records indicate10. Police release pictures of woman in connectionwith an Oklahoma City car theft

For a complete list of top-viewed stories, go toNewsOK.com/top-ten.

LOTTERY

Pick 3, Aug. 23: 4-8-4 Cash 5, Aug. 23: 04-06-11-14-16 Mega Millions, Aug. 22: 05-31-34-41-74 Mega Ball 03, Megaplier X5 Powerball, Aug. 23: 28-32-35-36-52 Power Ball 31, Power Play X3 Hot Lotto, Aug. 23: 05-19-41-42-44, Hot Ball 02

THE DIGITAL DESK

Alan Herzbergeraherzberger@opubco.com

process before, other thanit just took longer. (Now)it’s the same person all thetime. (Keele) becomes fa-miliar with our detectives,our detectives become fa-miliar with her. It becomesa more personal and pro-fessional relationship.”

With cases concerningchild abuse or neglect, thefocus falls to the place-ment and future of thechildren, Cornelison said.

Police Chief BrandonClabes was involved withthe program’s initial startin 2010. It only lastedabout a year then. He is ex-cited the program is backand that he played a part inits return.

“You have to think out-side the box in this day andage as far as law enforce-ment and delivering goodcustomer service to thepeople we serve,” Clabessaid. “In this particularcase, we think it makes usmore efficient and moreeffective, along with DHS,so it’s a win-win for every-body involved. And espe-cially for the kids thatwe’re here to protect.”

DHS spokesman MarkBeutler, as well as Corneli-son and Clabes, said inter-nal changes and transi-tions at DHS caused the

program to fall through thecracks and not be reneweda few years back. Allagreed the program waswell liked and a positivearrangement for both par-ties.

“It really just expeditesthings,” Beutler said.

“In the case of kids be-ing in an unsafe home (or)situation, DHS does nothave the authority to re-move kids,” he said. “Wewould go out and do an in-vestigation, but then we’dturn our findings over tolocal law enforcement.They in turn would be theones to remove kids fromthe home.”

Now the process ismuch quicker and easierfor both bodies and thefamilies, thanks to Keele.

Child’s safety is keyAfter a child has been

removed from an unsafeliving environment, DHSalways tries to move thechild in the least disruptiveway possible. Many timesthis would include havingthem stay with a familiarrelative.

Keele, who officiallystarted the job this month,doesn’t work directly atthe police station but fromoffices about a mile away.

“I like making childrensafe. That’s the whole key,”Keele said. “Every family(isn’t) going to operate theway that I think it shouldor have the same valuesthat I have. I know thatand we’re taught that. Butwhat you have to establishis: Are the children safe inthat home?”

She is still working casesthat she was involved withbefore she received thisnew job. Once those arecompleted, she’ll onlywork cases dealing withcriminal charges, she said.

Reporting problems andkeeping eyes and ears openfor children in dangeroussituations is somethingeveryone can do, Keelesaid.

“In the state of Oklaho-ma, everyone’s a mandat-ed reporter,” she said. “Alot of people think it’steachers, doctors andcounselors, but it’s actual-ly every citizen.”

Debbie Keele is a DHS employee assigned to the Midwest City police. The Mid-west City police and the Department of Human Services renewed an agreementfor a DHS caseworker to work with police on child abuse and neglect cases.

PHOTO BY PAUL HELLSTERN, THE OKLAHOMAN

DHS: Cooperation helpsspeed process, officials sayFROM PAGE 19A

moms have a hard roadahead of them too.”

Mom’s example ofworking hard to earn a col-lege degree “has a hugeimpact on the children sheis raising,” she said.

Atkinson said Ayden is abig factor in her determi-nation to get a college de-gree.

“I feel like I owe it tohim. I don’t want to raisehim and struggle,” shesaid.

“And when he gets ol-der, I would like for him togo to college also. I don’twant him to look at me andsay, ‘Mom, you didn’t go tocollege, so why make mego?’ ”

Voice of experienceWilliams encourages

the single mothers in theSMART program by shar-ing her own experience.

She took college courseswhen she could over 15years — between workingand raising two daughters— before earning herbachelor’s degree in familystudies and gerontologyfrom Southern NazareneUniversity.

“There were so manytimes I wanted to quit. Iwanted to give up,” Wil-liams said.

But encouragementfrom her advisers at SNUand the desire to show herdaughters “what successis” kept her going.

No one was more proudwhen she graduated, Wil-liams said, than her olderdaughter.

Today, Briauna, 19, is asophomore at the Univer-sity of Central Oklahomaand Aysia, 15, is a sopho-more at Carl Albert HighSchool.

Williams uses that storyto help young moms be-lieve it is possible for themto complete college and besuccessful.

“You can do this,” shetells them. “I’ve donethis.”

SMART:LeadersharesstoryFROM PAGE 19A

CANON CITY, Colo. — The artistChristo says his plan to suspendnearly 6 miles of silvery fabric in sec-tions over the Arkansas River is in a“stand-still situation.”

The 79-year-old artist updatedsupporters on his “Over the River”

project during a luncheon in CanonCity, Colo., on Thursday. The DailyRecord reports his visit also includeda rafting trip down the Arkansas.

Christo and his late wife Jeanne-Claude began scouting for a locationfor the temporary installation in the1990s. After visiting 89 rivers in sev-en states, they chose the Arkansas

River between Salida and CanonCity.

The project received federal ap-proval to move forward in November2011, but it has been delayed becauseof legal challenges by groups that sayit’s too disruptive. Those challengesare working their way through thelegal system.

The artist Christo, second from left, rafts with associates, a journalist and a river guide along the ArkansasRiver in Colorado. AP PHOTO

Artist Christo says river project at a standstillBY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

IN THE REGION

ONLINEScan the QR code towatch a related video.

ONLINEScan the QR codebelow to watch avideo about theSMART program forsingle mothers.