With tribal transit systems numbering 10,
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partnership is key says Cherokee official
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| TRANSIT SHOP TALK - Jonathan Thomas, White Eagle Transit director, and Laura Corff of Cimarron Transit, visit in Ponca City. White Eagle Transit, operated by the Ponca Tribe, is based just south of Ponca City in the tribal complex known as the White Eagle Community. |
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On December 1,2010, an Oklahoma transit milestone was reached. When C&A Tribal Transit, based in Clinton, buses rolled into service it marked tribal transit system number 10 in our state.
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Red River Transportation, based in Frederick, was among the entities offering letters of support for the grant to initiate this service.
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There is a growing dialogue between public and tribal transit systems.
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On May 26, Laura Corff of Cimarron Transit’s Ponca City office met Jonathan Thomas, White Eagle Transit director for the Ponca Tribe, for the first time and talked shop over lunch. Choctaw Nation Tribal Transit, based in Hugo, has MOUs with KiBois Area Transit System, Little Dixie Transit and Southern Oklahoma Rural Transportation System (SORTS). “If there is an overflow we cannot transport, they transport our passengers for us. We are grateful and appreciative of their cooperation; we would be lost without them,” Johnny James, CNTT director, said. The partnership goes beyond any formal agreement. “We can call any of the three systems with questions and they are always willing to help out.”
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When Michael Lynn, roads program director for the Cherokee Nation, spoke to OTA during the Awards for Excellence banquet February 17, he sounded the trumpet call for a partnership between tribal governments and public and tribal systems.
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| Lynn and Robert Endicott accepted a Keith Leftwich Connection Award for Chad Smith, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. The Cherokee Nation has contracted for service with both Pelivan Transit and KiBois Area Transit System. |
Speaking on behalf of Principal Chief Smith, Lynn stated “public transportation is a necessary and vital link for all Oklahomans. It is the inter-modal system that connects people to employment, healthcare, and other important services. For some people, public transportation is the difference between having a job and not having a job. For others, it is the only way they will receive medical treatment.”
Lynn touched on the positive, economic impact of the tribal system growth. |
“In 2005, we (Cherokee Nation) successfully obtained additional funding through the Public Transportation on Indian Reservations Program. Thanks to the Oklahoma tribes, this effort has brought about more than $2 million dollars of public transportation assistance into the annual Oklahoma economy,” he said.
The funding, however, is not enough in and of itself, he said. |
| “This is only the beginning; we still have a long way to go. All of us – tribal governments, transit systems – both public and tribal -- must work together and partner. If we do this, we will make a bigger impact on the lives of countless Oklahomans.” |
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| Michael Lynn, second from right, and Robert Endicott (center) accept the Keith Leftwich Connection Award on behalf of Chad Smith, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation at the 10th Annual OTA Awards for Excellence banquet. Also pictured are (l-r) Rick Cain, OTA president, METRO Transit; Charla Sloan, KiBois Area Transit System and Debbie McGlasson, Pelivan Transit. |
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ROADEO RAIN OR SHINE? - Yes, as judges Melissa Fesler, First Capital Trolley, and Ivan Clark, The Guymon Ride, along with scores of other judges, drivers and participants found out during the first-ever 2010 Oklahoma Transit Driving Championships October 21 and 22 in Oklahoma City Bricktown. At left, on Thursday afternoon, October 21, during the Shuttle Bus Category, sunshine abounded for Clark donning sunglasses and Fesler at the Judgment Stop Skill Test. Less than 18 hours later, the two dressed against the cold and rain. The inaugural ‘Chase for the State Roadeo Cup’ was advertised to take place “rain or shine” and proved true to the motto the first time. For more photos from the 2010 Transit Driving Championships click here.
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SHUTTLE BUS CATEGORY: Donny Price of Chickasaw Nation Transportation (center) accepts the State Roadeo Cup from Rick Miller, also of Chickasaw Nation Transportation, and Rick Cain of METRO Transit, the OTA president. Miller served as Course Marshal for the 2010 Oklahoma Driving Championships.
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MINI-VAN CATEGORY: Dean Tuck (center), Southern Oklahoma Rural Transportation System, accepts the State Roadeo Cup from Rick Cain of METRO Transit, the OTA president. Also pictured is Allen Leaird, SORTS director.
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Chickasaw Nation, SORTS Drivers claim
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1st Oklahoma Transit Driving Championships
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Transit Service, Coalgate, claimed state titles in the 1st Oklahoma Transit Driving Championships October 21 and 22, 2010.
Price and Tuck claimed the Shuttle Bus and Mini-van Categories championships respectively in the ‘The Chase for the State Roadeo Cup at the Oklahoma City RedHawks parking area in Bricktown.
The event was produced by the Oklahoma Transit Association. Both Price and Tuck will represent Oklahoma next June in the National Paratransit Roadeo in Indianapolis sponsored by the Community Transportation Association of America. |
1st Oklahoma Transit Driving Championship Results
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Shuttle Bus Category
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1. Donny Price, Chickasaw Nation Transit, Ada
2. Jim Henning, OSU Transit THE BUS, Stillwater
3. Jim Cox, Lawton Area Transit System
4. Ila Shelton, KiBois Area Transit System, Stigler
5. John Mitchell, Southwest Transit, Altus |
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Mini-van Category
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1. Dean Tuck, SORTS, Coalgate
2. Nancy Brown, Muskogee County Transit
3. Patty Justus, JAMM Transit, Atoka
4. Ray Meely, Chickasaw Nation Transit, Ada
5. Keith Foster, Red River Transportation, Frederick |
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'HOLIDAY STUFF THE BUS’– Despite the weather, OTA systems and listeners of KREF Sports Talk 1400 AM helped fill this METRO Transit Bus for Operation Homefront. Oklahoma. Through the Folds of Honor Foundation, OTA partnered with OHOK to collect items which will assist Oklahoma soldiers and their families during the holiday season. This ‘Stuff the Bus’ effort took place Friday morning, October 22, during the Mini-van Category competition of during the 2010 Oklahoma Transit Driving Championships.
When she takes office in January, Mary Fallin will be the first Oklahoma governor to have ever driven a transit bus. Here’s a report from her March 30 visit to Lawton Area Transit System.
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| Mary Takes the Wheel! |
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| Congresswoman, gubernatorial candidate drives LATS bus as part of "Work Across Oklahoma" |
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LATS makes OTA history hosting members of Congress consecutive days
LAWTON - Steve Sherrer and Lawton Area Transit System (LATS) became the first OTA system to host members of Congress on consecutive days.
Congresswoman Mary Fallin, a Republican gubernatorial candidate, visited the LATS property Wednesday, March 30, and took the wheel of a LATS bus. The task was part of her “Working Across Oklahoma” effort. State Rep. T.W. Shannon (R-Lawton) was the key to recommending Fallin try her hand at driving a bus while in Comanche County.
Click to read the Lawton Constitution article on the Fallin visit.
Click to read the Rep. Fallin blog notes on driving the Lawton bus.
The next day Congressman Tom Cole visited LATS along with staff member Nathan Atkins of the Norman office who met with three OTA systems directors in. Keri Green, the Lawton field office staffer, was responsible for arranging Cole’s visit. This followed a January 15 session in Lawton with Sherrer and Brent Morey of Red River Transportation. This was Cole’s first visit to the new LATS facility.
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