The Daily Oklahoman from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma • 16

EZS2EH3 16A THE OKLAHOMAN NEWS0K.COM TUESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2006 OKLAHOMA'S METEOROLOGIST Gary England Chief meteorologist KWTV NEWS9 na forecast Five-day Tuesday Friday Saturday Thursday 96 74 .44 82 55 100 65 64 47 PtCldy 90 72 T-storm 88 57 Sunny 92 58 Sunny 90 71 PtCldy 94 58 PtCldy 93 60 Sunny 78 56 Sunny 93 76 PtCldy 74 54 Sunny 89 73 T-storm 86 59 Sunny 89 57 Sunny 84 63 PtCldy totalcoverape NEWS9 t-TheOkhhoman t-NemOKcon Watch NEWS 9 Latest weather conditions OOBliBeatNewsOK.com Gary England's seven-day forecast 80 58 Sunny 91 75 T-storm 85 58 PtCldy 86 58 Sunny 86 60 PtCldy 81 59 Sunny 81 53 Sunny 86 62 Sunny 96 76 T-storm 87 59 Sunny 86 64 PtCldy 84 60 PtCldy 73 52 Sunny 84 55 80 53 79 55 Tr 84 58 103 83 85 54 9472 901 88 58 86 61 93 77 94 62 79 61 8871 An a.m. t-storm 9572 Mostly sunny and humid Partly sunny, sunny NewsOK.com A thunderstorm possible a t-storm possible Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. Today 97 77 82 62 100 75 93 74 T-stonm 84 64 PtCldy 93 71 PtCldy 88 75 94 75 86 65 92 72 92 75 90 67 105 80 98 74 85 64 86 69 PtCldy 88 67 Sunny 90 67 Sunny City: A stalled frontal boundary will produce showers and thunderstorms in the region today. This afternoon's high will be in the unsettled weather will last through tonight and into tomorrow.

State: Some sun today with a thunderstorm in spots, dry in the northwest; humid in the south and central parts of the state. A thunderstorm in the east in the evening; a stray shower or thunderstorm in the south, southeast and central parts of the state tonight. 84 68 PtCldy 93 75 T-storm 88 66 Sunny 94 75 1.63 91 75 .05 93 77 .72 79 62 Sunny 90 72 T-stomn 87 64 PtCldy 90 77 T-storm 86 70 Sunny 86 71 T-storm 88 66 PtCldy 90 68 Sunny 104 87 T-storm 83 57 Sunny 81 59 Sunny 76 56 PtCldy 86 64 Sunny 108 87 81 55 78 61 .01 -10s -Os Os 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s 110s 7354A iB rv AT I cooLERh, rnrnTi BillingL 1 Minneapolis rlf I I DRY Jf 9459 7962' MX San Francisco I -T' Chteagoi jjDetroit (jJfFcY) 7W5b' Lj-J A d-TTTs Denver (iTm) Washington 87f9 KanksCitSV'8 LsAfceW----- 868 rvg 90f7 1 "7 I U'Mt WlanteVr W72 Showers LF58bY71 U-ZA i i storms 1 A 'A Raln WWW Cold front 9374 77 Flurries Miami 723 Snow Warm front VJ, 9078 ir AmhbL Stationary 95 65 Sunrn 94 75 PtCI( 80 69 PtCId! 76 56 PtCId! 81 56 Sunny 88 67 PtCldy 92 59 Sunny 91 68 Sunny 93 68 Sunny 97 77 PtCldy 80 68 PtCldy 76 56 Sunny 68 53 PtCldy 71 54 PtCldy 92 73 PtCldy 89 67 Sunny 83 54 Sunny 90 76 T-storm 89 71 T-storm 88 66 Sunny 66 56 79 53 .10 79 54 85 65 Sunny 90 56 PtCldy 90 76 T-storm 88 71 PtCldy 88 68 Sunny 85 68 PtCldy -ESMHH3SS1- Arkansas: Periods of sunshine today; a shower or thunderstorm in spots, except dry in the north and east. Partly cloudy tonight; an evening thunderstorm in the west. Texas: Several hours of sunshine today; a couple of thunderstorms, except dry in the southeast, in the Permian Basin, Transpecos and South Texas.

A couple of thunderstorms in the north, east and panhandle tonight. New Mexico: Clouds and sun today with a thunderstorm or two. Partly cloudy tonight with a thunderstorm or two, except dry in the south. Kansas: Several hours of sunshine today. Partly cloudy tonight.

Missouri: Mostly sunny today. Mainly clear tonight. Colorado: Mostly sunny today; a shower or thunderstorm in spots. SUes 11183 Sunny 87 68 Sunny 68 44 Sunny Today's stat Shown is today's weather. Temperatures are today's highs and tonight's lows.

YESTERDAY'S HIGHS AND LOWS For the 48 contiguous states Nation's high 119 Death Valley, Calif. Nation's low 30 West Yellowstone, Mont. Oklahoma's high 103 Antlers Oklahoma's low 65 Boise City YESTERDAY'S POLLEN Hong Kong 93 80 PtCM Wichita I Dodge City 8568 8564 Miami Springfield 8566 Spl 1 this dat This date Very High High Moderate Low Very Low Trees Weeds Grasses Mold Allergy Clinic. Mold and pollen counts courtesy of the LUNAR CYCLE yesterday's Temperatures in OKC 12 mid 82 12 Noon 79 1 a.m 82 1 p.m 82 2 a.m 80 2 p.m 86 3 a.m 79 3 p.m 87 4 a.m 78 4 p.m 90 5 a.m 76 5 p.m 91 6 a.m 76 6 p.m 89 7 a.m 76 7 p.m 86 8 a.m 77 9 a.m 78 10 a.m 78 11 a.m 77 Yesterday's high 91 at 3:47 p.m One year ago 89 Record for date 105 in 1911 Normal for date 92 Yesterday's low 76 at 6:00 a.m One year ago 70 Record for date 51 in 1956 Normal for date 69 lanuaiy in 2003 14.36 January 1-This date in 2004 24.75 lanuaiy 1 This date in 2005 18.32 lanuaiy 1 This date in 2006 16 83 Normal January 1-This date 23.28 Oklahoma City annual precip. is 35.85 City LPitCn1 'h IPre.

Gage 88 67 .61 OKC 91 76 .25 Guymon 78 67.04 Ponca 71 .79 Hobart 89 69 .41 Tulsa 85 711.47 75 .00 Trace City Pre. City LPre. 73 .27 Miami 89 70 .19 Durant 101 77 .00 Norman 89 76 .00 El Reno 89 72.01 Shawnee 80 73.44 Guthrie 83 73 .40 Stillwater 81 72 .86 Idabel 102 74 .17 84 67 .05 Jm 8863 Tulsa. F86 8871 Fayetteville FT" Oklahoma City 0'KC0 marillo. 8671 --8563 8065 8671 -Fort Smith I Lawton.

McAer 8769 8972 8971 Wichita Fails --jJlx 9174 DallasFort Worth AccuWeather.com 9676 First Quarter Aug 31 public service line 405-360-5928 7am-8pm daily NWS Weather Radio OKC 162.400 Mhz Aug 23 Sep7 Sep 14 FORECASTS AND GRAPHICS PROVIDED BY ACCU WEATHER, INC. 2006 Sun rises today at 6:55 a.m. and sets at 8:11 p.m. Moon rises at 5:40 a.m. on the 22nd and sets at 7:55 p.m.

on the 22nd. Smithsonian buys woman's powwow dress By Judy Gibbs Robinson, Staff Writer The beaded buckskin dress an Oklahoma City woman wore for years on the powwow circuit has been acquired by the Smithsonian Institution for its permanent collection. The dress, worn by Keri Jhane Myers, will be displayed for the first time next spring as part of an exhibit titled "Dancing in Beauty" at the National Museum of the American Indian. "It's a momentous occasion for me," Myers, who is Comanche, said Monday. "It's great that I'll have something that will be in the Smithsonian that my children and grandchildren will see." The Smithsonian paid Myers for the dress, leggings, belt and other matching pieces, but she declined to say for how much.

The late Alice Jones Littleman, a Kiowa, made the dress in 1994, although Myers and another friend made most of the accessory pieces. She wore the outfit she calls it "Ekopt Kwa-suyt," Comanche for "red dress" in powwows and dance competitions until 2004. She was wearing it in 2003 when she won the buckskin dress dance competition at the Gathering of Nations in Albuquerque, N.M. one of the largest powwows in the country. Images of Myers in the dress have been included in powwow videos and Indian publications.

Myers said she put on the dress for the last time Sunday for a family portrait. It was to be packed and shipped to Washington Monday evening by a company that specializes in shipping fine art. "I'm feeling kind of sad right now," she said. "But my grandma used to say it's good to have things so you can share them. I can't think of a better way to share this." Myers runs her own public relations consulting business and publishes a magazine on Indian gaming in Oklahoma.

Storms shut off power, damage some homes By Chad Previch, Staff Writer TAHLEQUAH Storms in northeast Oklahoma knocked down trees, damaged homes and left thousands of customers without power Monday afternoon. Trees damaged homes and injured one person in Tahle-quah, the National Weather Service reported. Damage also was reported to the metal roof of the city's sanitation plant. Winds also knocked down power lines, Tahlequah Police Chief Steve Farmer said. Lights at the courthouse flickered, but the building has a generator and never lost power.

Farmer was in a meeting when the storm struck, and city staffers handled the damage. "They would have called us out of the meeting if it was that bad," Farmer said. More than an inch of rain fell in Nowata, Tulsa, Okmulgee, Cherokee and McCurtain counties. More than two inches fell in Rogers County, where a tree also fell onto a house. Wind gusts were reported as high as 70 mph in Wagoner, Delaware and Mayes counties.

About 4,400 customers lost power because of storms that rolled through northeast Oklahoma about noon, said Ed Bet-tinger, spokesman for the Public Service Co. of Oklahoma. About 5 p.m., 2,200 customers were still without power. Power was expected to be restored by 9 p.m. Monday, Bettinger said.

Winds reached as high as 66 mph in southwest Oklahoma Sunday night as storms dropped 3.27 inches of rain in Beckham County, 2.33 inches in Greer County and 2.15 in Harmon County. There is a 35 percent to 50 percent chance of rain today throughout most of Oklahoma, said Chris Sohl, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Norman. Highs should range from the mid 80s in the northwest to the mid 90s in the southeast. Severe storms are possible. Highs will be in the low-to-mid 90s for most of the state on Wednesday, with a 20 percent to 30 percent chance of rain, Sohl said.

BY PAUL HELLSTERN, THE OKLAHOMAN Robert Esposito, an arts and antiquities mover, works with Keri Jhane Myers to prepare her buckskin dress for shipping to the Smithsonian Institution. The dress will be displayed as part of an exhibit titled "Dancing in Beauty" at the National Museum of the American Indian. Tulsa considers dumping incinerator, returning to landfills easier looking back 20 years." Tom Simpson, a representative for the incinerator, said the process is saving taxpayers on the cost of hauling trash to landfills and reducing the risk of groundwater pollution. The company also sells steam and recycled metal products to other businesses in the area. About 340,000 tons of Tulsa's 420,000 tons of trash go to the incinerator each year.

Area landfills can hold trash for another 40 years, Buchert said, and there is room to build others. Landfills have lining that protects groundwater from being polluted, Buchert said. Still, landfills give off gas and blowing garbage can make the area smell, he said. Monty Elder, spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Quality, said the department does not recommend a landfill or incinerator over the other. The Tulsa burner is the only one in Oklahoma, she said.

Fenton Rood, waste systems planning director for DEQ, said Oklahoma City debated an incinerator in the 1980s but decided against it. He said discarding trash at an incinerator can cost up to four times more than using a landfill. A 1980s prediction that landfill hauling would be more expensive than using an incinerator has not come true, Rood said. That's why some business owners would like the city to dump its incinerator. Brad Bouse, owner of four Charlie's Chicken restaurants, said disposal costs for his Broken Arrow business are much cheaper than for any of his three Tulsa stores.

"I'm just one store and you think of all the business in Tulsa and it's like, 'Golly, it's a lot of Bouse said. Buchert said it costs about $8 million a year to operate the incinerator and $10 million a year to pay off the debt, which will be paid off next year. The city wants to reduce rates on customers by 80 percent. Simpson, the company's representative, said there's no reason to think the facility won't be operational next year. He said rates could decrease when the burner is paid off, so it doesn't seem rational for the city to abandon it.

The incinerator, in an industrial area of west Tulsa, was updated in 1999 and 2000 to reduce most pollutants by more than 90 percent, Simpson said. "The city must decide whether they want to continue to be forward-thinking and utilize our services to turn trash into energy at an economical rate or turn the clock back and fill up their landfills," he said. Chad Previch: 475-3465, cprevichoklahoman.com By Chad Previch, Staff Writer TULSA Mike Buchert believes his predecessors made the wrong decision 20 years ago in signing a contract to build an incinerator to burn Tulsa's trash. He doesn't blame them, though. They were faced with a marketing blitz predicting that America's landfills would disappear.

Buchert, Tulsa's assistant public works director, and others in the city now are debating whether to keep the Walter B. Hall Resource Recovery Facility or take trash strictly to landfills. The contract with the incinerator expires May 1. "There's a lot of things that I would change if I knew afterwards of the effects," Buchert said. "That's Sunday morning quarterbacking for the Saturday afternoon college game.

It's much.