Tulsa World: Flag proposal causes a flap

MAKE US YOUR HOMEPAGE | Friday, November 20, 2009 | WIRELESS

Home > News > Article

Newspaper View Print this story

Comment

RSS

Bookmark

Flag proposal causes a flap
An altered style and an exclamation mark draw some critics.

The current state flag was last changed in 1941 with the addition of the word "OKLAHOMA." A proposed change would italicize the state's name and add an exclamation point to the state's name. Courtesy

By RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer
Published: 3/6/2009 2:28 AM
Last Modified: 3/6/2009 3:06 AM

State Rep. Shane Jett said one exclamation point has gotten him more attention than the rest of his four-year legislative career combined.

"People ask me if there aren't more important things for me to work on," the Tecumseh Republican said Thursday. "I am, they're just not paying any attention to them."

Jett, as chairman of the House International Relations and Tourism Committee, introduced a bill this session to italicize the word "OKLAHOMA" on the state flag and put an exclamation point at the end.

The bill also creates an official state abbreviation: OK!

Jett said he has introduced more legislation on rural Internet access and wireless coverage than anyone else during the past few years, but nothing has drawn the same response as the proposed flag change.

"I was just looking for a way to improve our image ... and get some good, solid publicity," Jett said.

But he immediately ran into a buzz saw: the people of Ponca City and their contingent in the state Legislature, Sen. David Myers and Rep. Ken Luttrell.

Ponca City was the home of Louise Fluke, who designed the current flag, and the locals take considerable pride in that fact.

"Our community is deeply initiated in the heritage of the flag," said Luttrell, a Democrat. "We're just unalterably opposed to any change."

Myers, a Republican, gives talks on the flag's history and also opposes any changes, Luttrell said.

Fluke's design was adopted in

1925, replacing an earlier flag that featured a white star on a red background. According to legend, that flag became unpopular after World War I because it was thought to resemble a communist banner.

The original Fluke flag, however, did not have "OKLAHOMA" on it at all. That was added in 1941.

Jett said his proposal originated with Oklahoma City advertising legend Ray Ackerman. His bill to make the flag changes has made it out of committee and awaits consideration on the House floor.

"It seemed like a good idea," Jett said. "If it gets picked up here and there, it could give us hundreds of thousands of dollars in free publicity."

Randy Krehbiel 581-8365
randy.krehbiel@tulsaworld.com

Flag history

Oklahoma’s first flag was adopted in 1911—four years after statehood.

It consisted of a single, blue-trimmed, white star bearing the numeral “46” on a red field.

The flag soon fell out of favor, supposedly because it was thought to resemble the flag of the newly formed Soviet Union. A 1924 contest to find a new design was won by Louise Fluke of Ponca City. The Legislature formally adopted the Fluke flag the following year.

Fluke’s design of an olive branch and calumet crossed over an Osage war shield on a blue field remains in use today. The word “OKLAHOMA,” in block capitals, was added under the shield in 1941.

A 1988 statute standardized the flag’s colors using the Pantone Matching System.

By RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer

Newspaper View Print this story

Comment

RSS

Bookmark

Reader Comments

Show: Most Recent Comment First

Add your comment

57 comments have been made on this story so far. Tell us what you think below!

Reporting Comments

If you see a comment that violates our terms and conditions, please help us by clicking the "Report this Comment" link next to a comment. That will alert the web staff to review the comment. Thank you. -- Web Editor Jason Collington

	Report Comment 2curious, Tulsa, OK 74104 (3/6/2009 6:10:41 AM) Honest to goodness...I demand my taxpayer money returned to me for the amount of time that Representative Jett WASTED on such a miniscule, trivial, unnecessary, piece of legislation as I have never seen. Seriously. SERIOUSLY... You have got to be kidding me that this man AND OTHERS spent taxpayer money deciding this.
	Report Comment Eagle 4, Tulsa (3/6/2009 6:57:42 AM) Well! I! for! one! am! tickled! It's! so!...so!...Hollywood! The Republicans are acting like village idiots with cattle prods - they're zapping everything just to see the sparks.
	Report Comment Slatz, Tulsa (3/6/2009 7:33:29 AM) When is our legislature going to focus on the things that truly matter to Oklahoma citizens - like the economy? It's like they come up with an idiotic bill on purpose just to get their names in the news. Is the OK legislature turning into some kind of bizarre reality show? If so, I can't wait until their 15 minutes is over. AT least they do provide a lot of entertainment with the stupid bills/ideas they come up with. My favorite is the proposal a few years ago to put boxing gloves on chickens.
	Report Comment akaMonty, (3/6/2009 7:43:02 AM) The only reason this bill has gotten Jett more attention than anything else he's done in his four years is because he's rolled four years of collected stupidity into one piece of legislative idiocy. To break it down: Shane Jett's legislative career consists of making it easier for farmers and ranchers to browse porn and so we can all take pride in an exclamation point? Good job! OK!
	Report Comment Bren, Wagoner (3/6/2009 7:55:50 AM) One has to wonder if our legislature can afford to spend all this time on useless discussion. I know they have much more important things this to discuss. Leave the flag alone. Why must we be constantly changing and updating things that truly don't need it. I can't see the need to change our flag one bit. Jett needs to work on something that might benefit the state of Oklahoma!
	Report Comment psychedelikrelik, Tulsa (3/6/2009 8:00:26 AM) Let your Fluke flag fly.
	Report Comment Graychin, Eucha (3/6/2009 8:13:24 AM) Besides the silliness and time-wasting aspect of this proposal, the deeper problem is that our state legislators think that Oklahoma's sorry "image" can be improved with an exclamation point! How about working on substance instead of just image? Are you all "Mad Men"? How about fixing crumbling roads and bridges, funding better education for our kids, or treating our seniors decently? Or fixing hundreds of other problems that cause our "image" to be at the bottom of every survey? It isn't image - it's reality! Republicans at every level of government have never learned that governing isn't just about public relations gimmickry. It's about taking real actions to solve real problems. You can't polish rotten fruit.
	Report Comment NothinLikeOklahoma, Jenks (3/6/2009 8:29:03 AM) Nice post, Graychin. I, for one, think the italicized "OKLAHOMA" and the exclamation point look really stupid. Like a cartoon. An exclamation point... really??
	Report Comment quixote, Tulsa (3/6/2009 8:29:17 AM) We could always put a big ol' football on the flag. Football has always given us great respect. Right? Well, maybe up to a last game of the season. Maybe we better go with Graychin once again.
	Report Comment Angry Citizen!, Bluejacket (3/6/2009 8:30:57 AM) That's why we sent them there, to make the flag pretty~!
	Report Comment my view, Sand Springs (3/6/2009 8:38:35 AM) I agree the flag should remain the same. One of the last silly bills to come out of the Democrat legislature was to make watermelons the state vegetable. I've still never got over that one, but it made good material for the jokers on late nite TV.
	Report Comment Bullhead, Nicut (3/6/2009 8:43:28 AM) I think the word OKLAHOMA could be larger but not italics or with an ! Since they're not going to concentrate on our roads and healthcare, may as well work on our flag, right?
	Report Comment Lance-a-lot, Tulsa (3/6/2009 8:44:01 AM) The flag is fine, the new idea blows. Get to work on something meaningful.
	Report Comment Arbythree, Tulsa (3/6/2009 8:53:09 AM) If it ain't broke......LEAVE IT ALONE! Our leigslators have enough work to do without coming up with these silly bills.
	Report Comment VeraLynn, (3/6/2009 8:55:06 AM) "Let your Fluke flag fly." HAAA!!! HHAAAA!!!! Hilarious!!! -This idea is VERY stupid & wasteful!
	Report Comment MaintenanceMan, Tulsa (3/6/2009 9:06:33 AM) Ban flags and this never would have happened.
	Report Comment rocket, (3/6/2009 9:14:27 AM) I'm not accustomed to defending the legislature, but I'd rather see this matter debated on the merits rather than on the false premise that it's wasting time. That's an old dodge. Legislatures are there to consider lots of issues. Many of them, thankfully, are voted down. That's the process. Can anyone cite one particular issue that is being ignored strictly because the legislature is spending a minuscule amount of time on the flag bill? Can anyone cite any particular issue that would be addressed if only this flag bill weren't in the hopper? Anyone? Anything?
	Report Comment Ignatz, Broken Bow (3/6/2009 9:26:19 AM) rocket has a point, better the Repubs to spend ALL their time on this kind of foolishness than introducing bills drafted by the insurance companies, chambers of commerce, and manufacturers' associations.
	Report Comment sivart, bixby (3/6/2009 9:27:33 AM) I think this guy just sealed his fate when re-elections come up.
	Report Comment sivart, bixby (3/6/2009 9:28:20 AM) Make it say what our old license plates used to say...."OKLAHOMA IS OK"
	Report Comment abc123, Tulsa (3/6/2009 9:43:33 AM) Of all the things...please! Feel free to contact our illustrious representative who needs a reality check. Shane Jett (405) 557-7349 shanejett at okhouse dot gov
	Report Comment BayouGirl, Owasso (3/6/2009 9:45:10 AM) I am amazed that most of the comments here are against the Republicans! That doesn't happen very often. Only 1 comment even mentioned the Democrats. WOW!
	Report Comment Have that, America (3/6/2009 9:50:38 AM) I hate our state flag...always have. Oklahoma probably has the worst state flag, Kansas is a close second. we need a lot more than an exclamation point to make this flag worth looking at.
	Report Comment drudge2, Tulsa (3/6/2009 10:10:44 AM) Does this mean every time we mention our state's name we're supposed to say it like we're surprised? I suggest those who e-mail Shane Jett that everytime you write his last name stick an exclamation point at the end of it. Let's see how quickly he gets sick of that idea.
	Report Comment Eric, Tulsa (3/6/2009 10:28:47 AM) So...we maintain a symbol of the native people, yet we want English to be the official language? Why not just change the flag image and depict some goold ol' boy sitting on the back of his pickup truck, chugging a brew? ... Leave well enough alone. The flag is fine without changes - any alteration means more money would be spent on needless things. ... .. .

25 of 57 comments displayed. | View All

Add Your Comment
In order to post a comment on this article, you must sign in to Tulsaworld.com. If you do not have a site account, you can create an account for free.