KGEB News Bits and Bytes

KGEB is happy to introduce 5 new programs this week:

Miracle Valley Arizona Ministries at 8:00pm Saturdays
Walter Hallam, Sundays at 7:30pm
Dr. Todd Coontz,  Monday – Friday at 6:30am
Victory In Jesus With Pastor Sharon Daugherty, Monday – Friday at 10:30 am
Life In Focus with Dennis Smith, Thursday’s at 11:30am
Please notice that Kay Arthur has moved to 10am and 11:30pm Monday-Friday and
Empowered by Charles Vance is now on at 8:00am Monday-Friday.

ORU Men and Women Vs Oakland

Watch the ORU Golden Eagles take on the Oakland Golden Grizzlies Saturday, January 21st at 2:00pm (Women) and 7:00pm (Men). LIVE

ORU Mens Basketball v IPFW

• Watch the ORU Golden Eagles take on the IPFW Mastadons Thursday, January 19 at 10pm Central Time. LIVE

Earthquake Facts from the Okla. Insurance Dept.

• The Oklahoma Insurance Department has developed a Web page at http://www.ok.gov/oid/earthquake_tips.html information on earthquake preparedness and response, including links to other products including the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ “Consumer’s Guide to Earthquake Insurance.”
• Any Oklahoma consumer with questions about earthquake insurance (or any other insurance-related matter) can call the Oklahoma Insurance Department Consumer Hotline toll-free at (800) 522-0071.
• The state’s top five carriers for residential earthquake insurance are:
  • Travelers Group
  • American International Group
  • State Farm Group
  • Zurich Insurance Group
  • Liberty Mutual Insurance Group
• Earthquake insurance typically must be purchased apart from a standard homeowners policy, either as an “endorsement” added to the policy by the company that carries the purchaser’s homeowners insurance, or as a separate policy from a company specializing in earthquake coverage. Consumers will also have to wait a period of time – usually 30 to 60 days – after the most recently reported earthquakes in their area before they can purchase new earthquake insurance, due to the likelihood of aftershocks.

National EAS Test November 9, 2011

On November 9, 2011, at approximately 2:00 p.m. Eastern time, the federal government will conduct the first-ever end-to-end national test of the Emergency Alert System, or EAS.
Though an emergency warning system has been in place in the U.S., in one form or another, since the 1950s, and is tested in each state on a weekly and monthly basis, there has never been a nationwide test of the system.
The purpose of the test is to ensure that, if ever needed, a Presidential alert message that warns of a national emergency can be disseminated throughout the nation. (Thankfully, EAS and its predecessor systems, EBS and CONELRAD, have never been used for a Presidential nationwide alert.)
Although the National EAS Test may resemble the localized monthly EAS tests that most Americans are already familiar with, there will be some differences in what viewers will see and hear.
During the Nov. 9 test, listeners will hear a message indicating that “This is a test.” The audio message will be the same on both radio and TV.  However, due to limitations in the EAS, the text message scrolling at the top of your TV screen will NOT indicate that “This is a test.”
The Nov. 9 test will use the EAN event code (Emergency Action Notification) – the same code that would be used in an actual emergency. The scrolling text at the top of your television screen will say something like, “The Emergency Alert System has issued an Emergency Action Notification for Washington, D.C.”
In addition, the background image that appears on TV screens during an alert may indicate that “This is a test,” but in some instances there might not be an image at all, particularly if you receive your TV signals via cable or satellite.
Rest assured, however, that THIS IS ONLY A TEST!
The test will last for about three minutes.
This national EAS test will allow radio and television stations and other so-called EAS Participants to test their equipment and their capability to receive a national warning message.  While it is hoped that the national test is a 100% success across the nation, the test will allow EAS Participants to identify and correct any problems with reception and relay of a national EAS message. For more information go to www.easalert.org

Spanish Message follows:

El 9 de noviembre de 2011, aproximadamente a las 2:00 de la tarde hora del este, el gobierno federal llevará a cabo a nivel nacional la primera prueba nacional del Sistema de Alerta de Emergencia, o EAS. Aunque un sistema de alerta de emergencia de una forma u otra ha estado en vigor en los Estados Unidos desde la década de los 50, y se ha puesto a prueba en cada estado de forma semanal y mensual, nunca se ha hecho una prueba del sistema a nivel nacional. El propósito de la prueba es para asegurar que se podrá difundir por todo el país, si es necesario, un mensaje de alerta de parte del Presidente que advierte sobre una emergencia nacional. (Gracias a Dios, EAS y sus sistemas predecesores, EBS y CONELRAD, nunca se han utilizado para una alerta del Presidente a nivel nacional.)

Aunque la Prueba Nacional del EAS se parece a las pruebas mensuales del EAS que se llevan a cabo a nivel local con las cuales la mayoría de los norteamericanos ya están familiarizados, habrá algunas diferencias en cuanto a lo que los televidentes podrán ver y escuchar.

Durante la prueba del 9 de noviembre, los oyentes podrán escuchar un mensaje que indica que “Esta es una prueba.” El mensaje de audio será el mismo tanto por la radio como por televisión.

Sin embargo, debido a limitaciones del EAS, el mensaje de texto que se desplazará en la parte superior de la pantalla del televisor no indicará que “Esta es una prueba.” La prueba del 9 de noviembre utilizará un código EAN (es decir, Notificación de Acción de Emergencia) – el mismo código que se utiliza en caso de una emergencia verdadera. El texto en la parte superior de la pantalla del televisor comunicará algo semejante a “El Sistema de punto de entrada principal ha emitido una Notificación de Acción de Emergencia para Washington, DC.” Además, la imagen de fondo que aparece en la pantalla de televisión durante una alerta puede indicar que “esta es una prueba”, pero en algunos casos será posible que no aparezca ninguna imagen, especialmente si se recibe la señal de televisión por medio de cable o satélite.  Para más información, visite www.easalert.org

The Gathering at ORU

Whole Life Learning Evening Classes

Over 27 short (3-9 hours) classes to get you up to speed on everything from Word 2010 to Bible Basics.  You don’t have to be a college student or even a high school graduate.  Course prices range from $49 -$149 dollars depending on class time. Most classes will meet on the ORU campus at 7777 S. Lewis Ave., Tulsa

Some of the classes available are:

• WORD 2010,  EXCEL 2010,  POWERPOINT 2010,
• INTRO to FACEBOOK and TWITTER
• THE BUSINESS OF SOCIAL MEDIA
• HOW TO START AND MANAGE YOUR OWN BUSINESS
• BASICS OF QUICKBOOKS 2010
• LEGAL ISSUES FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS
• BUYING OR SELLING A HOME
• BASICS OF CHRISTIANITY
• WORSHIPING IN SIGN LANGUAGE
• BIBLE BASICS
• ACTS AND EPISTLES
• CHRISTIAN PARENTING SKILLS
• BEGINNING GOLF
• SPANISH FOR TRAVELERS
• DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY 1
• iPAD TRAINING

For a complete list of classes and to register go to http://wll.oru.edu or call 918.495.6769 for more information.

JobnewsTulsa.com Career Fair

JobnewsTulsa.com Career Fair on Thursday September 8, 2011 from 10am to 2pm at the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center located at 6808 South 107^th East Avenue in Tulsa, Oklahoma 74133.

Given the number of positions available, this Career Fair Event will be one of the largest this year in Tulsa.  With over 300 positions available, opportunities range from entry-level to management and are in a wide variety of industries, including  Healthcare, Administration, Clerical, Hospitality, Sales, Customer Service, Manufacturing, Technical, Professional,  Construction, Skilled Trades and more.

Attendees are encouraged to arrive early, pre-register, bring plenty of resumes, and be ready to interview on-the-spot. For more information logon to JobNewsTulsa.com or call 918-806-0000.  For Media Interviews or Inquiries contact Stacy Klass   918-806-0000 ext 12100.

 

Tulsa Social Security Office to Begin Closing at 3:30 pm Daily

Effective August 15, 2011, the Tulsa Social Security office will be open to the public Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.  a reduction of 30 minutes each weekday.

While agency employees will continue to work their regular hours, this shorter public window will allow them to complete face-to-face service with the visiting public without incurring the cost of overtime.   Congress provided Social Security with nearly $1 billion less than the President requested for the budget this fiscal year, which makes it impossible for the agency to provide the amount of overtime needed to handle service to the public as we have in the past.

Most Social Security services do not require a visit to an office.  For example, anyone wishing to apply for benefits, sign up for direct deposit, replace a Medicare card, obtain a proof of income letter or inform us of a change of address or telephone number may do so at www.socialsecurity.gov or by dialing our toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213.  People who are deaf or hard of hearing may call our TTY number, 1-800-325-0778.

Emergency Homeowner’s Loan Program Extension

The government has extended its deadline to help homeowners struggling to make their payments.

The deadline was set to expire Friday, July 22, but has been extended until next Wednesday, July 27.

A billion dollars is set aside in the emergency homeowner’s loan program. More than $15 million is available in our Oklahoma.

Unemployed homeowners who are 90 days behind on payments can get up to $50,000. You can use the money to catch up on your mortgage and help with payments.

The loan is forgiven after five years if the mortgage is kept up to date.

The deadline to file is Wednesday, July 27. Call 918-292-8900 or go to www.995hope.org.

 

I-244 bridge construction requires detours and patience.

Tulsa World

by: GAVIN OFF World Data Editor
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
6/15/2011 5:40:33 AM

For the next two years, the roughly 60,000 motorists who travel the southwest corridor of the Inner Dispersal Loop each day will need to find a detour or patience.

In preparation for the $64 million project that will replace the westbound Interstate 244 bridge over the Arkansas River with a double-decker, multi-modal span, officials with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation have closed several area ramps.

The closed ramps are:

• The westbound U.S. 64 off-ramp to eastbound I-244
• The southbound U.S. 75 off-ramp to westbound I-244
• The Seventh Street on-ramp to westbound I-244

To avoid those closures, ODOT is detouring traffic counterclockwise along the IDL. Kenna Mitchell, department spokeswoman, said drivers leaving downtown could enter the loop’s east leg and proceed north or enter the loop’s north leg and proceed east to avoid construction.
Mitchell said that ODOT does not detour motorists onto city streets.
“It would not make sense to put them onto city streets that would not be able to handle that volume of traffic,” Mitchell said. “If drivers are able to find another way that helps them with their commute, that’s up to them.”
The department closed two of the three ramps several weeks ago when contractors began patching the eastbound I-244 bridge over the Arkansas River. The patching helped prepare the eastbound bridge for increased traffic.
This week, ODOT closed the westbound bridge and shifted its traffic onto its eastbound neighbor, which now carries vehicles traveling in both directions.
ODOT closed the Seventh Street ramp this week.
“Plan for that extra time to travel through there,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell said crews with Manhattan Road & Bridge, the project’s contractors, began removing the walls of the westbound bridge Monday.
The contract calls for “substantial completion” of the project after 550 days and final completion after 740 days.

When finished, the new westbound bridge will span some 3,000 feet. It will carry three lanes of through traffic and one auxiliary lane over two rail lines and a pedestrian walkway.

City and state officials said they hope to use the rail lines for local traffic and high-speed rail to Oklahoma City, though no funding or plans have been finalized.

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Gavin Off 918-732-8106
gavin.off@tulsaworld.com

Associated Images:

Copyright © 2011, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved

 

Tall Chief Cove Swim Beach on Skiatook Lake

The swim beach at Tall Chief Cove on Skiatook Lake will close June 15 due to low lake levels brought on by the continuing drought.
Skiatook Lake is nearly 6 feet below normal continues to fall.
Because of underwater hazards and a boat lane the each can’t be safely extended.
The Corps of Engineers will monitor water levels and the beach will be reopened when it is considered safe.
For information on Skiatook Lake, call the lake office at 918-396-3170.

November 9, 2011 National EAS Test Scheduled

The FCC and FEMA have scheduled the first ever national test of the Emergency Alert System. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Communications Commission will conduct the test Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. EST. The duration may last up to three-and-a-half minutes.
A national alert enables the president to break into regular broadcasts and address the American public during emergencies. One has never been issued in the history of the system, established in 1951 by then President Harry Truman during the Cold War. It was then known as CONELRAD and included the capability to jam aircraft homing devices. It was replaced in the 1960s by the Emergency Broadcast System, which in turn was supplanted with the current Emergency Alert System in 1997.
The current EAS network is used by the National Weather Service, state governments and municipalities to issue regional and local warnings. Local law enforcement agencies use the system to issue AMBER Alerts on abducted children.
Similar to local EAS tests that are already conducted frequently, the nationwide test will involve broadcast radio and TV stations, cable television, satellite radio and television services and wireline video service providers across all states and the territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa. The nation and its territories are divided into 550 EAS areas.
On Nov. 9, those carriers will transmit the message audio message: “This is a test.” All will be required to participate. The test is intended to identify and work the bugs out of the system.
After the first test in November, weekly or monthly tests are likely to become routine, according to the FCC.

 

February 17, 2009 KGEB stopped broadcasting our analog signal.

As of 11:59 p.m. Central Time KGEB TV 53 Tulsa stopped broadcasting it’s analog signal.

This was before the new transition date of June 12, 2009 but in keeping with the original date of February 17. As of June 12, 2009 full-power television stations nationwide are broadcasting exclusively in a digital format.

How do I know if I need a Converter Box?

To check whether your TV set can receive over-the-air digital broadcast signals, take a look at your owner’s manual or look on the set for an indication that it has a built-in Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) tuner. You can also go to the manufacturer’s Web site and check the capabilities of the set by manufacturer model number.

How do I get a Converter Box?

You can use your unexpired government coupon at the local stores of these national electronics outlets:

• Best Buy
• Circuit City
• Kmart
• RadioShack
• Sears
• Target
• Wal-Mart

What antenna do I need and how do I adjust it correctly?

Your current antenna should work the same as before, although in general an exterior antenna will work the best. For more information on the antenna best suited for your area visit www.antennaweb.org.

1. In general, an outdoor antenna is better than an indoor one.
2. The farther you are from the station transmitter the more likely it is that you will need an outdoor antenna.
3. Higher is better. The higher an antenna is the more direct it’s signal is, that can mean less interference.
4. The farther the antenna is from a TV (or if there are multiple sets) the more likely you will need an amplifier.
5. Closer is better. If a position above the roof line is not possible, the antenna should at least be on the side of your building facing the TV signal broadcast tower.
6. Bigger is better. The larger an antenna, the more signal it receives. This is especially important on channels 2-6, where the longer wavelength requires a larger antenna in order to be efficiently received. Larger antennas also become directional which reduces ghosting caused by reflected signals coming from the side and the rear of the receiving antenna.
7. Not all antennas pick up all TV stations that is why it’s recommended you use a resource like www.antennaweb.org tho find out which one best suits your location.
8. Over-the-Air Reception Device Rule – Renters, condo owners, and members of homeowners associations are allowed to put up antennas, where the renter/owner has exclusive use, such as a balcony or patio (not in common areas). Here is a link to that rule.

I have rescaned my converter box and I still can’t get KGEB.

After adjusting your antenna (KGEB’s transmitter is located near 81st and S. Lewis Ave. in South Tulsa) and rescanning your converter box try selecting Channel 49. This often will help point the equipment to KGEB TV-53.

What is the digital cliff?

With a digital signal there is not a gradual fade to no reception. A digital picture will remain crisp and clear for greater distance and then “fall off the cliff” to no signal. Instead of being fuzzy with sparkles and ghosts the way an old analog picture would.

How to tell your television is DTV ready | eHow.com

How to Be Prepared For DTV Transition | eHow.com

How to Set Up a DTV Converter Box With a VCR | eHow.com

What is the difference between Digital Television (DTV) and High Definition Television (HDTV)?

DTV is the umbrella term used to describe the digital television system adopted by the FCC in December 1996. Not all digital TV signals are HD (High Def). HDTV is a type of DTV service. HDTV provides high resolution programming in a widescreen format. A current analog TV picture can provide resolution of up to 480 horizontal lines. An HDTV picture can provide resolution of up to 1080 lines, providing improved picture detail. Aspect ratio is a comparison of screen width to screen height. Analog TV has an aspect ratio of 4 by 3, which means the screen is 4 inches wide for every 3 inches high. Widescreen HDTV format has an aspect ratio of 16 by 9. HDTV programs include Dolby digital surround sound, similar to the sound used in movie theaters and on DVD’s.

Can I recycle my old TV?

Yes. For more information about how to recycle your television and other electronics, visit mygreenelectronics.com.