An Investigative Report...

The president of Cherokee Connex, Ron Gates, a wi-fi company seeking Grove as a customer, has also been involved in a Muskogee business failure which may cost that city $1.3 million, and a Tulsa based company called MasterMind Internet Services, Inc. which in 2000 was found by the FCC to have violated the competitive bidding process in applications filed on behalf of school districts in Oklahoma.

Gates and Danny George, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Municipal League, made a presentation Oct. 16 to the Grove Industrial Development Authority board on building a mesh wi-fi system in Grove that would cost about $500,000, plus the cost of new wi-fi metering devices for gas and water. Cherokee Connex is in the process of installing wi-fi systems in Vinita, Miami and Pawnee.

This week, a huge call center in Muskogee, Summit Call Center, closed. The City of Muskogee in 2003 gave the call center $550,000 for the center's technology infrastructure and also put up $750,000 so the center could add 500 additional seats. If the goals were not met the city was to be reimbursed. Muskogee County Commissioners also approved $3.5 million in industrial bonds to help fund the center.

The last 15 employees who had not been paid in a month walked off their jobs in September and the center had furloughed most of its 75 employees July 20. The last paycheck the employees received bounced.

Ron Gates was listed in 2004 as President of Summit Call Center, Summit Technology Park, and Cherokee Connex, according to The Muskogee Phoenix.

The money the city invested in the project was raised through a one-half cent sales tax passed in 2001, and according to the Muskogee Phoenix, the city has no hopes of recovering its $550,000 investment and is talking to attorneys about recovering its $750,000.

The $3.5 million in industrial bonds is not believed to be at risk because Summit paid Muskogee $4.2 million to cover the 30-year bonds. The money was deposited to pay off the bonds as they matured. Muskogee County also has a second mortgage on the Summit property and personal guaranties from the Summit principals.

Summit Technology Park was managed by Ron Gates and was built to house up to 7,500 people with three shift facilities in a 269,000 square-foot building, on a 22-acre campus.
The call center opened in 2003 and said it would employ 250 within one year and have 400 employees at the end of two years.

MasterMind Too Involved in Helping Schools Apply for Federal Subsidies

In July, 2000, 120 small schools in Oklahoma were denied about $20 million in subsidies for internet service when the FCC ruled that their applications violated the program's competitive bidding requirements.

Eventually, more than 265 applications for discounted services in Oklahoma, filled out by MasterMind, also known as Edumaster.net, were rejected. In the meantime, through the first 22 months of the E-rate program, MasterMind received close to $2.3 million worth of payments in the form of either reimbursement checks or discounts on invoices.

The President of MasterMind was Ron Gates.

MasterMind, in its appeal of the FCC ruling, said that although it assisted school districts in the application process, it did not sign or complete the applications. The FCC says that MasterMind violated the Commission's Competitive Bidding Requirements because its employee, Chris Webber, was listed as the contact person on the applications. Webber maintained that he helped write the grant writing applications because the small schools in question were struggling to answer questions because they didn't have a technology director on site. Eventually, some 312 additional applications from school districts across the nation were disqualified by the FCC.

The offices of MasterMind were listed at 1217 E 48th Street in Tulsa, the same offices as Cherokee Connex. Its website says it is a leading internet service provider to cities and rural areas of Oklahoma, based in Tulsa.

Cherokee Connex recently "cut the wire" on new wi-fi installations in Vinita and is installing new mesh systems in Pawnee and Miami, according to presentations made to Grove's GIDA. It is 50% owned by the Cherokee Nation. The largest individual owner is Ron Gates, according to his presentation at the recent GIDA meeting.

Sources:
ESchool News On Line, July 1, 2000, "A Stitch in Time" by Gregg W.Downey
ESchool News On Line, July 1, 2000, "FCC ruling spikes eRate funds, by Cara Branigan.
Internet Strategies for Education Markets: The Heller Report, Sept. 2000 by Sara Fitzgerald
FCC Ruling re MasterMind Internet Services, Inc. adopted May 11, 2000.
E-Rate News, March 24, 2000, FCC Weighing Proper Role of Vendors in Application Process
www.CherokeeConnex.com
www.edumaster.net
The Muskogee Phoenix: www.muskogeephoenix.com

(Editors Note: Ron Gates is not to be confused with Ron Cates, the Grove City Attorney. Our phone calls to Ron Gates were not returned by deadline time.)

The Canine Corner...

I was neglectful in telling my readers about my trip to Spud City, Idaho, several weeks ago and for that I do apologize. I have been busy catching up on my emails since my return.

First, the trip was great. I had my own reserved seat in the coach section of the car, my water bowl, food, and an occasional blurb of radio as we crossed the wide open spaces of Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming and into the mountains of Idaho where the spuds were being harvested. Mom even brought back a load.

The trip out was uneventful except that when we went through Wyoming, Dad kept asking the service station men where Brokeback Mountain was. I don't recommend asking that question in Wyoming. A big burly man chased Dad out of the station with a tire iron.

We went by a big wind farm near Arlington, WY. that had 200 of those big propellers that can make two megawatts of electricity each. We should get one of those for Grove and put it in front of City Hall, for all the wind that comes out on Tuesdays.

I visited my two cousins, Mocha Jo and Kipenzi, who came over from Africa and is known as the African Queen. Her name in Swahili means Precious.

On the way home we went through Salt Lake City and Moab, to see the big red rocks, and drove from Cortez, CO. all the way to Grove in a single day, 16 hours with about five stops for you know what. I don't recommend doing that again. Dad said the Weatherford Braum's had the best burgers he had eaten in a while. I got the ice cream.

That's about all for my travel report. One more thing: I read that the County Commissioners appointed some people to fix the overcrowded jail problem. My solution is to put lots of police out on the streets and when they see a crime in progress, they shoot the criminal. No more lengthy trials. That would end the overcrowding problem.

One more thing: Remember to get up at 2 a.m. Saturday and set your clocks back an hour to 1 a.m. since we are going off Daylight Savings Time. Now I can get my morning walks in on daylight.

Until next time, Bark On! Miss Missy.

Precision Wi-Fi Second Tower Going Up

Precision Wi-Fi's second in a series of three towers is ready for installation south of Honey Creek Bridge, to serve the Honey Creek area, Buffalo Shores South and Woodard Hollow.
The 260 foot tall structure will be erected next week on Johnny Reid Hill and as soon as REC runs power to it, broadband internet service will start from this location, said Troy Kyman, President of Precision Wi-Fi.

This Week's Restaurant Review...

By Sam Smithers
Chief Restaurant Reviewer

We happened to be in Joplin last week around noontime and decided to pop in for some real good barbecue at Jim Bob's right thar on Rangeline. We had eaten there before a couple of times and were much impressed with their barbecue brisket. But this time we ordered the barbecue sandwich and fries for $5.99 and got the worst barbecued meat we've ever seen in a sandwich. Maybe someone fell into the pit.

Our waitress delivered the order with a platter of cole slaw stacked on top of the fries in order to make them into mashed potatoes.

The meat was the grade they use in canned food or dog food. Big hunks of squares, fat, and gristle, so tough that when you put a fork in it, the chunk bounced off the table. My companion ordered the same sandwich and it was full of the same meat. It certainly was not brisket.

We brought this to the attention of the waitress who said "Umm." We advised her to check with the chef, er cook, to see how this could happen. We continued to eat the sandwich, with a knife and fork, in the hopes that things would get better. They didn't.

As she brought the check, she asked how we enjoyed our lunch. Imagine. We again pointed out the meat quality in the sandwich and she asked us if we would like another one. We are too young for dentures so we said no and she smiled and went away for good.

Most of the patrons on this noontime day had climbed out of pickup trucks and looked like they cleaned their teeth with ten penny nails and maybe they like really tough hunks and chunks of meat in their barbecue sandwich. But if you go to Jim Bob's Barbecue, order the chicken.