EDITORIAL: Welcome addition

Enid News & Eagle, Okla.
·3 min read

Mar. 7—THUMBS UP

Kudos to the new city soccer complex, which will be a welcome addition to Enid's west side as well as the city's sports scene.

Enid Sports Association, the Allen and McLaughlin family foundations and other donors deserve our thanks for helping establish Advance Soccer Complex. Construction on the site is expected to be completed by September 2022.

The complex will feature seven large fields, a fenced playground, water features, a shade station, a press box on the turf field and a single-story clubhouse, as well as three small practice fields and an indoor multi-purpose field.

The 24,000-square-foot clubhouse facility will be load-bearing if the city of Enid would like to add a second floor. The building will include four locker rooms, a concessions area, referees' and coaches' lounges, and a coaches' workroom that would share a retractable wall with a conference room.

The complex will bring visitors to town, much like David Allen Memorial Ballpark has done. This new sports addition will help boost our local economy.

THUMBS UP

Thumbs up to the five area high school seniors named by Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence as 2021 Academic All-State Awards recipients — Cailey Luskey of Chisholm; Zachary Wallis of Alva; Prairie Kaya of Kingfisher; Caymen Matson of Kingfisher; and Kloey Marlatt of Woodward.

Only 100 high school seniors from across the state were honored, so this is quite an accomplishment.

To be nominated for Academic All-State, students must meet one of the following criteria: an American College Test (ACT) composite score of at least 30; a combined SAT evidence-based reading and writing and math score of at least 1370; or be selected as a semifinalist for a National Merit, National Achievement or National Hispanic Scholarship. This year's All-Staters scored an average of 33 on the ACT, with 11 recipients scoring a perfect 36. The students' average GPA was 4.26. In addition, 34 of this year's All-Staters are National Merit semifinalists, and two are National Hispanic Scholar semifinalists.

Each of this year's All-Staters will receive a $1,000 merit-based scholarship and a medallion. The All-Staters will be recognized at the foundation's 35th annual Academic Awards Celebration on May 22 at the Cox Business Center in Tulsa.

THUMBS DOWN

Thumbs down to the situation at Vance Air Force Base that led to Col. Timothy Danielson, 71st Flying Training Wing commander at Vance Air Force Base, being relieved of his duty.

The Air Force said there was no "misconduct or illegal actions," but leaders of the 19th Air Force lost trust and confidence in Danielson's ability to lead the wing.

This is the first time we can remember such a move being made at the base. While we hate to see this kind of thing happen, it does appear the Air Force moved swiftly and decidedly on this matter. We hope this quick decision helps stakeholders at the base keep focused and moving forward for the good of the service members at the base and its mission to train pilots.