6C . SATURDAY, JULY 5, 2014 THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.

COM
COMMUNITY | LIFE
NORFOLK, Va. A 2005
Northwest Classen High
School graduate is serving
on one of the worlds
largest warships, the U.S.
Navy aircraft carrier USS
Harry S. Truman.
Petty Officer 3rd Class
Herbert Navarro, 28, is a
hospital corpsman aboard
the Norfolk-based ship, a
Nimitz-class nuclear-
powered aircraft carrier
and one of only 10 oper-
ational aircraft carriers in
the Navy today.
Named in honor of for-
mer President Harry Tru-
man, the carrier is longer
than three football fields,
at nearly 1,100 feet in
length. The ship is 252 feet
wide and weighs more
than 100,000 tons. Two
nuclear reactors can push
the ship through the water
at more than 30 mph.
Navarros task is to see
sailors during sick call and
in the intensive care unit.
I enjoy meeting my
shipmates every day and
treating them, he said.
Navarro said he is proud
of the work he is doing as
part of the Trumans
5,500-member crew, pro-
tecting America on the
worlds oceans. Navarros
ambition is to complete
college and pursue an offi-
cer commission.
I wanted to join the
Navy in order to obtain as-
sistance in my education
and travel and see the
world, and later I will ob-
tain my law degree, Na-
varro said.
Sailors jobs are widely
varied aboard the USS
Harry S. Truman. About
3,000 men and women
make up the ships compa-
ny, which keeps all parts of
the aircraft carrier running
smoothly this includes
everything from washing
dishes and preparing
meals to handling weap-
onry and maintaining the
nuclear reactors. An addi-
tional 2,500 or so form the
air wing, the people who
actually fly and maintain
the aircraft.
I never cease to be im-
pressed with the type and
quality of work that goes
on aboard Truman each
day, said Capt. S. Robert
Roth, the carriers com-
manding officer. Our
team is filled with highly
qualified young adults in
many cases, 19 and 20
years old and theyre out
here running a complex
propulsion system safely,
serving as air traffic con-
trollers, operating sophis-
ticated electronics,
launching and recovering
aircraft when were under-
way, and keeping this
floating city alive and
functioning.
About the ship
USS Harry S. Truman is
designed for a 50-year ser-
vice life. When the air wing
is embarked, the ship car-
ries more than 60 attack
jets, helicopters and other
aircraft, all of which take
off from and land aboard
the carrier at sea.
Powerful catapults
slingshot the aircraft off
the bow of the ship. The
planes land aboard the
carrier by snagging a steel
cable with an arresting
hook that protrudes from
the rear of the aircraft.
All of this makes the
Harry S. Truman a self-
contained mobile airport
and strike platform, and
often the first response to a
global crisis because of a
carriers ability to operate
freely in international wa-
ters anywhere on the
worlds oceans.
Petty Officer 1st Class Ruben Perez is
with the Navy Office of Community
Outreach.
OKC native serves as corpsman on carrier
BY PETTY OFFICER 1ST
CLASS RUBEN PEREZ
For The Oklahoman
Petty Officer Herbert Navarro, from Oklahoma City, serves aboard USS Harry S.
Truman.
PHOTO PROVIDED
The Burch, George &
Germany law firm has an-
nounced an initiative to try
to curb texting and driving
by presenting a teen safety
public service announce-
ment scholarship.
The scholarship is open
to students who will be
high school seniors or col-
lege freshmen in the fall.
Applicants must attend a
high school or four-year
college or university in
Oklahoma, attorney Derek
Burch said. Parents of eli-
gible students also can ap-
ply and win the scholar-
ships for their children.
The winner will receive
$1,000, and the runner-up
will receive $500. Judges
will give one teen an hon-
orable mention award of
an iPad Mini, and one par-
ent will receive an honor-
able mention award of a
kill switch phone app.
The app shuts down the
ability of a telephone to
text while the user is
driving.
Applicants must send
the firm an application
form and a 30-second vid-
eo similar to a public safety
announcement educating
viewers about the dangers
of texting and driving.
Part of our practice
deals with automobile ac-
cidents, Burch said.
Weve been doing this a
long time, but over the
years, weve noticed that
more and more accidents
occur specifically when
someone is texting.
Judges are looking for
clever videos that offer a
fresh take on the dangers
of texting and driving.
The application dead-
line is Sept. 1. To download
an application or see
scholarship rules, go to
www.burch-george.com/
scholarship/.
Law firm offers scholarships
to prevent texting and driving
BY NASREEN IQBAL
Staff Writer
niqbal@opubco.com
Weve been doing this a long time,
but over the years, weve noticed
that more and more accidents occur
specifically when someone is
texting.
DEREK BURCH
BURCH, GEORGE & GERMANY LAW FIRM
ADOPT A PET
ADOPTION OPTIONS
Bethany Animal Control Shelter, 8
a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fri-
days, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the first Sat-
urday of the month, 5100 N College,
789-3431.
Central Oklahoma Humane Society
Adoption Center, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Tuesdays through Saturdays, noon to
5 p.m. Sundays, 7500 N Western Ave.,
286-1229.
Edmond Animal Welfare Shelter, 10
a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fri-
days, noon to 4:30 p.m. Saturdays, and
1 to 4:30 p.m. Sundays, 2424 Old Tim-
bers Drive, 216-7615.
El Reno Animal Shelter, 8 a.m. to 5
p.m. Mondays through Saturdays,
2400 Spur Lane, 262-8883.
Free to Live, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily
except Wednesdays and holidays,
northwest of Edmond, 282-8617,
www.freetoliveok.org.
Midwest City Animal Shelter, 8 a.m.
to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays,
7221 NE 36, 427-6640 or www.
midwestcityok.org.
Moore Animal Shelter, 8 a.m. to 5
p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 4000 S
Interstate 35 Service Road, 793-5190.
Mustang Animal Shelter, 8 a.m. to 5
p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 520
SW 59, 376-4474.
Oklahoma City Animal Shelter,
noon to 5:45 p.m. daily for adoptions
and 9 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. daily for receiv-
ing, 2811 SE 29, 297-3100, www.okc.
petfinder.com or www.okc.gov.
Oklahoma Humane Society, 286-
1503, www.okhumane.org.
PAWS-OK, 204-3964, www.paws
ok.com.
Pets and People Humane Society,
noon to 5:30 p.m. daily for adoptions,
701 Inla Ave., Yukon, 350-7387,
www.petsandpeople.com.
Real Rescue, dogs, cats and potbel-
lied pigs, 414-5651 or 277-3139.
Rocky Spot Rescue, 699-7358,
www.rockyspot.com.
Second Chance Animal Sanctuary,
Norman, noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday
through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sat-
urday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, 4500
24th Ave. NW, 321-2180.
The Village Animal Shelter, 8 a.m.
to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays,
1701 NW 115. Call 751-0493 before
visiting shelter.
Yukon Animal Shelter, 8 a.m. to 5
p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 8 a.m.
to noon Saturdays, 501 Ash Ave., 354-
6312.
The Oklahoma City Animal Shelter is
offering half-price adoptions for
adult dogs and puppies on Saturday
and Sunday. The fee is $30. Stars
and Stripes are friendly 5-month-old
Rottweiler mix pups. They are good
ball retrievers and play well with
other dogs. Their shelter numbers
are 174379 and 174380. All pets are
spayed or neutered and have age-
appropriate shots and a health
check. The shelter is at 2811 SE 29
and is open for adoptions seven days
a week from noon until 5:45 p.m. For
more information, go online to www.
okc.petfinder.com or www.okc.gov.
PHOTO PROVIDED
Autry is a 1-year-old pit bull mix
available for adoption at Second
Chance Animal Sanctuary in Norman.
She is spayed, has an identifying
microchip implant and is current on
shots and tests. Fee is $110. Accord-
ing to staff, Autry is friendly and
playful as a puppy. For more informa-
tion, call 321-1915.
PHOTO BY STEVE SISNEY,
THE OKLAHOMAN
NORMAN Tickets are
on sale for performances
of the Cimarron Opera
production of The
Gondoliers.
Performances will be at
8 p.m. Friday and July 12,
with 2 p.m. performances
on July 12 and 13 at the
Nancy OBrian Center for
the Performing Arts, 1809
Stubbeman Ave. Tickets
are $20 for adults and $15
for students and seniors.
The comic opera from
librettists W.S. Gilbert and
Arthur Sullivan is set in
Venice. The plot centers on
a story of mistaken
identities.
The production features
singers from the local
community, aspiring pro-
fessional singers and sing-
ers from several universi-
ties in the metro area.
Cimarron Opera to present
The Gondoliers in Norman
FROM STAFF REPORTS
GET YOUR TICKETS
Tickets can be bought online at www.cimarron
opera.org or by calling 364-8962.
The Pet Food Pantry of Okla-
homa City received its largest
corporate donation to date when
AT&T representatives presented
pantry founder Kim Pempin a
$5,000 check as part of AT&Ts
annual community excellence
award.
For some, pets are their only
family or friend, Pempin said.
With this contribution, we can
help ensure that those in need do
not have to choose between
feeding themselves or feeding
their pet.
The pantry is a nonprofit or-
ganization whose volunteers are
dedicated to making a difference
in the lives of people and their
pets by providing pet food to
low-income seniors, the home-
less and veterans.
The award is given annually to
a charity nominated by a select-
ed AT&T community forum
leader, an AT&T customer who
offers outstanding advice, tips
and tools to other customers in
an online forum.
One of this years AT&T com-
munity forum leaders is Edmond
resident Elena Harris, who nom-
inated the food pantry as a bene-
ficiary.
I am so pleased to be able to
help support the Pet Food Pan-
trys efforts to provide pet food
so that individuals dont have to
give up their pet because they
lack the resources to feed their
animals, Harris said.
Five charities across the na-
tion were chosen as AT&T bene-
ficiaries this year.
AT&T GIVES DONATION TO PET FOOD PANTRY
BY NASREEN IQBAL
Staff Writer
niqbal@opubco.com
AT&T representatives awarded $5,000 to the Pet Food Pantry of Oklahoma City. From left are
AT&T external affairs manager Jason Winborn, AT&T community forum leader Elena Harris and
Pet Food Pantry founder Kim Pempin.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY AT&T