DECEMBER 21, 2014

Fairmont backers plan to

develop plan for entire area
BY STEPHEN ROBERTSON

STAFF WRITER
SROBERTSON@SWOKNEWS.COM

MICHAEL D. POPE/STAFF

Steve Hahn, president of AT&T Oklahoma, makes a point while talking about the
companys plans to expand technology for its customer base.

AT&T, DirecTV
merger to benefit
customers of both
BY KIM MCCONNELL

STAFF WRITER
KMCCONNELL@SWOKNEWS.COM

Steve Hahn, president of

AT&T Oklahoma, said the companys merger with DirecTV will
benefit consumers in both companies while fitting into AT&Ts
plans to continue expanding
services for customers.
Hahn, who was in Lawton last
week, was named president of
AT&T Oklahoma in late May after serving as president of AT&T
Kansas and, previously, as director of external affairs at AT&Ts
corporate headquarters in Dallas.
The long-discussed merger
will be a great way to tap the resources and strengths of both
companies to provide expanded
services to an expanded customer base, Hahn said. Industry
experts have said DirecTV has
38 million satellite television customers, while AT&T has 5.5 million video subscribers, and a
merger would allow DirecTV to
stream its offerings on mobile
devices owned by AT&T wireless
customers.
Hahn explained that the proposal will allow the companies to
combine television and Internet
in such a way that the strengths
of each company complement
each other. For example, DirecTV provides a good television
package with a quality sports
package, but doesnt have highspeed digital capability because
it relies on satellite service, he
said, noting that is the strength
AT&T would bring. AT&T has 6
million television customers
available in only 20 states, while
DirecTV has 21 million available
nationwide and has made inroads
into South America.
We like the potential growth,
Hahn said of the South American
market.
The merged company could offered bundled services with
high-speed digital and Internet
to both customer bases, including sparsely populated areas of
the country, Hahn said, calling
that expansion one of the great
benefits of the merger because
of the cost of installing equipment in such remote areas.
Its more efficient to use wireless, he said.
He said AT&T is making an investment in 15 million locations.
Some of those locations have multiple service; some have only one
provider or none at all, he said.

Hahn also said AT&T has continued to heavily invest in Oklahoma, including its southwest region. He said the company is
changing its approach to its customer base as customers over
the past decade have shifted
from traditional land lines to
wireless technology.
Traditional phones are quickly becoming a thing of the past,
Hahn said, estimating that 75 to
80 percent of the companys traditional customers from 2000 are
gone as more American households transitioned to wireless
technology. A lot of homes have
disconnected from land lines.
AT&T has tried to keep pace
with that shift by investing in
wireless technology, an estimated $800 million investment in Oklahoma in the last three years,
most in rural communities,
Hahn said. As a result, he estimated that 99 percent of Oklahomans can be served by AT&T,
with the company working to establish new sites providing additional services, filling gaps in
its network. He pointed to the
constant need for expansion, saying that almost as soon as capacity is expanded, it is used up.
Were trying to fill gaps
where needed and add capacity
to the network, he said.
Deano Cox, director of external affairs for AT&T Oklahoma,
said delivering the seamless
service that customers want in
their communications is a tall
task, the reason AT&T is investing at its existing pace.
The company also continues to
participate in technology-based
initiatives, such as It Can Wait,
an
anti-texting-while-driving
campaign that the company
started in 2010. Five million people have taken the It Can Wait
pledge, Hahn said, noting that reflects changing attitudes in texting while driving. He noted the
technological advances now
available build on that interest,
such as a drive mode app that
AT&T offers that prevents a cell
phone from receiving texts.
While some phones have to be activated into that mode, Hahn said
the mode on his phone is automatically activated whenever
his phone is moving faster than
15 miles per hour, sending a message that the phones owner cant
respond.
Hahn said AT&T also is looking
at a chip to be installed in all GM
SEE AT&T, 3B

Backers of a plan to rehabilitate the old Fairmont Creamery

plan to join the Oklahoma Main
Street program and are raising
money to develop a development
plan for the entire area, a city
board was told last week.
Joe Tilton, vice president of
the Fairmont District Experience, briefed the Lawton Economic Development Authority
on progress of the project last
week. The old brick creamery
which is being renovated for retail space and has already begun
to host entertainment events
is just a small part of what supporters hope will become an entire district along the railroad
tracks just east of downtown.
Tilton said research shows
that the growing parts of the retail market include heritage
sites and those that provide entertainment as well, locations
that provide a distinct brand,
like Bricktown in Oklahoma
City.
Lawton has some of the ingredients for successfully attracting boomers and millennials, in
particular, who want a live,
work, play community. The
Fairmont, he said, can help provide missing pieces.
Because of the large numbers
of soldiers posted to Fort Sill, he
said, the community is constantly creating ambassadors to the
rest of the nation and even overseas, and the community should
work to make sure the word that
spreads about Lawton is good.

Although the district now is

just the former creamery, Tilton
hopes to include everything
south of Gore Boulevard and
east and north of the railroad
loop west to Railroad Street,
plus a small area west of Railroad Street to tie into the 2nd
Street development. Entrances
at West Second and Gore and
farther east on Gore nearer Interstate 44 would help reinforce
the districts brand.
He said backers arent competing against Central Mall and
the new 2nd Street development;
instead, they want those retailers to succeed because they
boost the prospects of the Fairmont.
The Fairmont District Experience plans to apply for associate
member status with Main Street
Oklahoma, he said, and it needs
the support of the City Council.
The two members of the council
who serve on the Economic Development Authority Doug
Wells and Keith Jackson volunteered to sponsor the request
to the council.
Tilton said hes talked to several property owners in the area
about the initiative.
I have yet to have opposition
to the district and Ive had a
good deal of interest about repurposing property, he said.
Authority member Ernest
Sheppard, who also is chairman
of the Lawton Industrial Development Authority, noted that the
area is now zoned for industrial
use and development would require changing land use regulations. Tilton said some commu-

nities have designated zones

with reduced red tape and other
incentives to encourage redevelopment.
In other business, the Economic Development Authority
voted 6-3 to recommend that the
City Council approve sharing
the cost of improvements made
at the intersection of Southwest
38th Street and Lee Boulevard
during construction of the new
Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market.
MVG Development, which is
constructing the 1,983-squarefoot grocery store with pharmacy and fueling station at a cost of
$9.55 million, is seeking reimbursement of $45,463.50, half
the cost of providing emergency
vehicle pre-emption at the intersection and of revising curb
ramps and painting crosswalks.
The City Council set up a
process to consider sharing
costs for off-site improvements
required by the city, but the requests must first be heard by the
Economic Development Authority. Members Sheppard, David
Means and Ron Nance voted
against the recommendation.
The authority also unanimously approved a change in its
agreement with Collett and Associates, developer of the 2nd
Street project, that will change
the citys contribution toward
infrastructure improvements in
the area to be considered financial assistance instead of forgiveness of a debt, which will
prevent the developer from
having to pay taxes on that
amount.

Livestock growers in Plains in

quandary over cattle situation
BY VIC SCHOONOVER
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Livestock growers in the

Southern Plains are more nervous than ever these days. That
is, cattle producers are. And
why wouldnt they be?
Following four years of the
worst drought on record, they either dont have any cattle at all
or they dont have enough.
If you are a producer who was
forced out of the business because you had no pasture or no
water pr neither you would
like to get back into the business.
If you were able to hold onto
some cows, you worry about
winter forage supplies as well as
about holding onto enough pasture and water sources for the
spring.
Both the haves and the havenots, if they would like to obtain
more cattle either cows for
growing calves or light calves
for winter wheat pasture
must negotiate with equally

nervous loan officers down at

the local bank in order to come
up with a few hundred thousand
dollars to buy the critters.
Only the most experienced,
trustworthy individuals exit the
bank door with smiles on their
faces. A nervous smile, to be
sure, because historically expensive cattle require sincere,
equally expensive care. Buying
cattle today isnt a task for the
johnny-come-lately. Those with
less than lustrous credentials
need not apply.
At a cattle auction before
Thanksgiving at the Oklahoma
City National Stockyards, 6,000
cattle went under the auctioneers gavel. The Monday before,
5,488 head sold. A year ago, at
the same time, 1,412 head sold.
Compared to the week before,
feeder steers traded mostly $1
higher, with instances of up to $8
higher on 650- to 700-pound
steers. Steer and heifer calves
were mostly $1 to $5 higher, with

the exception of 550- to 600pound pound steers and heifers,

which were four to six dollars
lower.
Steers medium and large no. 1
weighing
300-375
pounds
brought $380-390 per hundred
pounds. And 450- to 500-pound
steers brought $313-$325 per
hundred pounds.
In other words, one 300-pound
steer would bring a total of
$1,140. A truck oad, consisting of
80 head or so, would cost
$91,200. And the price increases
for those who have hundreds of
acres of wheat pasture available
and who need several trucks full
to fill up those fields.
And while live cattle prices
have contributed to high prices
asked for beef at the local supermarket, there is no indication
the consumer is backing away
from buying the beef.
In order to satisfy the demand
for beef when drought-caused
SEE BEEF, 3B

US ag has big appetite for Cuba trade

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) U.S. agriculture has a
big appetite for freer trade with Cuba. From
wheat to rice to beans, the industry stands to be
one of the biggest beneficiaries of President
Barack Obamas plan to ease economic and travel
restrictions imposed against the communist-ruled
island.
Agricultural exports have been among the few
exceptions to the half-century old U.S. trade embargo, though theyve been subject to cumbersome rules requiring cash payments up front
before products are shipped, and that the payments go through banks in other countries that
charge hefty fees for their services.
As a result, Latin American and Asian countries
with fewer restrictions and easier financing have
gained market share in recent years.
The removal of such trade barriers will make
U.S. agricultural products far more price competitive in Cuba, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom
Vilsack said Wednesday as the Obama administration announced plans to restore diplomatic relations and to try to persuade Congress to lift the
embargo.
Major U.S. farm groups including the American
Farm Bureau Federation and National Farmers
Union, as well as leading agribusinesses such as

AP

In this Sept. 27 file photo, a central Illinois corn farmer, on

top of his combine, is silhouetted against the setting sun
while harvesting corn in Pleasant Plains, Ill. Corn is one of
the main products Cuba now buys from the United States.
Cargill Inc., have long advocated normalized
trade relations with Cuba, a market of 11 million
consumers just 90 miles off U.S. shores.
Sales of U.S. agricultural products to Cuba
peaked at over $710 million in 2008, before the recession, but fell to $350 million by 2013, according
to the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council.
Frozen chicken, soybeans and soy products, and

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SEE TRADE, 3B