Protestors show up in opposition to new casino

Protestors show up in opposition to new casino
Indian tribe to build facility near schools
By Chris Davis and Russell Mills

TULSA, Okla. —

The signs say it all. About 100 Broken Arrow residents showed up where a press conference was set to take place Thursday on the casino being built at S. 111th St. and 129th E. Ave.

"Save BA-No Casino" read one sign. Others said pretty much the same.

The press conference was led by Jared Cawley, an expert on Indian law and a resident of the neighborhood just north of the casino site.

He says the project is illegal under state, federal and local law and residents will do what it takes to get it stopped.

The Kialegee Tribal Town, a group affiliated with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is planning a temporary slot machine facility that could open as early as March.

The tribe apparently claims sovereignty over the tract of land, according to signs posted there.

However, no one -- including the Kialegee Tribal Town, the Muscogee Nation, their attorneys, the developers, or the land owners will talk with residents or the media about the situation.

A more permanent structure would open in 2013. The complex would be called the Red Clay Casino.

But, not if Broken Arrow residents have their way. Many have shown up at city council meetings vocalizing their opposition to the planned gambling establishment, fearful of a moral breakdown in their town.

However, protesters said Thursday, the council has so far refused to allow an agenda item on the casino for next Tuesday's council meeting.

Some in Thursday's crowd say they're opposed to gaming on moral grounds. Others say they just think the location's wrong.

Phil Dietz, another neighbor, told KRMG "I'm not necessarily against gaming in general, but this is the wrong place for a casino."

He points out that Tulsa Tech's Broken Arrow campus is immediately across the street. The land to the northeast will soon become home to a new pre-k and elementary school.

North of the casino project, quiet neighborhoods where Dietz fears property values will begin to drop if the casino gets built.

Lori Pettus says she's extremely concerned about the proximity of the vo-tech, where inexperienced high school-age drivers will "according to the law of averages" come in contact with impaired drivers leaving the casino after drinking.

She's also fearful of the intentions of the builders, who have not communicated at all with area residents. People in the area all say they learned about the project when giant earthmovers began working on the site.

"We are all very concerned about the conspiracy of silence that has enveloped this whole operation," she told KRMG. "If we cannot stop this, then any community is vulnerable, any community can be invaded.

Perhaps the sign which most succinctly and directly summed up the feelings of the crowd read simply: "CasiNO."