Jenks, Oklahoma

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jenks, Oklahoma
City
Riverwalk Crossing on the Arkansas River, Jenks
Location within Tulsa County, and the state of Oklahoma
Jenks, Oklahoma Location in the United States
Coordinates: 36°0′37″N 95°58′47″WCoordinates: 36°0′37″N 95°58′47″W
Country	United States
State	Oklahoma
County	Tulsa
Area
• Total	17.73 sq mi (45.9 km2)
• Land	17.13 sq mi (44.4 km2)
• Water	0.6 sq mi (1.6 km2)
Elevation	617 ft (188 m)
Population (2013)
• Total	18,670
• Density	988.1/sq mi (434.0/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	74037
Area code(s)	539/918
FIPS code	40-37800[1]
GNIS feature ID	1094209[2]

Jenks is a city in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States, and a suburb of Tulsa, in the northeastern part of the state. It is situated between the Arkansas River and U.S. Route 75. Jenks is one of the fastest growing cities in Oklahoma. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 9,557, but by 2010, the population was 16,924, an increase of 77.1 percent.^[3]

History

Jenks began in 1904 as a community site established by the Midland Valley Railroad between Tulsa and Muskogee, alongside the Arkansas River. Though the river could only be utilized by shallow draft steamboats while the water level was up, these two transportation routes proved vital to Jenks' early development.
Jenks was named after William Henry Jenks the owner and director of the Midland Valley Railroad. According to a 1957 article in the Tulsa Tribune, an agent for the townsite company was told by the railroad home office to name a town for the director.^[4]
The town was officially platted on July 15, 1905. Also in 1905, a major petroleum discovery was made, further bolstering the economy of the area. The "Glenn Pool" oil well and subsequent oil claims brought many business people to the general area. In 1906, many oil depots (also known as "tank farms") were constructed in Jenks. By the time of statehood, Jenks had 465 inhabitants.
As oil production waned, tank farms were dismantled, and agriculture became once again a major contributor to the Jenks economy. The economy of the area was further improved in the 1920s when many Bulgarian families immigrated to the area to farm. These immigrants established many vegetable farms.
From 1904 through the 1950s, Jenks experienced many floods from the overflow of the Arkansas River and Polecat Creek. In the 1920s and 1930s floods were very severe. During one flood in the late 1920s the water was so deep that it completely covered every building but the roof of the three story high school. Everyone was evacuated except two men and one woman. They had one shotgun, one small boat, food and a tent on top of the school. They guarded the remains of Jenks for several weeks until the water receded.^{[citation needed]} In 1948, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a levee around Jenks, and the community subsequently grew as a result of the increased safety and security. There was another threat of severe flooding in 1986, when severe rainstorms upstream along the Arkansas River the Corps of Engineers to release as much as 300,000 cubic feet per second from the Keystone Dam into the river. This caused a mandatory evacuation order in Jenks and several other river communities.^[5]
Jenks has served as a river crossing point via several bridges over the past century. In 1910, a single-lane bridge was built and strengthened the economic success of the area. 1948 saw the construction of a replacement two-lane bridge which still stands today and now serves as a pedestrian crossing between the Riverwalk and the South Tulsa River Parks. The original 1910 bridge was destroyed and all that is left are a few columns and pieces of metal that are seen when the water level is low. A four-lane bridge was built in 1996.
The current High School building was built in 1960-61 and has had 3 major additions. The United States Census of 1970 placed the population of the City at 1990 and there were approximately 1100 student in public school.
In the 1970s, the Tulsa water system was expanded into Jenks. That decade also saw the construction of a nearby Public Service of Oklahoma gas-fired electric power plant. These developments improved the infrastructure of the area and helped the economy.
In the 1980s, Kimberly-Clark built a manufacturing facility that provides many jobs for the area to this day.

Geography

Jenks is located at 36°0′37″N 95°58′47″W (36.010276, -95.979850).^[6]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.73 square miles (45.9 km²), of which, 17.13 square miles (44.4 km²) of it is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²) of it (3.69%) is water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1910	290		—
1920	1,508		420.0%
1930	1,110		−26.4%
1940	1,026		−7.6%
1950	1,037		1.1%
1960	1,734		67.2%
1970	2,685		54.8%
1980	5,876		118.8%
1990	7,493		27.5%
2000	9,577		27.8%
2010	16,924		76.7%
Est. 2014	19,951	[7]	17.9%
Sources:[1][8][9][10][11][12]

2000 census

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 9,557 people, 3,451 households, and 2,757 families residing in the city. The population density was 666.2 people per square mile (257.3/km²). There were 3,592 housing units at an average density of 250.4 per square mile (96.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.39% White, 1.58% African American, 4.74% Native American, 0.81% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.73% from other races, and 3.74% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.12% of the population.
There were 3,451 households out of which 43.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.0% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.1% were non-families. 18.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.7% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 9.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $54,637, and the median income for a family was $61,050. Males had a median income of $42,148 versus $28,419 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,804. About 2.6% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.7% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 16,924 people, 5,954 households, and 4,753 families residing in the city. The population density was 988.1 people per square mile (381.4/km²). There were 6,395 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 82.8% White, 2.8% African American, 5.5% Native American, 2.3% Asian,^[13] 0.002% Pacific Islander, 1.8% from other races, and 4.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.8% of the population.

Community and tourism

Popular tourist draws include the Oklahoma Aquarium (the state's only freestanding aquarium) and the Riverwalk Crossing shopping/walking district along the Arkansas River.
Jenks’ downtown shops include boutiques, restaurants and the Antiques and Arts District.
Jenks was named the “Antique Capital of Oklahoma” by former first lady of Oklahoma Shirley Bellmon, and the many stores that call Main Street home keep that tradition going. Visitors can park and walk all day browsing vintage wares alongside new and repurposed offerings..
During the second Saturday in October, downtown Jenks is filled with Oklahoma artists, wineries and live jazz bands for Art on Main, which draws 10,000 visitors annually to the city.
The festivities continue throughout the winter months as downtown is transformed into a holiday wonderland. Merchants decorate their windows in preparation for the Jenks holiday tradition, Holiday Open House.
The event takes place the last weekend before Thanksgiving. Beginning Thursday evening, a “Lights On” ceremony takes place and shops welcome shoppers all evening.
Spring days are perfect for enjoying the sunshine and admiring the flower pots full of tulips, provided by the Jenks Garden Club.
During the last Saturday in April, the Herb and Plant Festival draws thousands of visitors and offers everything gardeners need to get ready for summer. Live music and food vendors make the Herb and Plant Festival perfect for a day with the family.
Summers mean ice cream, lemonade and air-conditioned shopping. Downtown Jenks is also home to Freedom Fest, an annual event offering food and fun for all ages.^[14] A pedestrian bridge links the Jenks riverfront area with the Tulsa Riverparks walking trail on the East side of the river. Another one of Jenks main attractions is the High School Football Team who has won 14 state championships, 6 of them in a row from 1996 to 2001. The Trojans have sent many players to the collegiate level in the last 15 years including Rocky Calmus (Oklahoma/Tennessee Titans), Sean Mahan (Notre Dame/Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Jason Lohr (Nebraska), Jason Carter (Oklahoma), Garrett Mills (Tulsa/Minnesota Vikings), Chase Beeler (Stanford), Bryan Pickryl (Texas), Kejuan Jones (Oklahoma), Jay Henry (West Virginia), Phillip Dillard (Nebraska/New York Giants), Corey Callans (Oklahoma), Jake Laptad (Kansas), Cory Dorris (Tulsa), Chris Adkins (Tulsa), Gabe Lynn (Oklahoma),Tramaine Thompson (Kansas State), Alex Ross (Oklahoma), Stephen Parker (Oklahoma), Jordan Smallwood (Oklahoma), Dillon Harding (Oklahoma St.).
Jenks also is home to numerous antique stores and hosts many street festivals and parades each year such as the Art on Main (which has an attendance of 12,000).
The Jenks School District is one of the largest in the state and encompasses significant portions of southwest Tulsa, while many of the Jenks schools are actually located within the city of Tulsa.
On November 22, 2005, former President George W. Bush and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez announced Jenks Public Schools as a recipient of the 2005 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest Presidential honor for quality and organizational performance excellence.

Economy

In 1958, Richard Lloyd Jones Jr. Airport opened for business just outside Jenks. This airport is the official reliever for Tulsa International Airport and is one of the busiest in the state. It serves commercial and private air travel throughout the Tulsa area and has helped stimulate the growth of Jenks' economy.
Jenks is home to the headquarters of many small and large businesses, among which include; Kimberly Clark Corporation, Green Country Energy, Public Service Company, Tulsa Winch, Continental Wire Cloth,^[15][16] Tedford Insurance. Jenks will also be the future headquarters of First Oklahoma Bank, which has begun to build an eight story building, Dec 2012.^[17]

Government

Jenks has a council-manager form of government.^[4]

Media

Jenks has one newspaper, the South County Leader. The Jenks Journal, Glenpool Post and Bixby Bulletin were combined into one print publication in January 2012, but each newspaper has its own section on the South County Leader website. The paper is published every Thursday. It is owned by Community Publishers, a newspaper and Internet publisher and commercial printer that serves Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas. The South County area (Bixby, Glenpool and Jenks) has a community website, N2SouthCounty, that provides everyone in the community a free place to discuss local topics, share status updates, blog, list events, participate in discussions, and share photos and videos.^[18]

Notable people

The following notable people are known to be from Jenks or to have attended the Jenks Public Schools:

• Trenna Barnes, lead singer of country band Cowboy Crush^[19]
• R. Perry Beaver, head football coach at Jenks High School 1977–1990, principal chief of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation 1996–2003
• Jennifer Berry, Miss America 2006
• Jim Bridenstine, United States Representative for Oklahoma's 1st congressional district since 2013
• Trey Callaway, screenwriter and television producer
• Rocky Calmus, Butkus Award winner, NFL linebacker
• Brad Carson, former member of the United States House of Representatives, director of the National Energy Policy Institute at the University of Tulsa^[20]
• Simon Curtis, actor and musician^[21]
• Phillip Dillard, NFL linebacker^[22]
• Josh Johnson, Major League Baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres
• Tyrel Lacey, professional soccer goalkeeper^[23]
• Ben Lamb, 2011 World Series of Poker Player of the Year^[24]
• Danielle Laney, bronze medalist in Taekwondo at the 1992 Summer Olympics^[25]
• Garrett Mills, NFL player for the Minnesota Vikings
• Sean Mahan, NFL center for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Brian Presley, actor
• Colonel Theodore S. Westhusing, West Point professor of English and Philosophy^[26]
• Jerry Wisne, NFL player for the Chicago Bears^[27][28]

It Takes A Village by Hillary Radham Clinton

In celebration of the tenth anniversary of It Takes a Village, this splendid edition includes photographs and a new Introduction by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

A decade ago, then First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton chronicled her quest—both deeply personal and, in the truest sense, public—to help make our society into the kind of village that enables children to become smart, able, resilient adults. It Takes a Village is “a textbook for caring....Filled with truths that are worth a read, and a reread” (The Dallas Morning News).

For more than thirty-five years, Senator Clinton has made children her passion and her cause. Her long experience—not only through her roles as mother, daughter, sister, and wife but also as advocate, legal expert, and public servant—has strengthened her conviction that how children develop and what they need to succeed are inextricably entwined with the society in which they live and how well it sustains and supports its families and individuals. In other words, it takes a village to raise a child.

In her new Introduction, Senator Clinton reflects on how our village has changed over the last decade—from the impact of the Internet to new research in early child development and education. She discusses issues of increasing concern—security, the environment, the national debt—and looks at where we have made progress and where there is still work to be done.

It Takes a Village has become a classic. As relevant as ever, this anniversary edition makes it abundantly clear that the choices we make today about how we raise our children and how we support families will determine how our nation will face the challenges of this century.

Yanji city at China

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yanji 延吉市 · 연길시
County-level city
Yanji skyline, 2010.
Location in Yanbian Prefecture; Yanji is highlighted in red
Yanji Location of the city centre in Jilin
Coordinates: 42°54′N 129°30′ECoordinates: 42°54′N 129°30′E
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Jilin
Prefecture	Yanbian
Township-level divisions	6 subdistricts 3 towns
Seat	Henan Subdistrict
Area
• Total	1,332 km2 (514 sq mi)
Elevation	179 m (587 ft)
Population (2007)
• Total	400,000
• Density	300/km2 (780/sq mi)
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Website	yanji.gov.cn (Chinese) (Korean)

Yanji
Chinese	延吉市
Postal Map	Yenchi
[show]Transcriptions
Chinese Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl	연길시
[show]Transcriptions
South Korean name
Hangul	옌지 시
[show]Transcriptions

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

This article contains Korean text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Hangul and hanja.

Yanji (Korean pronunciation: [jʌnɡil]), is the seat of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, in eastern Jilin province, People's Republic of China. Its population is approximately 400,000 of which a large section is ethnic Korean. Yanji is a busy hub of transport and trade between China and North Korea.

History

Yanji and its environs were largely unpopulated until the 1800s when Qing dynasty rulers of China began to encourage migration there, as an effort to stem encroaching Russian expansion.^[1]
Yanji is now part of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture which is situated in the most easterly part of Jilin.^[2] Yanji City is centrally located, surrounded by five other county-level cities and two rural counties (see map); it is the administrative seat of the prefecture.^[3]

International incidents

The North Korean military detonated its second nuclear test in May 2009 close to the Chinese border, and the blast set off an earthquake of magnitude 4.5 with an epicenter only 112 mi (180 km) from Yanji.^[4] The mutual goodwill of the Chinese and Korean populations in the region was put under severe strain, and many in Yanji expressed newfound feelings of dismay and insecurity regarding their North Korean neighbors.^[4]
A South Korean pastor, The Reverend Kim Dong-shik, was kidnapped in Yanji in January 2000, one of numerous well-publicized North Korean abductions of South Koreans: a suspect of mixed Korean-Chinese descent, said to have been trained in Pyongyang, was arrested and charged with the crime in December 2004.^[5]
Yanji was the starting point of an international dispute in 2009 when two American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling were detained by North Korean border guards when, after leaving Yanji, they overstepped the nearby demarcation line.^[6] The two were freed only after intervention at the highest level, by former US President Clinton.^[7]
Crystal meth seeping across the border from North Korea has led to a drug problem.^[8] According to a Brookings report, "Jilin Province is not only the most important transshipment point for drugs from North Korea into China, but has itself become one of the largest markets in China for amphetamine-type stimulants." Yanji had registered nearly 2100 drug addicts in 2010 compared to just 44 in 1990; local officials admitted that the actual number was possibly five or six times higher.^[9]

Geography and climate

Yanji is situated among foothills, with the main metropolitan area contained in a small, very flat area.^[10] It is ringed by mountains dotted with small, remote farming communities.^[11] It has a four-season, monsoon-influenced, humid continental climate (classified in the Köppen system as Dwb), with long, very cold winters, and short, but very warm, humid summers. Spring and autumn constitute very short transitions with some, but usually not heavy, rainfall. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −13.6 °C (7.5 °F) in January to 21.5 °C (70.7 °F) in July, while the annual mean is 5.40 °C (41.7 °F) and a total precipitation of 530 millimetres (20.9 in), most of it falling during the summer. Sunshine is generous but falling far short of the central and western parts of Jilin; with monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 39% in July to 62% in February, there are 2,280 hours of bright sunshine annually.

[hide]Climate data for Yanji (1971–2000)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	−6.5 (20.3)	−2.2 (28)	5.6 (42.1)	15.1 (59.2)	21.5 (70.7)	24.0 (75.2)	27.1 (80.8)	26.9 (80.4)	21.9 (71.4)	14.5 (58.1)	3.9 (39)	−4.3 (24.3)	12.29 (54.13)
Average low °C (°F)	−19.4 (−2.9)	−16 (3)	−8.2 (17.2)	−0.1 (31.8)	6.7 (44.1)	12.9 (55.2)	17.2 (63)	17.1 (62.8)	9.1 (48.4)	0.3 (32.5)	−8 (18)	−16.2 (2.8)	−0.38 (31.31)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	3.7 (0.146)	5.2 (0.205)	8.3 (0.327)	25.2 (0.992)	54.0 (2.126)	88.8 (3.496)	115.3 (4.539)	121.9 (4.799)	64.1 (2.524)	24.6 (0.969)	10.8 (0.425)	6.4 (0.252)	528.3 (20.8)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm)	3.1	3.4	5.1	7.8	12.2	15.1	14.3	13.6	10.4	7.1	5.3	3.8	101.2
Avg. relative humidity (%)	59	55	53	55	60	75	79	80	77	67	62	61	65.3
Mean monthly sunshine hours	170.4	183.2	225.3	213.2	233.6	190.0	181.0	187.5	197.6	199.5	157.7	140.8	2,279.8
Percent possible sunshine	59	62	61	53	52	42	39	44	53	58	54	50	51
Source: China Meteorological Administration,[12]

Earthquakes

The Chinese-Russian border around Yanji is a region well known as susceptible to earthquakes: the most recent earthquake struck in February 2010 and registered 6.5 on the Richter scale.^[13]

Administrative divisions

Yanji has six subdistricts and three towns.^[14]
Subdistricts:

• Henan Subdistrict (河南街道 / 하남가도), Jiangong Subdistrict (建工街道 / 건공가도), Xinxing Subdistrict (新兴街道 / 신흥가도), Gongyuan Subdistrict (公园街道 / 공원가도), Chaoyang Subdistrict (朝阳街道 / 조양가도), Beishan Subdistrict (北山街道 / 북산가도)

Towns:

• Yilan (依兰镇 / 이란진), Sandaowan (三道湾镇 / 삼도만진), Xiaoying (小营镇 / 소영진)

Demographics

An elderly local

The Korean diaspora in China has significant populations in at least eleven major Chinese cities,^[15] but none larger than Yanji:^[11] official Chinese census reports from 1990 placed the city's ethnic Korean population at over 170,000.^[15] Official census reports from 2000 have not yet been released publicly,^[15] but current estimates place it between about one third of the city's total population^[10][16] to more than one half.^[1][17] Both Chinese and Korean are considered "official languages" of the city:^[10] all official signs are in bilingual text,^[17] with Korean at the top.^[18]

Economy

With its current population estimated at four hundred thousand,^[10] Yanji is comparatively small by Chinese standards (for comparison, the population of Shanghai is almost twenty million).^[19] Yanji is also relatively young: the city was developed only in the nineteenth century^[1] and became the regional capital after the Second World War.^[20] Recent growth in tourism and overseas investment has helped to make Yanji a notably prosperous city.^[17] It abounds with modern architecture of steel and glass,^[17] and its broad avenues^[17][18] are conspicuously clean and well-maintained.^[18] In modern times, Yanji has become a city of transport and trade.^[21] China is the largest trading partner of North Korea, accounting for almost 40% of that country's international commerce, and Yanji is the center of much of the cross-border enterprise.^[21]
Beyond North Korea, other countries have begun to partner with Yanji business groups: currently there are over five hundred joint ventures with international partners ongoing in Yanji.^[17] Much of the recent investment has been made by South Korea^[22][23] and Taiwan, which has helped substantially in building the city's tourism industry.^[17]
Yanji also burnishes its reputation as a center of tourism by hosting the annual North China Travel Fair. Held every year since 1996, the fair is one of the largest of its kind in the country, showcasing over a thousand exhibitions representing cultural and economic partners from across China and overseas.^[24] Yanji also hosts the Tumen River Area International Investment & Business Forum, a three-day exposition held annually since 2000.^[25]

Transport and infrastructure

Daily train service to most major urban centers of the province is available from Yanji, including a 24-hour trip to Beijing.^[3] A much shorter trip to the Chinese capital can be arranged at Yanji Chaoyangchuan Airport which serves the area with scheduled passenger flights domestically and to Korea.^[3] International air service is provided by the Changchun Longjia Airport, and surface travel to Changchun itself has been made more accessible since the large Changchun-Yanji Expressway was opened to the public in 2009.^[26]
A new 125-mile (201 km) water and sewage pipeline was completed in 2006, linking Yanji and the neighboring cities of Jilin and Songyuan to modern sewage treatment plants along the Songhua River.^[27]
As of 2012 Yanji offers the most convenient road access to the Rason Special Economic Zone in North Korea.^[28]

Education

Yanbian University is a comprehensive university in Yanji, founded in 1949; it offers eleven programs of study, including four doctoral programs.^[29] The university maintains a full-time teaching staff of over 1,400, serving an active student body of over sixteen thousand.^[29] One of Yanbian University's graduates, a Korean language major, is Zhang Dejiang, formerly a deputy secretary of the Municipal Committee of Yanji (1983–1985), and now a Vice-Premier of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing.^[30][31]
Yanji is also home to the Yanbian University of Science and Technology, a technical research college founded in 1990,^[32] and the Yanbian Medical College.^[33]

Sport

Yanji hosts sporting events at the 50,000-seat People's Stadium.^[34] The city was the eighteenth stop^[35] for the Olympic torch relay at the opening of the 2008 Summer Games.^[36]
Officials from the Guinness Book of World Records visited the athletics stadium at Yanbian University in July 2010 to witness a new world record being set: over one thousand students simultaneously juggled soccer balls with their feet for more than ten seconds.^[37]

Culture

Yanji is often described as more of a Korean, rather than Chinese, community.^[20] Two all-Korean television channels are produced locally, and others can be freely received from both North and South Korea.^[20] Korean cuisine is highly popular and available everywhere.^[38] An annual Korean folk festival takes place each September in Yanji, featuring traditional Korean music, dance, painting, and sports.^[17]
Karaoke is popular in Yanji,^[23] and the city even has a burgeoning underground beatboxing scene, which has been documented by filmmaker Liu Feng in Yan Bian Box (2007).^[39][40]