Current Issues in Journalism

The pay phone located in Northern Broken Arrow Park, found at 29th & Louisiana in Lawrence is out of order. The phone on the stand is missing, seemingly removed. The box that the phone was once in no longer contains any workings of a phone except a lonely cord, connecting to nothing.

In the event of an emergency, the lack of a popular device known by us as the cell phone, or just for overall convenience, no pay phone could pose a problem. The park that the phone stand is located in is a rather large one containing a baseball field, shelter buildings, and numerous play sets for children. The park is also located just South of Broken Arrow Elementary School. With a park this size and of this popularity it seems important that a child should be able to reach his or her parents or perhaps a call be made by an adult if needed.

I spoke with Karen Risner (785-832-3455), one of the two people working for Lawrence Parks and Recreation as an Administrative Support employee. Karen did me the favor of making a few phone calls to further investigate this issue to see as to why the phone was no longer in working condition. "The phone was put out of order in the Spring of 2006, because it was no longer listed as a priority by the phone's service provider, Southwestern Bell," Karen said. A contact list including Karen and the rest of Lawrence Parks and Recreation's staff is located here.

With the park being isolated the way that it is, Southwestern Bell should perhaps rethink discontinuing its phone service in this area. For the people that are not owners of cell phones, especially children, a pay phone in certain events could be very helpful.

Karen Risner - 785-832-3455