Tulsa TV viewers following DC sniper case closely

Even though the sniper has stalked his prey around the nation's capitol. The painful effects reach all the way to Oklahoma and beyond. <br><br>As News on Six reporter Tami Marler shows us, coverage

Wednesday, October 23rd 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Even though the sniper has stalked his prey around the nation's capitol. The painful effects reach all the way to Oklahoma and beyond.

As News on Six reporter Tami Marler shows us, coverage of the attacks is just about everywhere you look. For producers and reporters at the News on Six, it's how we make a living. We watch, live and breathe the news, several hours a day. For others, minute-by-minute coverage of the DC area sniper is almost as consuming.

Danny Whiteman: "I've been watching the past couple of days; seems like a lot's been happening, so I try to kind of watch the news and keep up with it.â€ Whiteman says when he makes his rounds at the Grand Health Club; most people have something to say about it.

Roger Earl: "It's just a very difficult situation for everyone, particularly people in the Maryland area, but I think it just strikes a universal cord for people." Earl understands the 24-7 coverage. He says he watches the news for the latest developments, the rest, can be overkill. "Local stations personally should focus more on what's going on in their community, like for example, in Tulsa there's been these home invasion robberies."

Mental health experts say watching and waiting for the sniper to strike again can make us anxious, upset and vulnerable. They say it's best to catch the updates and avoid the barrage of repeat information. Even on lunch break at Cafe USA, thereâ€™s no break from the serial sniper. Jim Wells, Cafe USA patron: "It's on just about every time you turn on the TV. And being a father, I can see how the community up there feels, you know especially with the threats they're having with the children now."

Wells says he doesn't try to hide the news from his children and he lets them know he doesn't have the answers. "You try to tell 'em it's gonna be okay, and you know it isn't going to happen here, but we don't know that. We don't know where he's at or what he's doing."

It's like a cliffhanger with no end in sight, and a hungry public is eating it up.