Archive for the Week of February 8, 2009 - February 14, 2009
Henry seeks federal help for tornado victims
2/13/09, 6:39 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Brad Henry is asking the White House for individual assistance for Oklahomans in three counties whose property was damaged by tornadoes that killed eight people.
Henry made the request Friday for tornado victims in Carter, Logan and Oklahoma counties, but more counties can be added if individual assistance is approved.
Earlier this week, Henry spoke with President Obama and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, both of whom pledged to help Oklahomans reeling from Tuesday's tornado outbreak. If approved, Oklahomans who suffered uninsured storm-related damage would be eligible for assistance for housing repairs or temporary housing and low-interest loans for individuals and businesses to repair or replace damaged property. A tornado in the Carter County town of Lone Grove killed eight people and injured dozens of others.
DEQ to sample private water wells
2/13/09, 5:46 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A state agency plans to take water samples from private wells in an area of the state where one man died and at least 146 others were sickened due to bacterial contamination. The Department of Environmental Quality will conduct the sampling following an environmental investigation by the Attorney General's Office.
The investigation follows an E. coli outbreak in Locust Grove in late summer 2008. The Department of Health is continuing its epidemiological investigation and has not ruled out well water as a potential source of contamination. Health officials have focused on the Country Cottage, a restaurant in Locust Grove. The agency had said last August that well water was likely not to blame for the E. coli outbreak. DEQ will test private wells in the area on Wednesday and Thursday.
Oklahoma getting $2.6 billion from stimulus
2/13/09, 5:12 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The compromise stimulus package approved by the U.S. House contains more than $2.6 billion for roads, schools and other projects in Oklahoma. About $449 million of the total will go toward highway and bridge projects, according to figures supplied by a group that does fiscal analysis for the nation's governors and legislatures.
The state Department of Education is in line to get $136 million for schools that have low-income students, $155 million for special education and $7.1 million for technology improvements. The package provides about $900 million in Medicaid funding. But availability of that money is contingent on need and the state's unemployment rate. State Treasurer Scott Meacham says most of the funds coming to Oklahoma will bypass the governor's office and Legislature and go into existing federal programs.
Covenant marriage bill passes committee
2/13/09, 9:15 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Legislation that would allow couples to enter into a voluntary covenant marriage that would require counseling and make it harder to get a divorce is headed to the House floor. The House Judiciary Committee approved Tulsa Republican John Wright's bill by an 8-1 vote Thursday.
Wright says the bill is wise public policy to cut down on Oklahoma's high divorce rate. He cites research that indicates there are less than half as many divorces among those with a covenant marriage.
Seminole Democrat Ryan Kiesel was the only committee member to vote against the bill. He says there should be no two-tiered system placing less value on some marriages. Louisiana, Arkansas and Arizona already have similar laws.
Names of 4 Lone Grove tornado victims released
2/12/09, 5:34 p.m.
LONE GROVE, Okla. (AP) - Emergency crews have finished rescue and recovery efforts in Lone Grove following Tuesday's killer tornado and the names of some victims have been released. The Craddock Funeral Home in Ardmore identified four of the victims as 54-year-old Gail Fambrough and her 48-year-old husband
Vincent Fambrough. Other victims are 53-year-old Molly Hutchinson and 36-year-old Tim Nevill. The identities of the other victims are expected to be released later today.
Residents now face the job of cleaning up debris and rebuilding 100 or more homes damaged or destroyed in the storm. Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokesman Michelann Ooten says eight people were killed in the storm and 14 were seriously injured. Carter County Sheriff Ken Grace says one of the injured has died in a Dallas hospital.
City Manager Marianne Elfert says 10 to 15 people are still unaccounted for but are believed to have simply left the area. Federal Emergency Management Agency officials are assessing damage today as the state works through the process of seeking federal assistance for uninsured losses.
Lawmakers spurn Guantanamo terrorists
2/12/09, 5:22 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Members of the Oklahoma House have overwhelmingly supported a measure opposing the housing of any Guantanamo "terrorists" in Oklahoma.
By a vote of 81-12 on Thursday, Republican Rep. T.W. Shannon of Lawton convinced fellow members in a House Resolution that Guantanamo detainees should not be housed anywhere in the U.S. Some members argued against the resolution, saying relocating the detainees could provide an opportunity for Oklahoma and help the future of Fort Sill and other bases in the state.
Last week the Senate approved a similar resolution. The resolutions do not have the force or effect of law and only express the intent of the Legislature.
Bill passed to provide autism therapists
2/12/09, 11:45 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A bill to increase the number of health professionals that treat autism has passed the Oklahoma House. No lawmakers opposed the plan, but several questioned how much good it will do if insurance companies are not required to cover autism diagnosis and treatment. Republican Rep. Chris Steele of Shawnee says the most important move the Legislatures can do now is to increase the number of
specialists trained to treat the disorder. Last week, a committee controlled by the House Republican
majority killed a bill to require insurance companies to cover autism.
Oklahoma foreclosures drop in January
2/12/09, 10:50 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - A report by the real estate data service RealtyTrac shows the number of home foreclosures is falling in Oklahoma. The report says the foreclosure rate fell by 23.4 percent in January with a total of 973 homes foreclosed upon.
The foreclosure rate for Oklahoma is now one for every 1,688 homes compared to a national rate of one for every 466 homes. Oklahoma's rate ranks 31st in the nation. Nevada has the highest foreclosure rate in the nation with one for every 76 homes.
Bill creating accountability office passes
2/11/09, 6:12 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Legislation to create a new Office of Accountability and Innovation has been approved in a Senate committee. A companion measure to create the position of chief information officer also passed the Senate Appropriations Committee. The legislation is part of Senate President Pro Tem Glen
Coffee's government efficiency program.
Coffee, an Oklahoma City Republican, says the new office will conduct performance audits of agencies and recommend ways to make streamline government. He says the chief information officer will make sure agencies are speaking in one language technologically. The bills now go to the Senate floor for consideration.
Most of immigration bill ruled valid
2/11/09, 5:52 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A district court judge in Tulsa - with one exception - has upheld the constitutionality a 2007 law enacted to combat illegal immigration. Senior Assistant Attorney General Sandy Rinehart says Judge Jefferson Sellers ruled Wednesday that the section dealing with tuition was not germane to the act and violated the single-subject rule of the Oklahoma Constitution.
Rinehart says state attorneys successfully defended the rest of the law. She says the judge objected to the provision that changed a law that allowed children of illegal immigrants to get resident tuition. Under the change, students that get GED degrees cannot qualify. Rinehart says Jefferson ruled that provision had nothing to do with the purpose of the bill, which is to discourage immigration.
Oklahoma County finally gets votes counted
2/11/09, 5:03 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma County election officials have gotten votes counted after power outages caused by tornado-producing storms delayed the count. Ballots and memory packs from the ballot boxes were brought to the county election office Tuesday night and sheriff's deputies put them in a vault and guarded them until they were counted Wednesday.
Among the races decided in the election former state Sen. Angela Monson defeated former Oklahoma City Mayor Kirk Humphreys in the race for Oklahoma City School Board chairman. Humphreys had been appointed to the post after the previous board chairman resigned. Monson received almost 57 percent of the vote - 6,387 to Humphreys' 4,840.
Bill restricts use of driver's license data
2/11/09, 4:42 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A Senate panel has passed a bill to restrict the transfer of fingerprint images and other data on state driver's licenses to "any other entity," including federal agencies. Sen. Randy Brogdon, an Owasso Republican, wants to prevent the sharing of fingerprints and other images on driver's licenses with other state and federal agencies.
He warned that some of the information may wind up in the files of foreign governments. He says it is was part of a move toward one-world government and says the federal government is trampling on state rights. As Brogdon put it: "We're hearing rumblings of 'papers, please,' similar to World War II Germany.
Brogdon's bill seeks to delete biometrics information, such as fingerprints and facial images, from databases. His bill was approved on a voice vote in the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and the Judiciary. It now goes to the full appropriations committee for consideration.
Governor declares state of emergency
2/11/09, 4:14 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Brad Henry has declared a state of emergency in 17 counties after tornadoes ravaged parts of Oklahoma and killed at least eight people. Henry issued the declaration Wednesday, saying it will speed up efforts to help those areas and is a first step toward asking for federal assistance.
A tornado Tuesday night killed eight people and injured dozens in Lone Grove while Edmond, Oklahoma City, Pawnee, Wilson and Springer also sustained damage from twisters. The counties included in the declaration are: Canadian, Carter, Cleveland, Garvin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Logan, Love, Murray, Oklahoma, Pawnee, Payne, Pontotoc, Pottawatomie, Nowata, Osage and Washington. Henry says more may be added.
February twisters rare in Okla. but not unprecedented
2/11/09, 9:35 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - February tornadoes like the killer tornado that hit southern Oklahoma are unusual - but not unprecedented. National Weather Service meteorologist Doug Speheger in Norman says 44 tornadoes have hit Oklahoma in February since 1950. At least three touched down yesterday including one blamed for at least eight deaths in Lone Grove. Speheger says February tornadoes aren't usually this early or
this strong. The most recent February twister in the state was one that damaged a hog barn and power lines on February 24, 2000, in Ellis and Harper counties in western Oklahoma.
Tornado kills 8 in southern Oklahoma
2/11/09, 9:25 a.m.
LONE GROVE, Okla. (AP) - Authorities plan to resume looking for victims of a deadly tornado in southern Oklahoma at daybreak and are calling on the National Guard for help patrolling the area. Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Michelann Ooten says at least eight people were killed when the tornado hit Lone Grove last night.
Carter County Emergency Manager Ed Reed says searchers were pulled out of Lone Grove early today because of numerous power lines down in the area. Reed says electric company officials weren't been able to guarantee that the lines are dead, and he didn't went to add to the casualties. Meanwhile, the National Weather Service will send a team of meteorologists to Lone Grove and to the Oklahoma City metro area to survey the damage and determine the size of the twisters.
The tornado was one of several that occurred in the state during a severe weather outbreak yesterday that was unusual, even for tornado-prone Oklahoma. One storm in the Oklahoma City metro are left three people with minor injuries, six homes destroyed in Edmond and businesses damaged in Oklahoma City and Edmond. Another tornado was reported near Pawnee.
Wind damage reported in severe weather
2/10/09, 5:52 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A severe storm produced at least one tornado in central Oklahoma this afternoon and knocked down power lines, damaged structures and caused power outages. The damaged homes are in the Edmond area where city spokeswoman Claudia Deakins says it's taking some time to get confirmation of damages. Deakins says there are no reports of casualties as of late afternoon.
Schools in Edmond, Guthrie, Oklahoma City, Behtany and other areas locked down during the storm waiting for it to pass. There are no immediate reports of serious injuries as the storm moved into Logan and Payne counties and led to warnings in those areas. Oklahoma City fire officials reported damage to buildings in northwest Oklahoma with downed power lines trapping some motorists.
Oklahoma Gas and Electric spokesman Brian Alford says about 14,000 customers were without power by late afternoon. The only immediate injury report is from Emergency Management Services Authority spokeswoman Lara O'Leary who says one person was apparently cut by glass that blew out of a window.
Henry asks for disaster assistance for ice storm
2/10/09, 4:45 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Brad Henry has requested federal disaster assistance for four eastern Oklahoma counties that suffered significant damage from an ice storm last month. Henry made the request to President Barack Obama on Tuesday for public assistance for Adair, Cherokee, Delaware and Hughes counties, which sustained an estimated $7.3 million in infrastructure damage and response costs from the storm that began Jan. 26.
If approved, the disaster declaration would deliver federal funding to assist municipalities, counties and rural electric cooperatives with infrastructure repairs, debris removal and costs associated with responding to the storm. Henry says other counties could be added to the request as additional damages are identified. The same storm system resulted in federal disaster declarations for public assistance for Kentucky and Arkansas.
Committee approves 10 Commandments display
2/10/09, 1:15 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A plan to display the Ten Commandments on a monument at the state Capitol has cleared a state House committee. The measure would authorize installation of a three-by-six-foot monument on the Capitol grounds at no expense to the state. Rep. Mike Ritze of Broken Arrow authored the bill and says he and his family will pay the estimated $10,000 cost of the project.
Ritze says he believes the nation has lost its moral compass and that the Ten Commandments is a reminder of basic values. Rep. Wallace Collins of Norman says he believes placing a copy of the Ten Commandments on the Capitol grounds could be unconstitutional. The measure was approved 8-3 by the House General Government Committee and now goes to the full House for a vote.
More stations delay switch
2/10/09, 12:51 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Three Oklahoma City television stations have decided to delay the switch to digital-only television as allowed by Congress. KFOR, KOCO and KSBI have decided to postpone the changeover until June 12 even though many stations, including OETA, are still planning to cut analog transmitters on the original deadline of Feb. 17. Other Oklahoma City stations, including KWTV, KAUT, KOKH and KOCB plan to go digital on the original date.
Tulsa station KOTV has filed a request to drop analog transmission Feb. 17 but KTUL plans to delay. People who subscribe to cable or satellite TV or have a newer TV with a digital tuner will not be affected. Those with older televisions receiving their signal via antenna will need a converter box to continue to get reception. A government program providing coupons to defray the costs of converters has hit its funding limit.
State revenue falls below prior year
2/10/09, 11:39 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - State revenue collections in January fell below prior year collections and the estimate for the month, providing evidence that the national economic downturn has reached Oklahoma. State Treasurer Scott Meacham said Tuesday that collections for the month totaled almost $493 million. That is $45.5 million below the prior year and almost $51 million below the estimate.
Meacham says Oklahoma is increasingly feeling the effect of the nationwide recession. He says it's the first time in nine month that monthly collections have been lower than the previous year and estimates. In spite of the reduction, Meacham says it appears the state will finish the fiscal year with enough revenue to meet its financial obligations. Year-to-date collections are more than $150 million above the estimate. The fiscal year ends on June 30.
Bill would ban smoking in restaurants
2/10/09, 10:04 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Supporters of legislation that would ban smoking in restaurants and most other public places say a new poll shows it has lots of public support. Results of the poll were released Tuesday by representatives of the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and other groups.
It shows 59 percent of those surveyed support a law that would eliminate smoking and smoking sections in public places. Only 37 percent oppose it. And more than two-thirds support the right of customers and employees to breathe clean air. Smoking in Oklahoma restaurants is now restricted to separately ventilated rooms.
Bill denies local livestock regulation
2/10/09, 10:02 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A state Senate committee has passed a bill to strip local governments of the power to regulate livestock. The measure passed the Senate Agriculture Committee unanimously on Monday, despite concerns it could cause health problems in cities and rural communities.
Sen. Mike Schulz, an Altus Republican, sponsored the legislation at the request of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau. The bill gives the Legislature sole authority to regulate livestock. Cities and counties would be prohibited from adopting local laws or regulations. Livestock is defined in state law as such things as cattle, horses, sheep, swine, domesticated rabbits, chickens, turkeys, domesticated fowl and "any animal or bird in captivity."
Committee votes to post travel costs
2/10/09, 9:43 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A legislative committee has voted to require state education agencies to post their travel expenses online. Members of the House Government Modernization Committee voted 8-1 Monday to require the Department of Education and the Commission for Teacher Preparation to post all travel expenses on the Department of Education's Web site. It also requires the agencies to explain the direct benefit to the education system for each listed travel expense.
The bill's author, Rep. Paul Wesselhoft of Moore, says he has had trouble getting information from the commission. Wesselhoft says he wants documentation on travel costs and benefits. The commission's Web site says it is responsible for developing, implementing and facilitating competency-based teacher preparation, candidate assessment and professional development.
Former Oklahoma commissioner pleads no contest
2/10/09, 9:31 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Former Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher has pleaded no contest to accepting bribes and has been ordered to spend six months in a private lock down facility, where he will be eligible for a work release program. Oklahoma County District Judge Kenneth Watson also said Monday that the 69-year-old Fisher will spend four years and six more months on probation after his release.
The judge said Fisher must pay $5,000 to a state victims' compensation fund. Prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence Fisher to seven years in prison plus three more years on probation. The judge showed Fisher some leniency because he had already served time in prison for embezzling $1,000 of his own campaign funds and for lying on a contributions report.
Road contractors energized by stimulus plan
2/9/09, 9:38 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The state's road contractors are energized by the prospect that Oklahoma could get hundreds of millions of dollars from President Obama's stimulus package. A group of contractors met with state transportation Director Gary Ridley and a board representing the road and bridge industry last week. Ridley told them Oklahoma could get the money in early April, and he wants them to be ready.
A House version of the proposed stimulus package that passed last month indicated Oklahoma could get $465 million. Officials have said road projects alone could lead to 15,000 Oklahoma jobs being added to the economy. Shorter-term projects that have already cleared right-of-way and environmental hurdles are high on the list because they will get people working soon.
Manhattan Road and Bridge president Ken Adams says there are some projects his company could jump on quickly if the funding becomes a reality. Pump operator Jerry Castillo, who makes sure concrete keeps spewing at job sites, says if he could, he'd tell Republicans and Democrats to work out their differences and get a bill passed. Castillo says he knows workers with families who have been laid off.
Environmental agencies face big cuts
2/9/09, 9:17 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The budgets of state agencies that protect public water supplies, manage flood plains and protect Oklahomans from hazardous waste could be cut the most this year. Gov. Brad Henry is proposing that almost $2 million be cut from the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality budget, a reduction of 20 percent. The Oklahoma Water Resources Board could lose more than $1.1 million, a 25 percent reduction. Henry warned that with a $600 million shortfall expected, budget reductions are inevitable.
DEQ executive director Steve Thompson says he was surprised by the size of the cut to his agency, but noted that the legislative session has just begun. Water Resources Board executive director Duane Smith says his agency will work to be more efficient. Environmental secretary J.D. Strong says the budget cuts don't mean the environment has become a low priority for Henry. Henry spokesman Paul Sund says the Office of State Finance generally recommends larger reductions for agencies that can raise their own funds with service fees. OWRB and DEQ are funded in part by fees.
Officials examine ways to deal with wild horses
2/9/09, 9:06 a.m.
PAULS VALLEY, Okla. (AP) - As an adoption program for wild horses and burros pulled off of public lands slows, government officials are trying to determine what might become of the animals. Wild herds increase about 20 percent in size each year, and to help keep the population in check, the U.S. Bureau of Land
Management annually culls the pack, pulling about 6,000 animals off public lands.
Bureau spokesman Paul McGuire says the population growth of the herds is higher than the number of adopters willing to take the extra horses. The result is that 30,000 wild horses now live on government-sponsored ranches, which costs taxpayers about $20 million annually. The slowdown in the bureau's adoption program began when a regional drought in the heart of horse country occurred a few years ago.
The economic downturn, combined with high energy prices, also have slowed the number of adoptions. The bureau's facility in Pauls Valley will host 11 adoption events this year, compared to four last year. About 10,000 horses are in short-term holding facilities like the one in Pauls Valley.
Federal cigarette tax expected to spur quitters
2/9/09, 8:43 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Health officials expect the number of Oklahomans who try to quit smoking will increase April 1, when the federal cigarette tax goes up. The federal tax will increase by 62 cents to $1.01 per pack. With Oklahoma's $1.03 per-pack state tax, the total tax on a pack of cigarettes will be $2.04.
The administrator of the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline, Tracy Strader, says increasing the tobacco tax is the No. 1 thing that drives down smoking rates. Strader estimates that the number of calls to the helpline will more than double, to about 5,000 per month.
Tribal smokeshops are not exempt from the federal increase. President Barack Obama signed the tobacco tax increase into law Wednesday as part of legislation to reauthorize and expand the federal State Children's Health Insurance Program. Much of the additional tobacco taxes will go to fund the program.
AG seeks more funding for state's war on drugs
2/9/09, 8:27 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Attorney General Drew Edmondson says Oklahoma's war on drugs is suffering because a source of federal funding is drying up. Edmondson joined with attorneys general of 50 other
jurisdictions this week in asking the U.S. Congress to restore federal funding to the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants program.
Edmondson says Oklahoma received nearly $4.2 million in 2007, but that dropped to less than $2 million last year. The money is used to hire officers to make undercover drug buys and help fund prosecutors and other crime fighting programs. But not everyone is disappointed that this source of federal funding is drying up.
Norma Sapp is the director of the Oklahoma chapter of the National Organization for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws. She says many of drug task forces funded by the grants target low-level drug offenders and are fueling a misguided war on drugs.
