Archive for the Week of February 15, 2009 - February 21, 2009
Boil order issued for Park Hill mobile home park
2/20/09, 5:12 p.m.
PARK HILL, Okla. (AP) - A boil order has been issued for residents of a mobile home park in Cherokee County after the discovery of E. coli bacteria. The Department of Environmental Quality issued the order Friday for Suburban Mobile Home Park in Park Hill.
To ensure the water is safe for human consumption, DEQ urged residents to vigorously boil water from the system for one minute before drinking, use in food preparation, washing dishes or brushing teeth. This advisory will remain in effect until the water system provides adequate samples and those samples indicate the water is free from E. coli.
Governor wants early voting
2/20/09, 12:52 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Brad Henry says state Senate leaders have done a disservice to Oklahoma voters by denying a hearing for a bill that would expand early voting in the state. Henry asked Senate leaders Friday to revive the proposal. It died this week when Senate leaders declined to hear it in the Senate Rules Committee.
The governor proposed the expansion in his State of the State address on Feb. 2 in response to the long lines and multi-hour waits Oklahomans endured to cast ballots during last year's presidential election.
Some 32 states already have some form of early voting and most of those states allow votes to be cast at least 15 days or more before the election. Oklahoma's three-day period is among the shortest of those early voting states.
DEQ tests nearly 70 private wells
2/20/09, 12:15 p.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Nearly 70 private water wells have been tested this week within a five-mile radius of the northeastern Oklahoma town of Locust Grove. The tests are part of an ongoing investigation by state
officials probing the possibility that pollution from Arkansas poultry farms caused a deadly E. coli outbreak in the town last summer.
The state's Department of Environmental Quality initially planned to test 55 wells after it learned the August outbreak at the Country Cottage restaurant could have been the result of contamination from the farms. The DEQ expects the test results by late next week. If samples indicate the presence of bacteria, the department will conduct another round of testing on the affected wells.
Previously, the Oklahoma Department of Health has said it was unlikely well water caused the outbreak, which became the largest in the nation's history for the rare E. coli strain O111. Pryor resident Chad Ingle died on Aug. 24, a week after eating at the Country Cottage. In addition, 341 people became sick and 72 were hospitalized.
Disaster recovery center to open in Lone Grove
2/20/09, 10:59 a.m.
LONE GROVE, Okla. (AP) - State and federal emergency management officials will open a disaster recovery center in the tornado-ravaged southern Oklahoma town of Lone Grove. The center will open Saturday and will remain open seven days a week until further notice. It will be operated by the state Department of Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Staff members at the center will be able to assist residents with registration for disaster assistance and hazard mitigation, help with disaster loan applications and provide information and contacts for other federal programs. Representatives from the U.S. Small Business Administration also will be available at the center. Lone Grove, in Carter County, was hit Feb. 10 by a tornado that killed eight people and destroyed more than 100 homes.
Muslim woman gets license wearing head scarf
2/20/09, 10:17 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A Muslim woman has received her Oklahoma driver's license with a picture of her wearing her traditional head scarf after her previous attempt to renew her license failed. Monique Barrett renewed her driver's license Thursday at the Department of Public Safety headquarters in Oklahoma City.
The 21-year-old woman says she tried to renew her driver's license in September at a Norman Tag Agency, but an employee told her she was required to pull her head scarf past her headline. Barrett says she refused and several months later contacted the Council of American Islamic Relations Oklahoma City chapter.
CAIR officials say they contacted the Department of Public Safety and were told Barrett could take the picture with her hajib as long as her face up to her hairline remained uncovered.
Ice storm help sought for 6 counties
2/19/09, 5:12 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Brad Henry wants the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide public assistance to six more counties hit hard by a January ice storm. Henry said Thursday he wants assistance extended to Comanche, Haskell, McIntosh, Muskogee, Okfuskee and Sequoyah counties.
Federal public assistance was granted on Tuesday to four counties impacted by last month's brutal ice storm -- Adair, Cherokee, Delaware and Hughes counties.
Under public assistance granted by President Obama, local governments and rural electric cooperatives in the four counties can receive federal funding for infrastructure repairs, debris removal and costs associated with responding to the storm. Henry says it's been a challenging winter, and Oklahoma towns and counties need help in their recovery.
Speaker concerned about stimulus spending
2/19/09, 4:48 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Republican state House Speaker Chris Benge says he is concerned about the size of the federal government's $787 billion stimulus spending plan, but that the money will help the state.
Oklahoma is expected to receive more than $2.6 billion out of the federal stimulus package, counting block grant money that will go to local projects. Benge said Thursday that the money will add value to the state,
especially a $465 million stimulus allocation for road and bridge construction.
Benge says the stimulus money will create jobs in the short term and improve the state's transportation infrastructure. But Benge says he is concerned about how the nation will pay for the stimulus package.
Former OU President Paul Sharp dies in Norman
2/19/09, 4:33 p.m.
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - Former University of Oklahoma President Paul Sharp has died after a lengthy illness. OU spokeswoman Catherine Bishop confirmed the 91-year-old Sharp died Wednesday night in Norman. Sharp served as the university's ninth president from 1971-1977. The Paul F. Sharp Concert Hall in the Catlett Music Center is named in his honor.
Born in 1918 in Kirksville, Mo., Sharp earned his bachelor's degree from Phillips University in Enid and his doctorate from the University of Minnesota. Sharp came to OU after serving for five years as president of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Before that, he served as chancellor of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and president of Hiram College in Ohio.
New technology gaining acceptance at TIA
2/19/09, 3:45 p.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Officials say the airline passenger screening technology considered controversial by some civil libertarians is now widely accepted at Tulsa International Airport. The airport's second whole-body imaging machine was installed yesterday at the Transportation Security Administration's passenger
security checkpoints.
The Tulsa airport was the 11th in the nation to receive the imaging machine which directs radio waves in a phone-booth-like machine across the passenger's body. TSA Federal Security Director Stephen Cortright says the second machine is being used for primary screening which is before
travelers go through a metal detector. The new WBI technology is designed to augment metal detectors
and baggage screening at security checkpoints.
Bill asks voters to reduce cap on attorney fees
2/19/09, 9:12 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma House narrowly approves legislation that would ask voters to lower the cap on contingency fees charged by attorneys. The bill by Tulsa Rep. Dan Sullivan would limit contingency fees assessed by lawyers on damage awards to their clients at 33 percent of the first $1 million recovered and 20 percent on higher awards.
Sullivan says since contingency fees are currently capped at 50 percent in addition to attorney expenses and costs, lawsuit plaintiffs sometimes receive less than half of the final recovery. But opponents say Republican supporters are using the issue as a political wedge to raise campaign funds for re-election and to try to compel Gov. Brad Henry to sign legislation to change the state's civil justice system.
The House voted 54-46 for the measure, with a handful of Republicans joining Democrats in opposition. The bill now goes to the Senate.
Deering confirmed as adjutant general
2/18/09, 11:59 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Army National Guard Maj. Gen. Myles Deering, the state's top military officer, has received unanimous confirmation by a Senate committee to serve as the state's adjutant general and also as military secretary in the governor's cabinet. His appointment was approved Wednesday morning by the Senate Committee on Veterans & Military Affairs.
The 56-year-old Norman man served as commander of Oklahoma's 45th Infantry Brigade and led recent deployments to Iraq. His appointment will now be sent to the full Senate. Deering succeeds former State Adjutant General Harry "Bud" Wyatt who is now national director of the Air National Guard at the Pentagon.
Coalition to advocate for women, girls
2/18/09, 11:47 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A new coalition will advocate for policies to help women in Oklahoma reach their full potential. Oklahoma Women's Coalition chairwoman Jean Warner says Oklahoma is the third worst state in the nation for women and girls. Warner says Oklahoma is No. 1 among the states in incarcerating women, No. 4 in the divorce rate and No. 6 in teenage births.
Lt. Gov. Jari Askins and Corporation Commissioner Dana Murphy took part in a news conference on Wednesday to formally launching the coalition. Warner says Oklahoma is coming up short when it comes to creating an environment favorable to women. She says the coalition will advocate and disseminate information on women's issues to lawmakers, state agencies and other organizations.
Tulsa soldier dies in Iraq
2/18/09, 11:12 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The Department of Defense said today a Tulsa soldier has died of injuries from a gunshot wound in Iraq. Defense officials say Army Corporal Stephen Thompson died Saturday in Baghdad. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas.
Officials say his death is under investigation. Thompson's father, Philip Thompson, said he was notified by the military on Sunday morning that his son was killed Friday. Stephen Thompson grew up in Tulsa and was a 2004 graduate of Memorial High School. Philip Thompson said his son joined the military to improve himself, and had been serving in Iraq for three years.
President declares disaster for ice storms
2/17/09, 5:33 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - President Barack Obama has declared a major disaster exists in areas of Oklahoma that suffered major damage in winter storms at the end of January. The declaration Tuesday makes federal funding available to state and eligible local governments and some nonprofit organizations on
a cost-sharing basis.
The funding is for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe winter storm in the counties of Adair, Cherokee, Delaware, and Hughes. Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide. Douglas G. Mayne has been named as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected area.
55 wells around Locust Grove to be tested
2/17/09, 5:30 p.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The state Department of Environmental Quality says it'll test 55 private water wells within five-miles of Locust Grove to ensure the safety of drinking water. The testing to be done tomorrow and Thursday comes after Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson's office suggested a deadly E. coli outbreak last summer could've been the result of contamination from poultry farms. The state Health Department said previously it was unlikely well water caused the outbreak at the Country Cottage restaurant last August.
One person died and more than 300 others were sickened. Edmondson is suing 13 Arkansas poultry companies saying excessive land application of chicken waste in the Illinois River watershed of northeast Oklahoma could be a danger to public health. A spokesman for Tyson Foods says the company is not aware of any data or studies suggesting that E. coli is commonly found in poultry litter. Tyson is one of the 13 companies named in Edmondson's lawsuit.
Many Oklahoma television stations going digital
2/17/09, 12:45 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Many Oklahoma television stations are going digital sooner rather than later. In Oklahoma City, KWTV, KAUT and OETA will end analog broadcasts at 1 p.m. Tuesday, while KOKH and KOCB will do so at midnight. In Tulsa, KOTV, KOED and KWHB are also making the switch Tuesday as is
Lawton station KSWO.
Congress has given television stations permission to continue broadcasting in analog until June 12, but more than 400 stations nationally are opting for the original Tuesday deadline to go all digital. Another 191 stations have already switched. Major Oklahoma stations that are waiting to make the switch include Tulsa's KJRH and KTUL, and Oklahoma City's KFOR and KOCO.
Donations for tornado recovery lag
2/17/09, 12.15 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Charitable donations are lagging behind the amount needed to cover the expenses for recovery efforts from last week's deadly tornado in southern Oklahoma. Ernie Hull of the Salvation Army says there's a gap of about $3,000 between the amount of donations and what's needed to pay for such items as food for storm victims and first-responders.
Officials with the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross say the sagging economy is a factor, and also suggest that Oklahomans may be tapped out after a series of disasters over the past year. Eight people were killed and more than 100 homes were destroyed in the Lone Grove area by last week's tornado. Hull says there were more than $5,000 in recovery expenses by Monday, but only $2,000 in donations.
Committee passes energy legislation
2/16/09, 5:35 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - State lawmakers have given preliminary approval to legislation that would offer tax credits for using alternative energy sources. The bills were approved unanimously Monday by the House
Appropriations and Budget Committee. One bill would offer a 5 percent tax credit for installing a geothermal heating and cooling system on residential property. Another bill would offer tax credits to encourage the use of compressed natural gas in vehicles.
Credits would be available for installing a CNG delivery station at homes as well as fueling stations available to the public. House Speaker Chris Benge says the bills are part of his plan to promote alternative energy sources and help relieve the nation's reliance on foreign oil. Benge says he wants to position the state as a leader in alternative energy.
Panel approves voter ID bill
2/16/09, 5:12 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Republicans have advanced a series of Senate bills to change Oklahoma election laws, including a requirement that voters show photo identification or voter ID cards at polling places.
Another bill approved Monday afternoon by the Senate Rules Committee and sent to the floor would limit statewide officeholders such as the lieutenant governor and attorney general to two terms. The governor is now the only state officer who is term-limited. The committee also voted for legislation to remove impediments to a successful initiative petition drive.
Panel approves hospital plan
2/16/09, 11:01 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A plan to provide new financial support to Oklahoma State University's teaching hospital has passed its first hurdle. The House Appropriations and Budget Committee Monday approved legislation to provide $5 million to the hospital. House Speaker Chris Benge says the measure is part of a 5-year agreement in which the state will provide $5 million in operating funds each year.
The OSU Medical Center in Tulsa is home to Oklahoma State's osteopathy program, which trains doctors. Many of them serve rural parts of the state. The future of the hospital was in question late last year as an agreement between the hospital's owner and OSU fell apart. The current owner, Ardent Health Services, has agreed to donate the hospital to a trust.
Obama approves assistance for 3 Okla. counties
2/16/09, 10:43 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - President Obama has approved Oklahoma's request for disaster assistance to individuals in three counties hit by deadly tornadoes last week. Gov. Brad Henry announced Sunday that approval for individual assistance was granted for Carter, Logan and Oklahoma counties.
The designation ensures federal assistance for housing repairs or temporary housing and low-interest loans for individuals and businesses to repair or replace damaged property. It also provides disaster unemployment assistance and grants for serious needs and necessary disaster expenses not met by other programs.
Henry says he also expects to seek public assistance to help reimburse state and local governments for storm-related costs. Governor Henry asked the White House for the assistance for the three counties on Friday.
Number of food stamp recipients nears record level
2/16/09, 10:12 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The number of Oklahomans receiving food stamps is nearing record levels, and human services officials expect the trend to continue. In January, the Department of Human Services reports the state missed the record by 746 people. The highest number of people receiving food stamps in one month
came in December 2005 with 443,045 people.
Last month, 442,299 Oklahomans were given food stamps. Food stamp benefits amount to an average of about $3 a day. The program is an eligibility program based on 130 percent of the federal poverty level. That means a family of three may not have a monthly income exceeding $1,900.
Public hearing set over crystal digging at refuge
2/16/09, 9:56 a.m.
CHEROKEE, Okla. (AP) - The possible reopening of the crystal digging area at the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge will be discussed during a public hearing set for March 3. The 300-acre site has been closed since April 2007 when vials of blistering solutions used in military chemical warfare training kits were unearthed where many people dig for selenite crystals. Incendiary devices apparently used in an attempt to destroy the vials were found later.
Among the possibilities for the site proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are no further action - which would keep the site closed - access controls to the site, restricted use of the site, investigation of select remaining anomalies, excavation and restoration and educational awareness. The educational awareness option was recommended by the Corps of Engineers. Under that option, printed materials would be distributed to visitors to the site and signs would be placed in the crystal digging area, warning of possible dangers.
OG&E plans to seek another rate hike
2/16/09, 9:22 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co. says it plans to ask state regulators for a rate hike of between $100 million and $110 million. The request for a rate hike will be submitted around Feb. 26 and also will include a request for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to boost OG&E's authorized return on equity from the current 10.75 percent up to 12.25 percent.
OG&E is the state's largest electric utility and serves more than 765,00 retail customers in Oklahoma and western Arkansas. Utility officials say they expect commissioners to rule on the requests in August and the company hopes the proposed hikes can be implemented in September.
