Archive for the Week of October 12, 2008 -October 18, 2008
News Archives (Week of October 12, 2008)
Young Muskogee mayor appears on Fox game show
10/17/08, 3:59 p.m.
MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) - Residents of Muskogee will soon find out if their young mayor is smarter than a fifth grader. Twenty-year-old Mayor John Hammons was a contestant on an episode of Fox's quiz game show "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?" that will air on Friday, Oct. 24.
Hammons was among the nation's youngest mayors ever when he was elected in May at age 19. Contestants on the show, hosted by comedian Jeff Foxworthy, must answer 10 questions culled from textbooks for students in first through fifth grades. Participants can use a handful of elementary school students to help them with their answers.
Hammons says appearing on the show was an opportunity to make his first-ever visit to California and provide some publicity for Muskogee, a town of about 38,000 residents. Hammons also presented a key to the city to Foxworthy, along with a certificate proclaiming him an official "Okie from Muskogee."
House speaker to push for voter ID
10/17/08, 12:40 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - House Speaker Chris Benge says he plans to push for a new law requiring Oklahoma voters to present identification when heading to the polling booth. The Tulsa Republican says he plans to make the issue a legislative priority when lawmakers convene in February.
Benge's announcement comes amid a federal probe into a voter registration group called the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN. Benge says his proposal would include a provision for free state-issued voter identification cards and that anyone without an ID would still be able to cast a ballot after signing an affidavit.
Senate Democrats killed a similar measure last session amid concerns the GOP-backed initiative is an effort to target poor and elderly voters.
Veteran Capitol reporter retiring
10/17/08, 9:25 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Brad Henry declared Friday John T. Greiner day in Oklahoma in honor of the veteran state Capitol reporter who is retiring. Friday is the last day the 66-year-old will write for The Oklahoman. Greiner spent the last 37 years covering the state Capitol and covered more than one-third of Oklahoma's legislative sessions.
A native of Henryetta, Greiner covered seven administrations of governors while at the Capitol. Inducted into the journalism Hall of Fame in 1993, Greiner joined The Oklahoman in 1966 after graduating from the University of Oklahoma and serving two years in the Army.
Oklahoma to get $52 million for energy assistance
10/17/08, 9:13 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma will be getting more than $52 million from the federal government to help eligible low-income households meet their heating and cooling needs.
Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced that Oklahoma will receive the money from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. The state's share is part of $5.1 billion in total funding. Leavitt says besides helping Oklahoma families stay warm this winter, the funds also will help reduce the risk of health and safety problems exacerbated by exposure to extreme temperatures.
Josephine Robinson of the Office of Community Services says the funds will help the most vulnerable citizens -- the disabled, elderly and children. States will receive their entire block grant allocations before Oct. 30. Officials say more than $3.8 million of Oklahoma's amount will be distributed as emergency contingency funds.
Casinos booming in Okla. despite sour economy
10/16/08, 5:25 p.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The national economy is hurting, but Indian gambling seems to be thriving in Oklahoma. Two of the most visible signs are a 19-story hotel tower being built at the Cherokee Casino Resort outside Tulsa and the expansion of the Chickasaw's WinStar World Casino in Thackerville near the Texas border.
That casino, which draws heavily from Texas, has expanded to 519,000 square feet. The expanded facility was unveiled to the media today. Brian Campbell, a Chickasaw official, says both Texas and Oklahoma seem insulated from the economic downturn being seen elsewhere.
Driver's manual shortage fuels criticism of DPS
10/16/08, 2:15 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The state Department of Public Safety has run out of driver's instruction manuals, prompting an outcry from tag agents and driving schools that provide them to the public. DPS officials say they are exploring ways to find funds that could be used to print more manuals, but the project is still in limbo.
Demand for manuals increases each year. In May 2007, DPS had 100,000 manuals printed by a CareerTech center in Stillwater at a cost of about 53 cents a copy. Tag agents started reporting they were out of the manuals during the summer.
DPS spokesman Capt. Chris West said administrators are trying to locate federal dollars to print more manuals because there is not enough money left in the current budget. In the meantime, the agency is suggesting people go online to print out the 103-page manual.
Business groups file brief on immigration
10/16/08, 1:39 p.m.
DENVER (AP) - Several business groups say federal law doesn't allow for states to regulate the employment of illegal immigrants, which is what an Oklahoma state law seeks to do. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Tulsa Metro and Oklahoma State chambers of commerce all presented their arguments Wednesday in briefs filed with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.
The groups want the court to uphold a lower court ruling that bars state officials from enforcing employment provisions of House Bill 1804. Among other things, the bill makes it a felony to knowingly transport illegal immigrants; requires proof of citizenship to receive certain government benefits and require employers to verify a worker's eligibility for employment in the United States before the employer could be eligible for state contracts.
The law also would create a new tax-withholding category aimed at illegal immigrants and allow the sanctioning of employers who fire workers who are in the U.S. legally and give those jobs to illegal immigrants.
Services set for House member's wife
10/16/08, 1:08 p.m.
PRAGUE, Okla. (AP) - Funeral services have been set for the wife of state House Democratic leader Danny Morgan.
The funeral for Debbie Morgan will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Prague High School auditorium. Visitation is set for 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at Parks Brothers Funeral Home in Prague.
The 47-year-old died unexpectedly on Tuesday at an Oklahoma City hospital. Her cause of death has not been released, but a spokeswoman for the House Democrats says Debbie Morgan had not shown symptoms of serious illness until shortly before her death.
Spokeswoman Valorie Roders says Morgan experienced some dizziness on Friday and was rushed to the emergency room on Tuesday when her condition worsened.
Smoke shops raided
10/16/08, 8:47 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The Oklahoma Tax Commission raided two Indian smoke shops in Henryetta today on grounds they are selling contraband cigarettes. The smoke shops are owned respectively by the Alabama Quassarte Tribal Town and the Kialegee Tribal Town tribes.
Tax Commission spokeswoman Paula Ross alleges that the shops sold cigarettes that aren't on the Oklahoma Attorney General's Master Settlement Agreement list of approved brands. Ross also says other cigarettes had an incorrect tax stamp. A full inventory of the confiscated cigarettes hadn't been done, but one of the brands found was Seneca, a cigarette manufactured by the Seneca Nation in New York that's not on the settlement list.
An attorney for the Alabama Quassarte Tribal Town didn't return a phone call from the Tulsa World seeking comment. Kialegee Tribal Town King Jennie Lillard was not available for comment. Neither tribe has a tobacco compact with the state, although their stores are located within the Creek Nation's jurisdictional boundary. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation has been involved in an ongoing fight with the state about tobacco.
Hugo asks federal judge to lift ban on water sales
10/15/08, 5:11 p.m.
HUGO, Okla. (AP) - City leaders in Hugo are asking a federal judge to rule that Oklahoma's ban on out-of-state water sales violates the U.S. Constitution. Attorneys for the city on Tuesday filed a motion in federal court asking a judge to rule on the issue without the necessity of a trial.
The city argues the state's moratorium on out-of-state water sales infringes on the city's rights under the Interstate Commerce Clause of the Constitution. Hugo City Manager David Rawls said the state-imposed moratorium laws are "ill conceived." Rawls says billions of gallons of quality water flow out of the state every year without any benefit to the state that instead could be sold to cities in northern Texas thirsty for new water supplies.
Tourism produces $10 billion for state economy
10/15/08, 2:25 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A study of Oklahoma's tourism industry shows tourists are responsible for about $10 billion dollars going into the state' economy each year. The preliminary report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers was presented during the Governor's Conference on Tourism in Oklahoma City.
The study found spending at hotels, gas stations and similar businesses accounts for about $5.3 billion. As that money is recirculated through the economy in salaries and other spending it adds up to about $10 billion overall.
The study also found travel-generated income has increased nearly 174 percent in Oklahoma during the past 20 years.
White supremacists target Ada newspaper
10/15/08, 2:06 p.m.
ADA, Okla. (AP) - Ada police are investigating how flyers for a white supremacist group ended up wrapped around delivered copies of the Ada newspaper. Several subscribers to the Ada Evening News reported receiving a newsletter from the Ku Klux Klan wrapped around their local papers during the weekend.
Newspaper publisher LonDe Beasley says the paper wasn't aware of the group's activities and says it was done without the newspaper's permission. The newspaper also said contract employees who deliver the papers are not responsible. Ada police are asking residents to call police if they see suspicious vehicles after papers are delivered.
Oklahoma No. 2 for removing kids from homes
10/15/08, 1:59 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - An audit has found Oklahoma has the second-highest per capita rate in the nation for taking children from their homes and putting them in state custody. Auditors looked at the Family Services Division of the state Department of Human Services and say Oklahoma is second only to Nebraska. They told state lawmakers that the reason for the high rate may be Oklahoma's definitions of abuse and neglect are very broad. The audit was requested by a task force of state lawmakers and a final report is due by the end of the year.
Shutdown of Gatorade plant temporary
10/15/08, 1:14 p.m.
PRYOR, Okla. (AP) - The manager of the Gatorade plant near Pryor says the shutdown of the plant is temporary but 22 employees are being laid off. Some 200 workers at the plant in Mid-America Industrial Park were sent home Tuesday in what officials say is a move to reduce inventory.
Plant manager Chris Weber says the employees being laid off will be given severance packages and job placement assistance. Industrial park spokesman Sanders Mitchell says the plant will reopen Monday and employees will be paid for this week. The plant opened in March and makes Gatorade and Propel Fitness Water drinks.
Tuesday's actions came on the same day parent company PepsiCo announced plans to cut 3.300 jobs companywide and close six plants.
Cherokee council upholds veto
10/15/08, 12:53 p.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith's veto of legislation involving funding for four clinics has been upheld by the Tribal Council. The council voted 9-8 Monday night in favor of overriding the veto -- but it wasn't enough. A total of 12 votes were required.
The bill would have required the tribe's administration to determine funding levels and sources for medical clinics in Vinita, Jay and Tahlequah and a dental clinic in Salina within six months. It would also allow employees at the W.W. Hastings Indian
Hospital to remain federal employees if they want. The Cherokee Nation took over operations at Hastings, in
Tahlequah -- formerly administered by the federal government -- on Oct. 1.
Edmond again wades into religious controversy
10/15/08, 12:48 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A city of Edmond art commission is moving ahead with plans to use public funds to put up a statue of Jesus on a city sidewalk. The move comes a decade after the city paid more than $200,000 after losing a lawsuit over a cross on the city seal. And last year the art commission backed away from plans to use public money to help pay for a statue of Moses.
The Edmond Visual Arts Commission has approved spending $3,900 to pay for half of the 26-inch-tall statue of Jesus surrounded by three children. It's to be placed in front of Sacred Heart Catholic Gifts in downtown Edmond. Barry Lynn of the Washington, D.C.-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State calls the effort the third unconstitutional effort by the city in recent years.
Store owner Karen Morton says her shop isn't a church so she sees no problem and commission chair June Cartwright says the statue is a piece of art and doesn't say that it's Jesus. However the Web site of artist Rosalind Cook Web describes the image as being Jesus with three young children.
Wife of Democratic leader dies
10/15/08, 10:39 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Debbie Morgan, wife of state House Democratic leader Danny Morgan, has died. A spokeswoman for the House Democratic caucus, Valorie Rodgers, says Debbie Morgan died Tuesday evening at the University of Oklahoma Medical Center.
Rodgers says Debbie Morgan had not shown symptoms of serious illness. She experienced some dizziness on Friday and was rushed to the emergency room on Tuesday when her conditioned worsened. Debbie Morgan's age and other details, including a cause of death and funeral arrangements, were not immediately available.
In a statement, Gov. Brad Henry said he and first lady Kim Henry were deeply saddened by Debbie Morgan's unexpected death. Henry says his thoughts and prayers are with her family. In addition to husband Danny Morgan of Prague, she is survived by two children, Zac and Danielle.
State revenues still strong
10/14/08, 1:47 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The national economic downturn has yet to take a toll on tax collections in Oklahoma. In fact, the state has a $170 million cushion from first quarter collections to deal with any revenue setbacks later in the fiscal year.
A report issued Tuesday by state Treasurer Scott Meacham shows total revenue collections in September were up 1.3 percent over a year ago. That was mainly because of a surge in natural gas taxes. Income taxes were slightly higher than last September. Sales taxes were down, but Meacham blamed that on an anomaly in collections a year ago.
Plans on track for Devon skyscraper
10/14/08, 10:48 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The sluggish economy will not slow Devon Energy's plans to erect its 54-story corporate headquarters in downtown Oklahoma City. Devon's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Larry Nichols says work continues on the $750 million project, which would be the tallest building in Oklahoma.
Nichols says the company is working on final plans and getting approval for those now. It intends to start building the tower about a year from now. Devon employees are now located in five buildings in the city.
Oklahoma farmers doing well in tough economy
10/14/08, 9:06 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Oklahoma farmers and farm lenders say they're seeing little affect from the current economic crisis that's hit the financial world. John Poindexter of Farm Credit of East-Central Oklahoma in
Broken Arrow says he's making loans every day and nothing has changed from his perspective. And Oklahoma Farm Bureau President Mike Spradling says agriculture is stable thanks to good prices and good weather.
The demand for crops such as wheat, corn and soybeans is pushing up those prices and the price of beef is at a near record 95 cents per pound. But the credit problems could affect farmers by next year's planting season. The prices of feed, fertilizer, fuel and equipment are rising and they will have to borrow money to buy supplies.
Colleges to fight concealed gun bill
10/14/08, 8:48 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The heads of Oklahoma's state colleges and universities are vowing to oppose any legislative efforts to allow concealed weapons on campus. Legislation that would have allowed concealed weapons on college campuses was defeated earlier this year after college presidents and law enforcement officers said it would create chaos and even more violence on campus.
But state Higher Education Chancellor Glen Johnson says the issue likely will resurface when the Legislature convenes next year. Johnson spoke to a group of college officials and law enforcement officers that make up the Campus Life and Safety and Security Task Force, formed after the 2007 shooting deaths at Virginia Tech. The defeated legislation would have allowed military veterans and others with firearms training to carry concealed weapons on campus.
Chesapeake roller coaster ride continues
10/14/08, 8:34 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Chesapeake Energy Corporation co-founder Aubrey McClendon once compared the 20-year history of his company to a roller coaster ride. That would certainly describe what happened last week.
The stock closed Friday at $16.25 per share on the New York Stock Exchange - its lowest price of the year. Then came news that McClendon was forced to sell 31.5 million shares - nearly all of his nearly 6 percent stake in the company - to meet margin loan calls.
Then yesterday Wall Street stormed back from last week's huge losses and Chesapeake saw its largest ever single-day point increase, rising more than 22 percent to close at $20.20 per share. Industry analysts say despite McClendon's personal finances the company itself remains financially sound.
State urges programs for seniors
10/14/08, 8:26 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - State eldercare leaders are recommending that Oklahoma senior citizens stay out of nursing homes and in their own homes for as long as possible. Among alternatives are home health care services, adult day care centers and assisted-living centers.
Claire Dowers, programs' supervisor with the Oklahoma Aging Services Division, envisions a new type of counselor working with seniors and their family to offer in-depth evaluations of long-term care options. The eldercare leaders met today in support of Project 2020, a national initiative that includes both long-term options counseling and nursing home diversions.
Dowers says making sure home health care services are readily available could mean fewer seniors wind up in nursing homes. That would mean expenditures for Medicare and Medicaid would go down.
Chairman wants to finish buyout by December 2009
10/14/08, 8:23 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The new chairman of the trust that is overseeing the Tar Creek Superfund buyout process says it should be complete by December 2009. Gov. Brad Henry has appointed Mark Osborn to replace Larry Rice as chairman of the Lead-Impacted Communities Relocation Assistance Trust. Osborn, a Miami physician, was vice chairman of the trust.
Osborn says that with some luck and another inflow of funds, the portion of the voluntary buyout dealing with residents and businesses within the northeastern Oklahoma Superfund site remains on track to be completed in 12 to 14 months. The trust already has spent or is encumbered to spend about $35 million on the buyout. It has about $9 million in pending deals and expects to need $12 million to $14 million in additional funds to complete the process.
Oklahoma soldiers return home
10/13/08, 10:20 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - About 500 Oklahoma Army National Guard soldiers are returning home a day after some 200 arrived in Oklahoma City. The Guard says soldiers will arrive Monday on four separate flights to Will Rogers Air National Guard Base and each will be taken to Southern Nazarene University for a welcome ceremony. Those returning are with Company C, 1st Battalion, 180th Infantry; Company C, 1st Battalion, 179th Infantry; 1120th Maintenance Company; and a Headquarters Detachment of the 345th Corps Support Battalion. The soldiers are among about 2,600 with the 45th Infantry Brigade which was mobilized a year ago and spent nine months in Iraq.
First wave of Oklahoma soldiers return home
10/12/08, 6:52 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - An initial wave of Oklahoma Army National Guard members has returned home from Iraq. A Guard spokesman said the first of two planes carrying members of the 45th Infantry Brigade arrived early Sunday at Will Rogers Air National Guard Base. Those soldiers are from Stillwater-based
Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 179th Infantry.
The second plane, scheduled to land Sunday evening, is carrying members of Company A in the same battalion who are from Minco and Oklahoma City. From the base, the Guard members were taken by bus to a welcome ceremony at Southern Nazarene University in Bethany before being reunited with their families. More soldiers will arrive on several more flights throughout the week.
Veterans' numbers in college to increase
10/12/08, 4:30 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - With many service members returning home and enrolling in colleges and universities, higher education officials are being asked to help them transition from the battlefield to the classroom. About 7,000 veterans attend Oklahoma colleges now, but that number is expected to grow next year because the new GI Bill, which offers financial assistance, will greatly expand benefits.
Major Matt Faubion is a military psychiatrist. Faubion told those attending a conference for Oklahoma higher education officials last week that one in five service members return from Iraq and Afghanistan with physical and mental health issues, like post-traumatic stress. He says colleges can help service members by acknowledging their special needs and offering counseling. Faubion also says soldiers may do better in smaller classes.
Tulsa Community College has opened a veterans' center at its metro campus where former troops can go relax and find out about programs and services in the area. Other programs are offered at East Central University in Ada; Cameron University in Lawton, home of Fort Sill, and Rose State College in Midwest City, near Tinker Air Force Base.
Coburn blocks farm bill
10/12/08, 3:15 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn's rationale for blocking a bill that its author claims would provide disaster relief to farmers is getting support from a key official at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. John Johnson, deputy administrator for farm programs at USDA's Farm Service Agency, said a proposal by Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu would require a software development effort that would not
effectively speed up payments.
Coburn blocked Landrieu's bill last week after a different USDA official told his office the bill would require software coding and data sorting that might take as long as the disaster program.
Landrieu -- in a tough re-election battle in her state -- has been attacking Coburn since he was the only senator who refused to let her bill pass on the Senate's fast-track process.
Fair attendance takes a dip
10/12/08, 2:24 p.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Attendance at the 2008 Tulsa State Fair was down from last year and the fair is projected to lose money. Mark Andrus, Expo Square's interim president and CEO, says this year's estimated attendance was 915,000, down less than 1 percent from last year's estimated attendance of 987,057.
The fair, which opened on Sept. 25 and closed on Oct. 5, is projected to lose money for the second year in a row and the eighth time in 10 years. Andrus wouldn't speculate how much but said that even before the fair began it was projected to lose as much as $500,000.
Last year, the fair lost $759,932 on revenue of $7,009,240. Expo Square officials say they expect this year's fair revenue to be similar but won't know total expenses for several months.
Charities getting more requests
10/12/08, 10:58 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - More Oklahomans are asking charities for help with rent, utilities, credit counseling and other needs as the nation's financial meltdown deepens. The Salvation Army, the largest financial aid assistance provider in Tulsa, has received twice as many calls per week for the Emergency Financial Assistance program.
Call volume has ballooned up to about 300 calls a week from 100 to 150 months ago. Brad Borror, Salvation Army public relations director, says 70 percent of the calls are from first-time callers. Borror says the need is rising significantly because working-class Tulsans are feeling the effect of months of high gas prices and food-cost increases from the poor economy. Officials say senior citizens on fixed incomes who don't have enough money to meet rising prices are also suffering.
Indian museum visitor center dedicated
10/11/08, 9:23 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The first building to be completed at the site of the American Indian Museum and Cultural Center in Oklahoma City has been dedicated.
Dignitaries from state government and Native American tribes were on hand yesterday for the dedication of a 4,000-square-foot visitor center.
The 125,000-square-foot museum is being built near the intersection of Interstate 35 and I-40. While work on the museum is under way, completion of the project is subject to further governmental funding.
