Archive for the Week of October 5, 2008 - October 11, 2008
News Archives (Week of October 5, 2008)
Oklahoma ultrasound law challenged
10/10/08, 5:06 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The state lawmaker who introduced a bill intended to reduce abortions in Oklahoma believes the law will withstand a legal challenge. The Center for Reproductive Rights has filed a lawsuit challenging the law. It requires a woman to have an ultrasound and get a description of it from the doctor before getting an abortion.
Republican state Senator Todd Lamb says supporters of the law hope that it will reduce abortions in the state. He says he introduced it to encourage life in society. Lawmakers overrode Gov. Brad Henry's veto to pass the law.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Nova Health Systems doing business as Reproductive Services in Tulsa. It contends the law intrudes on privacy, endangers health and assaults dignity.
1st wave of Oklahoma soldiers to return Sunday
10/10/08, 4:45 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The first of more than 2,600 Oklahoma Army National Guard soldiers with the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team are coming home after a yearlong deployment to Iraq. More than 200 soldiers will return in two groups Sunday on flights to Will Rogers Air National Guard Base in Oklahoma City.
Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 179th Infantry is to arrive about 12:20 p.m. and will be taken to Southern Nazarene University for a welcome home ceremony. Company A, 1st Battalion, 179th Infantry is to arrive at the base shortly before 7 p.m. and also will be taken to Southern Nazarene for a ceremony.
Voter registration deadline arrives
10/10/08, 3:50 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The deadline has arrived for unregistered voters to register in order to vote in the Nov. 4 general election. Voters must be registered by Friday or they won't be allowed to vote in the election for president, U.S. Senate and other races.
A last minute rush is expected and at least one county election board is extending its hours. Oklahoma County Election Board Secretary Doug Sanderson is expecting more than 1,000 people to register and the office will remain open until midnight.
Voters can also register at tag agencies or can download the form and mail it as long as it is postmarked Friday, Oct. 10.
General: Museum needs $2 million
10/10/08, 3:38 p.m.
EDMOND, Okla. (AP) - The adjutant general of the Oklahoma National Guard plans to ask the Legislature for $2 million to build a new wing at the 45th Infantry Division Museum. Major Gen. Harry Wyatt says the 27,000 square foot museum is"stuffed to the gills" and needs room to grow. The museum is funded by the Legislature through the Oklahoma Military Department and the 45th Infantry Division Association. Wyatt is commander of the Oklahoma Air and Army National Guard and oversees the museum.
Governor says state finances strong
10/9/08, 4:06 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Brad Henry has asked state Treasurer Scott Meacham to review Oklahoma's finances to protect the state during the escalating financial meltdown. But Henry said Thursday Oklahoma's economy, banks and revenue are strong compared to other states. He says there is no cause for alarm and that Oklahomans should remain calm.
Meacham said turmoil on Wall Street has affected state pension systems and pending bond issues. Oklahoma retirement systems have recorded losses and it has become difficult to sell state bonds to finance capital improvement projects.
Henry says he wants Meacham to consult with financial experts to map a strategy for timely implementation of bond issues.
Fed approves Oklahoma aid request
10/9/08, 3:58 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - President Bush has declared a major disaster exists in northern Oklahoma because of severe storms and flooding last month. The declaration Thursday clears the way for federal aid to
supplement state and local recovery efforts and to repair or replace public facilities damaged in 10 counties.
The White House had earlier turned down a request for federal assistance to individuals and businesses.
Aid to state and local government was approved for Alfalfa, Grant, Kay, Major, Woods, Cimarron, Dewey, Ellis, Harper and Woodward counties.
Governors wager on OU-Texas game
10/9/08, 3:39 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Red River Rivalry is being waged in more places than the Cotton Bowl. Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry and Texas Governor Rick Perry are also getting in on the competition.
They have made a friendly wager on Saturday's much-anticipated football game between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns. The governor whose team comes up short will donate cases of steaks to an organization that has helped people impacted by Hurricane Ike.
The top-ranked Sooners will meet the fifth-ranked Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Both teams are undefeated. Henry says he believes Saturday will mark the Longhorns' first loss of the year. Perry says he looks forward to watching the Longhorns knock the Sooners out of their number one spot.
Demand for flu shots increasing
10/9/08, 3:07 p.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Officials at the Tulsa City-County Health Department are expecting to vaccinate more than 30,000 Tulsa County residents against influenza. Spokeswoman Melanie Christian says the demand for flu shots has risen from less than 5,000 just five years ago as people educate themselves about the flu.
And the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has expanded its flu shot recommendations to include more people. Free flu shots at Tulsa's three walk-in clinics and at area appointment clinics will begin November 3rd for people 6-months-old and older.
GI Bill expected to bring war vets to college
10/9/08, 2:22 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A new GI Bill that goes into effect next year is expected to mean more war veterans enrolling in Oklahoma colleges and universities. Benefits will increase under the new bill - including paying up
to 100 percent of tuition and fees plus a stipend for books and a monthly stipend for living expenses.
Speakers at a conference on the needs of student veterans say there are about 7,000 military veterans currently enrolled in college in Oklahoma.
Child's health linked to parents' education
10/9/08, 1:58 p.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The infant mortality rate for Oklahoma children whose parents dropped out of high school is nearly double that of those whose mothers finished college. A study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found Oklahoma's infant mortality rate among the least-educated mothers is 7.6 deaths per 1,000 live birth. For the most-educated mothers the rate is 4.7 deaths per 1,000 live births. The report says nearly half the children in Oklahoma live in poor or near-poor conditions while one-third are in middle-income
households and one-fifth in high-income homes.
Board seeks $88 million increase
10/9/08, 1:23 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The state Board of Corrections is citing recommendations of an independent audit in asking lawmakers again to approve a hefty increase in funding to run state prisons. The board today requested an 88 million dollar increase in the operations budget of the Department of Corrections. Of that total, 36 million dollars is being sought to hire more prison employees and give them performance pay.
In addition, the agency's budget request proposes a 318 million-dollar capital improvement plan to expand inmate capacity and upgrade facilities. It would revamp the state prison at McAlester at a cost of 184 million dollars. Officials say the prison system is growing by about 2.5 percent, mainly because of longer prison terms tied a requirement that serious offenders serve 85 percent of the sentences.
Shell signs agreement on tobacco sales to minors
10/9/08, 1:16 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Shell Oil has signed an agreement with Oklahoma and other states to curb tobacco sales to minors. Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson said Wednesday the agreement includes 45 other states and the District of Columbia.
Under the agreement, Shell will train employees at service stations on laws governing tobacco sales to minors and do independent checks on whether the stations are complying. The agreement will affect 301 locations in Oklahoma, and about 14,000 nationwide. Shell joins other retailers who signed similar agreements to trim the sale of tobacco to minors.
Man convicted of murder in 'Precious Doe' case
10/8/08, 5:20 p.m.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Jurors have convicted an Oklahoma man of killing a 3-year-old girl long known as "Precious Doe." A Jackson County jury on Wednesday convicted 29-year-old Harrell Johnson of Muskogee of first-degree murder in the 2001 death of Erica Green.
Prosecutors said Johnson kicked the girl, then left her to die on the bedroom floor of the Kansas City home where he and the girl's mother were staying. After Erica died, she was decapitated and her body was dumped in the woods.
A police officer found the naked, headless naked body in April 2001. Lacking an identity, she was known only as "Precious Doe" until 2005, when a community activist received a tip from Harrell Johnson's grandfather in Muskogee, where he and the girl's mother were living. The couple had married a year after the girl's death.
Oklahoma gas prices drop 64 cents
10/8/08, 1:25 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - AAA Oklahoma says the price of gasoline has dropped an average of 64 cents a gallon since Sept. 16 and is lowest in the nation.
AAA spokesman Chuck Mai says the falling price of crude oil on the futures market is driving the price decrease. Crude has dropped more than $55 a barrel since July amid lower demand, a strengthened dollar and good gasoline inventories.
The statewide average for regular gas is about $3.04. Oklahoma City's average is about $2.95 cents a gallon and Tulsa's is about $3.01.
Bankers say state banks are strong, healthy
10/8/08, 10:55 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The president of the Oklahoma Bankers Association says banks in the state are strong and are still making loans. Roger Beverage says people keep hearing about a crisis in the banking industry and want to know how it affects their savings. He says the crisis does not affect them - other than
psychologically.
Beverage says it's important for people to know how stable the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is. The $700 billion dollar financial bailout signed into law last week raises the FDIC insurance on individual bank accounts to $250,000.
Street-legal ATVs considered
10/8/08, 10:46 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A legislative committee is studying the possibility of making it legal to drive four-wheeled all-terrain vehicles and side-by-side utility vehicles on state and county roads. Rep. Joe Dorman of Rush Springs says fuel prices and convenience are the driving forces behind the idea. Dorman says two-wheeled motorcycles are legal, so why not four-wheeled motorcycles? He says the vehicles can easily be made safe for the road and would save citizens a tremendous amount of money at the gas pump."
Interim studies on the proposals are being conducted by Dorman and Rep. Wallace Collins of Norman. UTVs combine a truck-style utility bed with a side-by-side seating arrangement and a steering wheel on a four-wheeled chassis.
Fair attendance remains strong
10/8/08, 9:52 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Attendance was down slightly at this year's Oklahoma State Fair, but nothing like the dramatic downturn the Texas State Fair is experiencing. With an ongoing national economic crisis, gas shortages and a hurricane recovery effort still in full swing, attendance and sales are significantly down at the Texas fair.
High-end vendors at the Texas fair in Dallas are reporting a roughly 80 percent drop in sales and a notable lack of crowds. Officials at the Oklahoma State Fair said attendance during the fair's 10-day run last month also decreased, but only about 6 percent down from last year's record-setting centennial event. The fair saw increases in carnival and parking grosses and participation in the livestock and horse shows.
Rice, Inhofe debate issues
10/8/08, 8:45 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Democrat Andrew Rice sought to portray his opponent, incumbent Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe, as tied to the economic policies of the Bush administration in their first and possibly only debate. Rice on Tuesday challenged any voters who think they are better off than they were eight years ago to re-elect Inhofe. Inhofe, Oklahoma's senior senator, branded Rice a "proud liberal" and said the Senate race in Oklahoma had probably the greatest philosophic diversity of any in the country.
Rice, a first-term state senator from Oklahoma City, said there were no checks and balances from the Republican Congress and Inhofe. On the financial bailout package, Rice accused Inhofe of taking a wait-and-see approach as the package came together and said Inhofe showed a lack of leadership. For more, go to the Political Pulse blog.
Tax breaks inserted into bailout bill
10/7/08, 3:20 p.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The bailout package approved by Congress also renews expired tax breaks credited with generating millions of dollars in investments in Oklahoma.
One provision allows businesses that build or expand facilities on former American Indian lands to qualify for an accelerated depreciation schedule. It allows them to recover their costs more quickly.
A second provision provides an additional tax break to businesses that hire American Indians. The bailout legislation also includes tax credits for wind energy and for research and development.
Survey: bullying a problem in Okla schools
10/7/08, 1:57 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A newly released report says as many as a third of elementary and middle school students in Oklahoma are involved in bullying. The report released Tuesday by the Oklahoma State Department of Health presents findings from a 2005 survey of nearly 8,000 students in 85 school districts.
The survey found 14 percent of the students had been victims of bullying, 12 percent had been bullies, and 7 percent had been both a bully and a victim. Other studies have linked bullying to health problems, adjustment difficulties, antisocial behavior and even later criminal activity.
Effort intends to curb premature births
10/7/08, 9:20 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The March of Dimes is joining with the Oklahoma Health Department ant the university of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center to reduce premature births in the state. Officials say about one in seven Oklahoma babies are born prematurely compared to one in eight nationwide. The agencies hope to encourage expectant mothers to get prenatal care early in their pregnancy.
Health officials say pre-term births are often due to alcohol, smoking, drug use, eating disorders, diabetes, sexually transmitted diseases or exposure to chemicals or lead. Age is also a factor for women 19 and younger or 35 and older. Prematurity is the leading cause of death in the first month of life.
Wetter weather beats West Nile
10/7/08, 9:12 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma public health authorities say weather is the likely reason that reports of West Nile virus infections in the state are down sharply this year. Only nine confirmed cases and no deaths have been reported so far this year. Last year in Oklahoma, there were 107 cases of the mosquito-borne virus. Eight of the cases were fatal.
Last year, Oklahoma had heavy rains and flooding in some areas in June and July, then a drying-out period. That was the right mix of weather ingredients for the worst season of the virus for human illness and death since the virus entered Oklahoma in 2002, Bradley said. State epidemiologist Dr. Kristy Bradley says that during August this year we experienced a lot of rainfall. And that appeared to suppress the virus spread that normally accelerates in that month.
Oklahoma transportation plan approved
10/6/08, 4:18 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma Transportation Commission has approved a $4 billion construction plan for the next eight years. The program will replace 449 deficient bridges in the state. It also includes $194 million to finish the Crosstown Expressway project in Oklahoma City which is to be completed by 2012.
Transportation Director Gary Ridley says increased state appropriations and a $300 million bond plan approved by the 2008 legislature will help fund the proposal, which also draws heavily on federal funding.
Many Oklahoma may fail to get stimulus checks
10/6/08, 4:01 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Internal Revenue Service says at least 173,000 Oklahomans must file a 2007 federal income tax return by Oct. 15 to beat the deadline for requesting an economic stimulus payment.
People must file a tax return in order to get the payment.
The IRS estimates more than 63,000 recipients of Social Security and veterans benefits have not filed a 2007 return. Another 110,000 Oklahomans who got an extension from the usual April 15 tax deadline, have also not yet filed.
The IRS has issued $94 billion in economic stimulus payments so far. Stimulus payments start at $300, but go higher depending on marital status and number of children.
Oklahoma flood aid denied
10/6/08, 3:17 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Brad Henry says the White House has denied his request for federal assistance to individuals and businesses hit by flooding in northern Oklahoma last month. He said Monday he's disappointed and felt the state made a good case for federal support.
The governor had sought individual assistance for Alfalfa, Grant, Kay, Major and Woods counties. Such a disaster declaration would have provided federal aid to individuals and businesses that suffered uninsured losses because of flood waters.
Still pending is a request for assistance to public entities for nearly $9 million in infrastructure damage and response costs in 10 counties.
Soldiers complete tour of duty
10/6/08, 10:20 a.m.
LAWTON, Okla. (AP) - Some Oklahoma soldiers have returned home safely following deployment in Iraq.
One-hundred-eighty members of the 15th Transportation Company and the 168th Brigade Support Battalion to returned to Fort Sill yesterday. Lt. Col. Gregory P. DeWitt, deputy commanding officer of the 214th Fires Brigade, says the 168th was charged with providing physical support to troops in Baghdad.
He says the battalion conducted more than 11,000 maintenance jobs, over 3,600 deliberate combat logistical patrols and drove more than 2.2 million miles in support of 70,000 coalition forces, Iraqi Army soldiers and policemen in one of Iraq's most dangerous areas -- Baghdad. He says they accomplished their mission with no serious accidents, injuries or casualties.
Special gear sees little action
10/6/08, 10:04 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Oklahoma has received millions of dollars in Homeland Security equipment in recent years. But much of it has seen limited action and fire departments are having to be creative to keep the equipment off the shelf and in good working order.
Since 2001, Oklahoma has received about $170 million for homeland security and emergency preparedness, with the bulk of the money flowing in after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to records reviewed by the Tulsa World.
During the past two years, most of the specialized trucks and rigs delivered to fire departments in Oklahoma City and Tulsa have seen limited duty since there have been no terrorist attacks in Oklahoma. The fire departments already had HAZMAT and rescue units in place before Sept. 11, 2001.
State gets failing grade in caring for sick
10/6/08, 9:50 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - A newly released report gives Oklahoma a failing grade in its care of the state's sickest residents. Oklahoma is one of only three states to receive an "F" grade for palliative care in the study by the Center to Advance Palliative Care and the National Palliative Care Research Center.
The study appears in the October issue of the Journal of Palliative Medicine. Alabama and Mississippi also received failing grades. Palliative care refers to treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of symptoms rather than striving to halt, delay or cure the disease itself.
The goal is to prevent and relieve suffering and improve a patient's quality of life. The report says 19 percent of Oklahoma's hospitals with 50 beds or more have a palliative care program. Most are in larger hospitals in Tulsa and Oklahoma counties.
