Archive for the Week of September 21, 2008 - September 26, 2008
News Archives (Week of September 21, 2008)
Senate Republicans block economic stimulus bill
9/26/08, 3:35 p.m.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Oklahoma Senators Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn joined other Republicans in the Senate to blocked a plan by Democrats to pump $56 billion in government spending into the economy. The vote was 52-42 for the bill with 60 votes needed to defeat a Republican filibuster.
Inhofe and Coburn were among 40 Republicans voting against the bill which called for funding public works projects, help for the jobless and money for states struggling with Medicaid bills. It would have followed up on a bipartisan plan enacted this winter to try to boost the economy through tax rebate checks.
Democrats have pressed for a follow-up plan to extend unemployment benefits, boost food stamp payments and build infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, water and sewer projects and school repairs.
Report shows Oklahoma banks remain strong
9/26/08, 12:15 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A study of commercial banks in Oklahoma by an Oklahoma State researcher has found most are in strong positions and are not at risk. While some of the largest financial institutions in the nation are collapsing and struggling with a bailout the study found those in Oklahoma have minimal risk.
Finance professor Gary Simpson at OSU analyzed all 249 of Oklahoma's commercial banks and says they have strong capital positions to buffer against losses and economic downturns. The study did find the national economy is having an impact in Oklahoma.
The percentage of unprofitable banks in Oklahoma is up from 2.35 percent in the second quarter of last year to 4.76 percent this year. Nationwide the percentage of unprofitable banks is nearly 16 percent.
House committee studies autism
9/26/08, 9:42 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A legislative study on autism has concluded with only one person testifying about insurance coverage of behavioral and therapy programs for children with the developmental disorder.
Many of the 30 or so parents of autistic children who attended the four-hour meeting at the state Capitol yesterday expressed frustration afterward. Wayne Rohde of Edmond, the father of a 10-year old autistic child, says lawmakers need to address the insurance issue.
Rep. Kris Steele, who requested the study, says the proposed autism mandate, which was blocked last session by Republican House leaders, is just one possible solution.
Among topics discussed were the need to get more public school teachers qualified to work with autistic children and have more doctors to help with early diagnosis.
Services set for slain Oklahoma soldiers
9/26/08, 9:16 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Services have been scheduled for four Oklahoma soldiers who were killed last week, including three Oklahoma National Guardsmen who died when their helicopter crashed in southern Iraq. Funeral services for a fourth soldier killed Sept. 18 in Afghanistan will be Saturday in Haworth. A procession leading his body through Idabel to a funeral home will be Friday evening.
Services also have been set for Sgt. Daniel Eshbaugh of Norman; Chief Warrant Officer Brady Rudolf of Oklahoma City; and Cpl. Michael Thompson of Harrah. Services for Thompson will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Kingston High School Gymnasium in Kingston. Graveside services will follow at Shay Cemetery. A memorial service for Rudolf has been scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday at the Southern Hills Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. Eshbaugh's services will be held Saturday, Oct. 4, at CrossPointe Church in Norman. He will be buried at Fort Sill National Cemetery in Elgin.
Cummings executed for girl's killing
9/26/08, 8:54 a.m.
McALESTER, Okla. (AP) - Convicted killer Jessie James Cummings Jr. has been executed for the 1991 stabbing death of his 11-year-old niece. Department of Corrections spokesman Jerry Massie says Cummings
was pronounced dead at 6:11 p.m. Thursday after receiving a lethal injection inside the death chamber at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.
Cummings also was convicted and sentenced to death for killing his sister, Judy Mayo, but that conviction was overturned by an appeals court. Cummings has maintained his innocence and says his two ex-wives were responsible for the killings. The two women - Juanita and Sherry Cummings - both were sentenced to prison for their roles in the killing of Mayo.
Report: chicken manure may threaten human health
9/25/08, 9:03 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A government report says chicken manure from poultry raised in two counties on the Oklahoma-Arkansas border may be threatening human health. The report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office says nearly 14.3 million chickens in the two northwest Arkansas counties produce 471,000 tons of manure per year.
The document does not name the two counties. It does say the manure may threaten human health and the environment and that water in northwest Arkansas and northeastern
Oklahoma may be impaired. The issue of chicken-farm pollution is the subject of a 2005 lawsuit filed by state Attorney General Drew Edmondson against several poultry companies.
Edmondson testifies on end-of-life issues
9/25/08, 8:56 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Oklahoma's chief law enforcement officer has told members of Congress that the arrests of some doctors for prescribing drugs inappropriately has sent chills through the rest of the medical community.
Attorney General Drew Edmondson, testifying before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging Wednesday, linked that concern to the large number of Americans who suffer pain that could be managed. Those numbers, he says, include as many as 50 million Americans and as many as 40 percent of the nation's nursing home residents.
The hearing focused on end-of-life issues, including how Americans want to make sure that their final wishes are honored. Edmondson made such issues a focus of his time as president of the National Association of Attorneys General.
Changes at Tulsa fair bring surprises
9/25/08, 8:42 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - This year's Tulsa State Fair kicks off with two new buildings, new lighting in the midway and new midway pavement for the first time in anyone's memory. Fair manager Paul Crain says the new facilities are the big difference at this year's event, which opens Thursday afternoon at Expo Square.
Mark Andrus, interim president of Expo Square, says the new buildings and midway reconstruction completed an eight-year, $120 million program financed through several sales tax initiatives. Officials say the 22 acres of midway required 50,000 tons of asphalt and 38,000 tons of rock. The first Tulsa State Fair was held in 1903. Attendance for this year's fair is expected to be about the same as a year ago -- 987,000, depending upon the weather.
Norman council supports rail alternatives
9/25/08, 8:31 a.m.
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - City Council members have passed a resolution supporting preservation of the Union Station rail yard in Oklahoma City and an intermodal rail system. The resolution, passed unanimously last night, asks Gov. Brad Henry to appoint a commission to consider future rail transit options in the Oklahoma City area, future uses of Union Station and its rail yard and alternative routes for the Interstate-40 Crosstown Expressway.
Council member Doug Cubberley says that with current fuel prices and increased regulation of ozone levels, the atmosphere has changed in favor of alternative transportation. Marion Hutchison, communications director of OnTrac, a group trying to preserve the rail yard, says the Union Station rail yard is a big economic driver.
ORU could explore selling off assets
9/24/08, 4:56 p.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The interim president of Oral Roberts University says the school could look into selling off assets to pay off some of its debt. Ralph Fagin told The Associated Press there is no "viable" plan to put any asset for sale immediately. But he says school leaders are looking at holdings such as the CityPlex Towers office complex, the campus TV station and the compound of former President Richard Roberts.
The three properties are valued at about 75 million dollars. ORU has been plagued with scandal and had more than 50 million dollars debt last fall that's been cut to just under 18 million dollars. The reduction is due largely to a 70 million dollar donation from Oklahoma City businessman Mart Green. Fagin says ORU has an aging campus and faces about 40 million dollars in maintenance work.
State health director announces retirement plan
9/24/08, 2:39 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The head of the state Health Department is announcing plans to retire after the first of the year. Dr. Michael Crutcher said Wednesday he will step down as secretary of health and commissioner of health to pursue other interests. The 55-year-old Crutcher was appointed health commissioner in November 2003 to replace Dr. Leslie Beitsch.
Crutcher was appointed secretary of health in the governor's cabinet by Gov. Brad Henry in 2007. Crutcher has worked at the Health Department since 1995 when he started as state epidemiologist. He became deputy commissioner of disease and prevention services in 2001.
Ethics commission reprimands former auditor
9/24/08, 2:28 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Convicted former state Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan has been reprimanded by the state Ethics Commission. The reprimand says McMahan asked an employee of the auditor's office in July 2006 for a contribution to his re-election campaign. Ethics rules prohibit elected officials of knowingly asking for campaign contributions from an employee.
McMahan resigned in June after he and his wife Lori were convicted of illegally accepting campaign money and gifts in return for favors to southeast Oklahoma businessman Steve Phipps. The Ethics Commission says it did not want to duplicate the courts and limited its reprimand to the request for a contribution from an employee.
Cherokee chief vetoes clinic measure
9/24/08, 12:10 p.m.
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) - Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith has vetoed legislation passed by the Tribal Council that would create four new health clinics. Smith says he supports the clinics but calls the legislation political showmanship and says it isn't based on sound judgment and limits the tribe's options in improving health care.
Council member Chuck Hoskin Jr. says the veto is disappointing. Hoskin says it appears tribal administrators are unsettled that the council asserted itself as an equal partner in the tribe's health care policy. The legislation passed the council on a 12-5 vote, and 12 votes would be needed to override Smith's veto.
Corporation Commission considers OG&E request
9/24/08, 11:39 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma Corporation Commission has approved a plan to allow Oklahoma Gas and Electric charge its customers for the cost of buying an electric generation plant. OG&E vice president Howard Motley says the average residential customer bill will go up by about $3.34 per month.
The agreement says OG&E will buy the Redbud power plant near Luther from Kelson Holdings of Maryland. OG&E will own 51 percent with 36 percent interest owned by the Grand River Dam Authority and 13 percent by the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority. The unadjusted price is 852 million dollars and OG&E's eventual portion would be just over 434-and-a-half million.
The Corporation Commission last September denied a request by OG&E to raise customer rates to help pay for a 1.8 billion dollar power plant in north-central Oklahoma. The company then abandoned plans to build the plant.
Shares of Dollar Thrifty fall more than 30 percent
9/24/08, 9:58 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Shares of Tulsa-based Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group fell by 34 percent as investors worried about the rental car company's debt following its warning about difficult revenue trends and vehicle depreciation costs. The stock has lost about 90 percent of its value over the past 52 weeks and was trading at $2.88 early Wednesday after closing at $3.01 Tuesday. Investment manager Fred Russell in Tulsa says the travel slump, high energy prices and financial difficulties are backing Dollar Thrifty into a corner. Dollar Thrifty has more than 800 locations in the U.S. and Canada under the brands Dollar Rent A Car and Thrifty Car Rental.
Air Force gives green light to GM plant lease
9/24/08, 9:49 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma County commissioners meet today to vote on a contract to lease the old General Motors plant to the U.S. Air Force for $1 a year. The plant is adjacent to Tinker Air Force Base and was bought by the county for 54 million dollars after voters approved a bond issue.
The Air Force has agreed to a contract to lease the base and is expected to take possession of the property after commissioners give their approval. The Air Force is expected to spend 50 million to 100 million dollars in improvements to the plant and Commissioner Ray Vaughn says he expects the Air Force will eventually buy the plant.
Study: State smoking ban has no economic effect
9/24/08, 9:37 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A study authored by a Northeastern State University economics professor says the state smoking ban has not had an adverse effect on Oklahoma restaurants. The state Health Department released the report yesterday.
NSU professor Fritz Laux says sales and employment have increased since March 2006, when restaurants began to have to comply with the law that was adopted in 2003 by the state Legislature.
Laux said in the report that after restaurants went smoke-free, sales rose by 5.63 percent during the next 12 months and continued to increase after that.
Longtime Tulsa federal judge Cook dies at 84
9/24/08, 9:28 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - H. Dale Cook, who served as a federal judge in Oklahoma for more than three decades, has died at age 84. The Guthrie native died late Monday after a battle with cancer. Cook became a federal judge in 1974. He became the chief judge of the Tulsa-based Northern District of Oklahoma court in February
1979 and held that role until early 1992, when he shifted to senior status. He continued hearing cases until a few months ago, when his health problems worsened.
Cook joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1943, served on active duty through October 1945, then spent until 1953 in the Air Force Reserve. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1949 and a law degree in 1950. He worked as Logan County attorney from 1951 to 1954 and as an assistant U.S. attorney from 1954 to 1958 in Oklahoma City. He later spent time as legal counsel and adviser to then-Gov. Henry Bellmon, in private practice and in roles with the Social Security Administration in Washington, D.C.
Oklahoma City mayor joins Henry in endorsing Pickens Plan
9/24/08, 8:42 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett is the latest government official to endorse the so-called "Pickens Plan." Native Oklahoman and billionaire energy magnate T. Boone Pickens is funding the multimedia campaign, which is designed to bring more focus to solving the nation's energy crisis.
Pickens has proposed increasing the use of wind power for electricity, thus freeing up natural gas to be used more commonly as a vehicle fuel. Cornett says he's endorsing the Pickens Plan because he believes it's clear that Americans need to explore alternative energies on their own soil. He says Oklahoma City should be a leader in that effort.
Cornett's endorsement of the Pickens Plan comes one day after Gov. Brad Henry did the same.
New fertilizer to foil bomb-makers
9/24/08, 8:35 a.m.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Industrial manufacturer Honeywell says today it has developed a new nitrogen-based fertilizer that is difficult to ignite. Such a discovery could reduce criminals' ability to make explosives used in major terrorist attacks like the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, which killed 168 people.
Honeywell International says its patented fertilizer combines ammonium sulfate with ammonium nitrate, providing the nitrogen and sulfur needed for plant nutrition but making it largely useless as a fuel for explosives. The company says that the new fertilizer did not detonate when mixed with substances such as fuel oil. The volatile combination often is used to make bombs.
Many countries now closely regulate the sale of fertilizer, and some U.S. states have instituted measures to track sales. Last year, Congress required both purchasers and sellers of ammonium nitrate to register and keep track of sales.
Chesapeake reducing drilling activity
9/23/08, 4:55 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Chesapeake Energy Corp. plans to cut back on its drilling activities in Oklahoma and elsewhere as part of a plan to cut its capital expenditures by about $3.2 billion through 2010.
Executives with the Oklahoma City-based company said Tuesday the 17 percent reduction in capital expenditures is a result of decreasing natural gas prices and concerns about the possibility of a gas surplus.
Chief Executive Officer Aubrey McClendon says that's reduced the company's growth projection from 21 percent to 18 percent for the rest of 2008 and from 19 percent to 16 percent in 2009 and 2010. The company plans to drop its current operating rig count from 157 to about 140 by the end of this year.
Stipe released from prison hospital
9/23/08, 4:34 p.m.
MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) - A federal judge has ordered the release of former state Sen. Gene Stipe from a prison hospital in Missouri. It's not clear what happens next as Judge Ronald White on Tuesday simply ordered Stipe to comply with the previous conditions of his release.
The 81-year-old Stipe has been undergoing court-ordered mental competency testing and treatment since May 23. Federal law limited Stipe's stay to four months. It's been 10 months since White declared Stipe mentally incompetent to face a probation revocation proceeding. Stipe is on probation for his 2003 guilty plea in a federal campaign fraud case. He also faces a new indictment accusing him of conspiring to have several hundred thousand dollars in state money benefit a dog food plant he secretly co-owned.
OKC, Tulsa fare poorly in green rankings
9/23/08, 9:18 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma City and Tulsa are near the bottom of a list of environmentally friendly cities in the U.S. The rankings by San Francisco-based SustainLane ranks Tulsa 48th and Oklahoma City 49th on the list of 50 cities it considers friendly to the environment. Mesa, Arizona, ranks 50th on the list and Portland, Oregon, is first.
The rankings are based on items such as the number of people who use public transportation, street congestion, as well as planning and land use. The low rankings for Tulsa and Oklahoma City are no surprise to Fenton Rood with the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality. Rood says both cities were developed to be automobile-oriented with everything geared to the suburbs. But he says that mindset is starting to change.
Oklahoma native Jackson nominated for Rock Hall
9/23/08, 9:01 a.m.
CLEVELAND (AP) - Oklahoma native Wanda Jackson is among nine nominees announced today for next year's class to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Jackson was born in Maud and lives near Oklahoma City. Known as the "First Lady of Rock and Roll," she played her first package tour at age 18 with Elvis Presley in 1955. Jackson later performed with Gene Vincent, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash.
The other nominees are Run-D.M.C., Metallica, the Stooges, guitarist Jeff Beck, Little Anthony and the Imperials, War, Bobby Womack, and disco and R&B group Chic. More than 500 musicians, industry professionals and journalists vote on the inductions. The five leading vote-getters will be announced in January and inducted on April 4th in Cleveland.
US House approves expansion of Trail of Tears
9/23/08, 8:58 a.m.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. House has approved a bill doubling the current Trail of Tears by adding about 1,500 miles. The Trail of Tears is the route taken by Cherokee Indians in the 1820s and 1830s when they were forcibly removed from their homes in the East and sent to reservations on the Great Plains. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., now goes to the Senate. One area added stretches from Fort Payne, Ala., and continues through Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Another route started at Charleston, Tenn., and went through Arkansas.
Ft. Hood soldier from Oklahoma dies in Afghanistan
9/23/08, 8:42 a.m.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon has announced the death of a Oklahoma soldier based at Fort Hood in Texas. Military officials say 30-year-old Army Staff Sgt. Brandon W. Farley of Haworth, Okla., died Thursday at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.
Farley died from wounds sustained the day before when his mounted patrol was attacked by enemy forces using small arms and rocket-propelled grenades in Able Monti, Afghanistan. Farley was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division at Fort Hood.
Henry endorses 'Pickens Plan'
9/22/08, 3:30 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Brad Henry has officially endorsed a plan by Texas oil tycoon and Oklahoma native T. Boone Pickens to reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil.
Henry on Monday signed the "Pickens Pledge," a document urging Congress and the next President to enact an energy policy emphasizing renewable and alternative fuels. Pickens hopes to reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil by focusing on wind power and natural gas.
Henry says such steps are necessary to protect national security and enhance the country's economic future. As a leading producer of both natural gas and wind power, Henry says Oklahoma is uniquely positioned to advance and benefit from the Pickens Plan.
US soldier fights accusations of killing Iraqi
9/22/08, 3:29 p.m.
CAMP SPEICHER, Iraq (AP) - A comrade of a U.S. soldier from Oklahoma accused of killing an Iraqi detainee says the victim was blindfolded and bound in the back of an armored vehicle for more than two hours before he was killed. The testimony came today during a military hearing in Camp Speicher, Iraq. Military prosecutors have accused 1st Lt. Michael C. Behenna of Edmond of stripping the detainee naked, shooting him in the head and chest and then watching as another soldier set fire to the body with an incendiary grenade. He also allegedly tried to cover up the killing.
Behenna and the other soldier, Staff Sgt. Hal M. Warner, of Braggs, Okla., face charges of premeditated murder, assault, making a false official statement and obstruction of justice. A similar hearing was held earlier this month for Warner, who also is charged with being an accessory after the fact. Both men could face life in prison without parole if tried and convicted. Behenna's defense team objected to all charges except assault and says the allegation that the killing was premeditated was not credible.
Tulsa schools gearing up new police force
9/22/08, 9:55 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The Tulsa Police Department is losing some experienced officers to the Tulsa Public School's new police department. Three officers with a combined 87 years of experience are making the shift from public safety to school safety.
The Tulsa Public Schools Police Department will be up and running by Oct. 20 with a staff of 13 officers. TPS Police Chief Gary Rudick says it helps to experienced officers who are familiar with the system. Thirty-year Tulsa Police Department veteran Marvin Blades says he's looking forward to focusing his law enforcement efforts on youngsters and school safety. Blades says he plans to conduct a seminar this fall on gang prevention and intervention.
Students attend Picher-Cardin school
9/22/08, 9:40 a.m.
PICHER, Okla. (AP) - A school district serving two northeastern Oklahoma towns that are part of a federally funded buyout of homes is still operating despite declining enrollment. For the current school year, Picher-Cardin Schools enrolled 51 students. That's an 85 percent decrease in enrollment since the fall of 2005.
In some classes there are only three students in classrooms that once held 20, teachers said. The school now has 13 teachers.
The towns of Picher and Cardin are threatened by lead pollution within the Tar Creek Superfund site. Before a $60 million federal buyout began in May 2006, the towns had a combined population of about 1,800 residents, but they have lost hundreds of residents who are moving away as part of the relocation plan.
Tobacco negotiations stall between state, tribe
9/22/08, 9:12 a.m.
OKMULGEE, Okla. (AP) - Negotiations between the state and Muscogee (Creek) Nation over a new tobacco compact appear to have come to a standstill. Tribal leaders claim the state has gone back on its word and is not dealing fairly with the tribe.
The Creek Nation has rejected state-backed revisions to a compact proposed by the tribe, and the tribe's Tax Commissioner Dana Johnson says talks broke down on Friday. State Treasurer Scott Meacham says the state's proposed change would allow state district court to be used as a back-up if federal courts refuse to hear a dispute. But Johnson says that change is unacceptable. Chief A.D. Ellis says the tribe also will not accept a deal that gives other tribes a lower tax rate.
Defense Department identifies soldiers
9/22/08, 8:56 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Department of Defense has officially identified the seven National Guard soldiers who died Sept. 18 when the helicopter they were in crashed in southern Iraq. Three Oklahoma National Guard troops and four from the Texas National Guard were among those killed in the crash near Tallil, Iraq. They previously have been identified in the media. All seven were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 149th Aviation, 36th Combat Brigade. Their official names and hometowns of record were:
- 38-year-old Chief Warrant Officer Corry Edwards of Kennedale, Texas;
- 43-year-old Sgt. Daniel Eshbaugh of Norman;
- 37-year-old Sgt. Anthony Mason of Springtown Texas;
- 54-year-old 1st Sgt. Julio C. Ordonez of San Antonio;
- 37-year-old Chief Warrant Officer Brady Rudolf of Oklahoma City;
- 23-year-old Cpl. Michael Thompson of Harrah; and
- 28-year-old 1st Lt. Robert Vallejo II of Richland Hills, Texas.
Financial meltdown feels like oil bust
9/22/08, 8:45 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahomans who lived through the 1980s oil bust find themselves feeling a bit of deja vu as they are bombarded by headlines about the failure of Wall Street financial institutions, plummeting housing values in large urban areas and families losing their homes.
The financial meltdown attributed to the sub-prime mortgage market crisis has barely been felt in Oklahoma, where a strong energy industry has helped keep the state's economy humming. But it was a different story 25 years ago, when oil prices collapsed and speculative bank loans based upon energy values turned sour.
Oklahoma bankers and those involved in the state's banking industry say the two bear striking similarities in their root cause. And they say the fallout from the Wall Street mess will probably also closely resemble what happened in Oklahoma, where regulations were tightened and banks came under more scrutiny.
Sullivan says Tulsa to have immigration office
9/22/08, 8:42 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - U.S. Rep. John Sullivan says the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency will open a fugitive operations team office in Tulsa. The Republican has worked for years to have federal immigration agents assigned to Tulsa.
Sullivan says the federal agents in the office are not, quote,"going to be rounding up guys framing houses and washing dishes." Instead, he says they will focus on national security, community safety, street gang members, child sex offenders and those with prior convictions for violent crimes.
ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok says the team of agents assigned to Tulsa could be fully operational by next month. He says ICE now has 95 such teams across the country, with most of those teams containing seven members. Oklahoma City has both an ICE field office and a fugitive operations team.
