Archive for the Week of September 27, 2008 - October 4, 2008
News Archives (Week of September 27, 2008)
4 of 5 Oklahoma reps vote for bailout
10/3/08, 2:45 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Two of Oklahoma's U.S. representatives switched their votes and supported a $700 billion dollar financial bailout plan, leaving Frank Lucas alone in the state's House delegation as opposing the measure.
The bill passed the House Friday on a 263-171 vote. Representatives Mary Fallin and John Sullivan changed their"no" votes on an earlier plan and voted for the package that has already passed in the Senate.
Congressmen Tom Cole and Dan Boren also voted for the bill as they did for the previous proposal. Lucas also voted against the first proposal.
Political yard-sign thefts up
10/3/08, 1:52 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The theft of political yard-signs happens every election but signs for presidential candidate Barack Obama are vanishing faster and some think racism is at play.
State Democratic Party Chairman Ivan Holmes said today that Obama's signs are disappearing from yards but thieves are not taking signs for other Democratic candidates. Holmes showed a burned sign taken from the yard of one Oklahoma City supporter of Obama and said he believes racism is behind the thefts of some signs for Obama, who is black.
State Republican Party Chairman Gary Jones accuses Holmes of"sensationalism" and says signs for GOP nominee John McCain are also disappearing.
Lawmaker looking into students' large tax bill
10/3/08, 12:12 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A state lawmaker says he's looking into a large tax bill given to a loose-knit college party business called Kegheadz. The state Tax Commission hit the business operated by University of Central Oklahoma students with a $320,000 tax bill. Kegheadz co-founder Julius Baroi says the business only made about $1,700 during the 18 months it was in existence. He says the commissions has offered to settle for about $42,000.
Now state Rep. Joe Dorman says he's worried auditors relied heavily on exaggerations made on the Internet site MySpace. The comments included "over a billion served." Dorman says the students are learning a valuable lesson and he wants them to pay something that's fair and not be severely punished.
Fair arrests bring questions of racial profiling
10/3/08, 11:09 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Hispanic leaders are raising questions about racial profiling at the Tulsa State Fair after the arrest of two Hispanic men. Tulsa County deputies stopped the two for alleged underage drinking then called Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents when questions arose about their immigration status.
ICE agents arrested the two. Attorney Marvin Lizama of the immigrant advocacy group American Dream Coalition says there is a presumption that all Hispanics are illegal immigrants. Officers assigned to the fair deny profiling. Deputy Randy Chapman says the deputies have too much to do to target Hispanics.
Stilwell girl wins poster contest
10/2/08, 4:15 p.m.
STILWELL, Okla. (AP) - A fifth-grader from Maryetta School in Stilwell has won the national Arbor Day National Poster Contest. Michelle Holiman won for the poster "Trees are Terrific...Inside and Out."
It shows a person with a shovel planting a tree with a full-grown tree nearby that's full of animals and a cross-section of the tree. The poster was part of a traveling exhibit across the country and was displayed in Times Square in New York City.
Michelle receives a $1,000 savings bond and a trip to Nebraska to ride in the National Arbor Day parade.
Evidence: Sutton refused to let others drive
10/2/08, 8:59 a.m.
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) - Evidence in a lawsuit against former Oklahoma State University basketball coach Eddie Sutton indicates that seconds before his 2006 drunken-driving accident, Sutton refused at a stop sign to let an OSU official drive.
According to testimony filed yesterday, Sutton told the official: "Joe, get out of my life." Sutton wrecked his OSU-provided sport utility vehicle on Feb. 10, 2006, on the way to the Stillwater airport for a flight to a game. Police say he struck Teresa Barnard's vehicle, then a tree. He later pleaded no contest to aggravated drunken driving and retired as OSU coach.
Barnard is suing Sutton, OSU and others. Last month, Sutton said he drank from a fifth of whiskey kept under the bathroom sink in his bedroom because of tremendous back pain.
Indian medical center transferred
10/2/08, 8:50 a.m.
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) - Control of an Indian medical center that has been operated by the federal government has been transferred to the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. The W.W. Hastings Indian Clinic, formerly operated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has served many American Indians of all tribes over the years. Officials expressed confidence yesterday that patients would continue to receive quality care.
Dignitaries from the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek) and Seminole nations, as well as Indian Health Services, tribal citizens and medical personnel attended the ceremony. But the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians filed a federal lawsuit against several top government officials, alleging
that they broke the law by not consulting with the UKB about the contract.
Oklahoma senators split over financial rescue plan
10/2/08, 8:45 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma's U.S. senators were divided Wednesday night when the Senate voted on a $700 billion financial industry bailout package. Republican Sen. Tom Coburn voted for it and fellow Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe voted against it. The Senate passed the measure by a wide margin, 74-25.
The Senate took up the bill a few hours after 16 Oklahoma business and education leaders joined together to urge members of Oklahoma's congressional delegation to act immediately to pass a plan to address the nation's worsening economic crisis.
State Treasurer Scott Meacham also called for quick congressional action on a new plan to rescue the nation's failing financial markets. Following the vote, Inhofe said his constituents and business leaders in Oklahoma say they are hesitant to pay for mistakes by others.
Oklahoma CEOs urge approval of bailout plan
10/1/08, 5:20 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A group of leaders from 16 major employers in Oklahoma are asking Congress to approve a federal bailout of the country's financial industry. The group, which includes the presidents of the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University, issued a joint statement on Wednesday.
The statement indicates that the country's entire economic system is at risk and that they are disappointed in Congress' inaction to approve a bailout measure earlier in the week. The group praises U.S. Reps. Dan Boren and Tom Cole for voting in favor of the bill and asks Reps. Mary Fallin, Frank Lucas and John Sullivan to reconsider their opposition. Among those who signed the statement are Oklahoma City Thunder Chairman Clay Bennett, Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon and Sonic Corp. Chairman and CEO Cliff Hudson.
Return that library book, or else
10/1/08, 3:45 p.m.
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - To all Pioneer Library System patrons: return that library book -- or else. Library officials in the tri-county area are turning over accounts they've been trying to recover for more than 60 days to a collection agency that specializes in library debts.
Library spokesman Gary Kramer says since 1992, the system has nearly 1.5 million dollars in outstanding fines. Kramer says more than 3 percent of Pioneer's 186,000-plus cardholders owe more than $50 in library fines. Library CEO Anne Masters says officials have an obligation to protect the system's materials.
Masters say beginning October 15th, the collection agency will begin contacting delinquent cardholders in Cleveland, McClain and Pottawatomie counties. Before then, patrons with overdue materials can have their charges waived if they bring their stuff in Saturday or Sunday.
Poultry litter moving out of watershed
10/1/08, 8:48 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The head of an organization partially funded by the poultry industry says more chicken manure is being exported out of the Illinois River watershed. Sheri Herron of the nonprofit BMPs Incorporated says the organization moved 85,000 tons of poultry litter out of the watershed for the 12-month period that ended in August. She says much of the litter went to crop farms near Checotah, Webbers Falls, Wetumka, Enid and Fletcher. Herron says the farms are in watersheds considered to be not nutrient sensitive. She says high prices for commercial fertilizer is driving up demand for poultry litter.
Financing troubles may delay museum
10/1/08, 8:42 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Efforts to obtain interim financing to keep construction going at the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum has failed. But officials say work at the Oklahoma City site could still continue. Gena Timberman, executive director of the Native American Cultural and Education Authority, which is overseeing the project, says officials want to keep everyone engaged and moving forward on construction.
Earlier this year, state lawmakers approved $25 million in bonds for the project. But just before the bond deal was set to close last month, financial advisers heard that the legislative measure authorizing the bond sale might be challenged in court. No legal action occurred, but officials say the delay made it impractical to go ahead with the interim financing.
Oklahomans sound off on bailout plan
10/1/08, 8:39 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahomans are sounding off to members of the state's congressional delegation about a plan to rescue the nation's financial system. U.S. House members from the state continued to receive a heavy volume of phone calls today although virulent opposition to the Bush administration's plan has been tempered by concern about the economy.
One day after the House rejected a $700 billion proposal, the three Oklahomans who voted against it were open to supporting some sort of rescue. But they declined to be specific about what elements could sway them. Rep. Tom Cole, who voted for the bailout, says calls to his office last week had been running 13 to 1 against the plan. Since the vote, his office has received between 300 and 400 calls, with about 60 percent opposed.
State hospitals to absorb new costs
10/1/08, 8:26 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The defeat of federal legislation involving Medicare means that many Oklahoma hospitals that treat the indigent and uninsured will have to absorb more of the cost for their care. Legislation written by U.S. Rep. John Sullivan would have extended the 16 percent increases Oklahoma received for the past five years as one of Medicaid's Low Disproportionate Share Hospital states. But the bill died and the provision expired when the federal fiscal year ended Tuesday.
Defeat of the bill means that instead of a 16-percent increase, Oklahoma will receive an increase tied to the inflation rate. That means the state will receive $35.4 million under the program, rather than the $39.5 million it would have received with the extension.
OG&E won't seek additional price hike
9/30/08, 5:02 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co. customers won't see another increase on their electric bills to recover additional fuel costs deferred from earlier this year. The state's largest utility announced today it won't seek the additional costs because of the decline in natural gas prices in recent months.
In June OG&E notified state regulators that it planned to pass along higher fuel costs to its customers. Rather that recovering 100 percent of its costs, the company said it planned to recover only 50 percent of the higher costs in the summer and recover the remaining amount during the milder months of fall and early winter if necessary.
The company also announced today that it has completed its acquisition of the Redbud natural gas-fired power plant near Luther as part of a joint deal with the Grand River Dam Authority and the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority.
Bill fails; Oklahoma delegation split
9/30/08, 8:37 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Republican Congressman Tom Cole says he voted for a 700 billion dollar financial bailout package and is disappointed the plan failed. The U.S. House voted 228-205 against the bailout with Cole and Congressman Dan Boren voting for it. Representatives Mary Fallin, John Sullivan and Frank Lucas voted against it. Cole says he's convinced the plan is the right thing for America's economy. And Senator Tom Coburn issued a statement supporting the proposal and says the nation faces a potential financial
catastrophe. Meanwhile University of Oklahoma president and former Senator David Boren sent e-mails to Fallin, Sullivan and Lucas asking them to reconsider their votes.
Judge rules against preliminary injunction
9/29/08, 5:20 p.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - A federal judge has denied Oklahoma's motion for a preliminary injunction to stop 13 Arkansas poultry companies from disposing of bird waste in the Illinois River watershed. In a ruling Monday, Judge Gregory K. Frizzell wrote that the state "has not yet met its burden of proving that bacteria in the waters of the IRW are caused by the application of poultry litter rather than by other sources, including cattle manure and human septic systems." The state sued the companies in 2005, saying litter pollution rendered Lake Tenkiller in northeastern Oklahoma 70 percent oxygen dead and accused the companies of treating Oklahoma's rivers like open sewers.
Campaign to fight meth abuse set
9/29/08, 4:48 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - First lady Kim Henry and former prosecutor Wes Lane are heading up a new campaign to tackle methamphetamine abuse that will feature a 30-minute documentary airing on Oklahoma
television stations.
Henry says Oklahoma has made great strides in reducing the number of meth labs in the state, but far too many families are still struggling with the effects of the deadly drug. She says the "Crystal Darkness Oklahoma" campaign will highlight education, prevention, recovery and hope for meth addicts and their families.
The documentary will be telecast on Jan. 13 and officials hope it will accompanied by community watch parties that will raise public awareness of the dangers of meth. The announcement of the campaign was made Monday at the state Capitol.
Bill fails; Oklahoma delegation split
9/29/08, 4:36 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma's congressional delegation split today on a $700 billion financial bailout package that failed in the U.S. House. Democrat Dan Boren and Republican Tom Cole voted for the bill while Republicans Mary Fallin, Frank Lucas and John Sullivan voted against it. The measure failed on a 228-205 vote.
When the vote was counted too few members of the House were apparently willing to back the unpopular bill just five weeks before Election Day. Both Democrats and Republicans voted against the measure. The White House says President Bush is "very disappointed" and will meet with advisers to decide what next steps should be taken.
Henry seeks aid for local governments
9/29/08, 1:48 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Brad Henry is asking for federal aid for local governments dealing with flood-damaged public structures in 10 northern Oklahoma counties. Earlier this month Henry sought federal funds for five counties to help individuals who suffered losses because of flooding.
On Tuesday he asked that a proposed federal disaster declaration be expanded to help local governments in 10 counties to deal with damaged roads, bridges and other infrastructure. Counties included in the request are Alfalfa, Cimarron, Dewey, Ellis, Grant, Harper, Kay, Major, Woods and Woodward. Those counties suffered an estimated $8.8 million in infrastructure damage.
Oklahoma is still awaiting a response from Henry's Sept. 19 request that federal assistance be made available for individuals in Alfalfa, Grant, Kay, Major and Woods Counties.
