Archive for the Week of July 6, 2008-July 12, 2008
News Archives (Week of July 6, 2008)
Authorities arrest 227 in western Oklahoma effort
7/11/08, 5:00 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Federal, state and local authorities have arrested 227 people in western Oklahoma on outstanding warrants as part of an annual sweep known as Operation FALCON. The U.S. Marshals Service coordinated the roundup from June 21-27, with officers from 22 agencies participating.
In similar efforts, marshals in Tulsa reported 350 arrests from June 2-7, while marshals in Muskogee arrested 290 fugitives from June 9-13. U.S. Marshals Service Director John F. Clark says Operation FALCON is an example of what law enforcement agencies can accomplishment when resources are combined.
Lawmakers call for Regier's removal
7/12//08, 1:50 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Two state senators are urging the removal of Jerry Regier as interim administrator of the Oklahoma Construction Industries Board. Democrat Debbie Leftwich and Republican Harry Coates say they believe the board gave Regier a job to qualify him for drawing a $1,236 monthly retirement check.
They say that is unfair to qualified applicants for the post and a waste of taxpayer money. Regier says he took the job to help the agency remove a backlog of work.
McSpadden's body to lie in state in Capitol rotunda
7/11/08, 9:45 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The body of former U.S. Rep. Clem McSpadden will lie in state Friday at the state Capitol. McSpadden's body will be located in the Capitol's second-floor rotunda between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
McSpadden, a nationally known rodeo announcer, lobbyist and former state senator, died Monday at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston following a battle with cancer. He was 82 years old.
Funeral services for McSpadden are set for 10 a.m. Saturday at the Clem McSpadden Bushyhead Ranch Arena, about 13 miles north of Claremore on Oklahoma 66. Watch The Oklahoma News Report Friday night for more on Clem McSpadden. Flags on state office buildings were flown at half-staff in McSpadden's honor.
Court denies Stipe benefits hearing
7/11/08, 9:30 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The Oklahoma Supreme Court has rejected a request to convene another hearing into whether former state Sen. Gene Stipe can keep his state retirement benefits. The Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System last month asked the court to reconsider its decision to allow the former Democratic senator from McAlester to keep his pension.
Stipe resigned his Senate seat in March 2003 after more than 50 years of service in the Oklahoma House and Senate. A few weeks later, he signed a federal plea agreement involving more than $245,000 in illegal contributions that were funneled to the unsuccessful 1998 congressional campaign of Walt Roberts. The court ruled the plea agreement stated that Stipe's conduct didn't relate to his duties as a state senator.
Professional license question answered
7/11/08, 9:14 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Applicants for professional or commercial licenses must verify they're U.S. citizens or are in the country lawfully under provisions of Oklahoma's anti-illegal immigration law. Attorney General Drew Edmondson issued a legal opinion today that says licenses are treated the same as public benefits under the Oklahoma law.
Most of the law's provisions took effect on November 1st. A federal judge has blocked provisions affecting employers that were scheduled to take effect July 1st. Edmondson says U.S. citizens must verify their citizenship only once when applying for a commercial or professional license. He says a "qualified alien" must verify legal status each time he or she applies for a license or renewal of a license.
Updated: Henry picks new auditor and inspector
7/10/08, 5:30 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Brad Henry has appointed Antlers banker Steve Burrage to be the new state auditor and inspector. Burrage replaces Jeff McMahan, who resigned in disgrace after his conviction on federal corruption charges.
Henry made the announcement at a news conference today, saying Burrage is the best person to restore public trust to the vital state office. The state auditor's office serves as a watchdog for the financial dealings of governmental agencies.
The 56-year-old Democrat is a former chairman of the Oklahoma Bankers Association, a certified public accountant and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. He has more than 30 years experience in banking and accounting and is a member of the Oklahoma City branch of the Federal Reserve Bank. He is chairman of the board of First Bank in Antlers.
Henry to pick banker state auditor
7/10/08, 10:03 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Associated Press has learned that Antlers banker Steve Burrage will be named by Gov. Brad Henry to replace Jeff McMahan as state auditor and inspector. Capitol sources with knowledge of the selection process confirmed that Burrage had been chosen for the post. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity as Henry was to make the announcement at an 11:15 a.m. news conference.
A spokesman for the governor refused to comment on Burrage's selection. McMahan resigned last month after being convicted on federal corruption charges. Burrage is a former chairman of the Oklahoma Bankers
Association. His name as a possible successor to McMahan surfaced early in the selection process.
Garrett names 12 finalists for state teacher award
7/10/08, 8:50 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - State Superintendent Sandy Garrett has announced the names of the 12 finalists for the state's 2009 teacher of the year award. The announcement came Wednesday during the state education department's leadership conference for school administrators.
The 12 finalists are Sherilynn Admire of Midwest City, Debbie L. Flowers of Meeker, Betsy Ellen Glad of Union Public Schools in Tulsa, Matthew Holtzen of Enid, Valorie Ann Lewis of Stigler, Cheryl McCord of Jenks, John Daniel Nolan of Norman, Denise Radcliff of Claremore, Mandy Rowley of Woodward, Phillip R. Scott of McAlester, Heather Sparks of Oklahoma City and Nolan Watson of Cache.
The winner will be announced during a ceremony at the Oklahoma State Fair on Sept. 16.
Counties hit by storms to get aid
7/10/08, 8:29 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved Gov. Brad Henry's request for aid for cities and county governments in 24 counties hit hard by storms last month. The announcement was made Wednesday by the governor's office.
The assistance will be for damages suffered in storms, tornadoes and flooding that occurred between June 3 and June 20. The counties affected are: Alfalfa, Beaver, Beckham, Blaine, Cotton, Custer, Dewey, Ellis, Garfield, Grant, Harmon, Harper, Jackson, Kay, Kiowa, Major, Okfuskee, Osage, Ottawa, Roger Mills,
Rogers, Tillman, Washita and Woods.
Updated: Drought relief granted to 2 Panhandle counties
7/10/08, 8:15 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated two counties in the Oklahoma Panhandle for disaster relief benefits due to the severe drought in the area. Congressman Frank Lucas issued a statement Thursday praising the designation for Cimarron and Texas counties in far northwest Oklahoma. Lucas and U.S. Sens. Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn last week sent a letter Thursday to Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer seeking disaster relief for nine counties in northwest Oklahoma.
Last month, the U.S. Drought Monitor upgraded the situation in the Panhandle to its most severe drought rating, which is"exceptional." A disaster declaration makes farm operators in those counties eligible for low-interest loans through the Farm Service Agency's Emergency Loan Program and payments from other federal programs. It also provides federal tax considerations to ranchers who sell livestock early because of drought conditions.
Services for McSpadden set for Saturday in Chelsea
7/9/08, 5:45 p.m.
CHELSEA, Okla. (AP) - Funeral services for former congressman and well-known rodeo announcer Clem McSpadden have been set for Saturday morning.
The Musgrove Merriott Smith Funeral Home in Chelsea says the services will be at 10 a.m. that day at Clem McSpadden Bushyhead Ranch Arena, about 13 miles north of Claremore on State Highway 66. McSpadden will be buried in Chelsea Cemetery.
The 82-year-old McSpadden died late Monday after a long battle with cancer. He served in the Oklahoma Senate from 1955 to 1972 and spent two years as a U.S. congressman.
Agencies nudged to move to four-day work week
7/9/08, 1:15 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - State agencies are being urged to get on board with the idea of a four-day work week or flexible schedules that allow employees to save on high gasoline prices. Some agency officials testified at a legislative hearing Wednesday that they already are allowing employees flexibility in work schedules.
The Oklahoma Public Employees Association is pushing the idea of schedule changes that reduce the cost for employees commuting daily to work at state agencies.
State Rep. Mike Shelton says Utah is experimenting with a four-day work week and other states are considering the move. The Oklahoma City Democrat says state workers need financial relief after not getting a pay raise from the Legislature this year.
More waste uncovered at abandoned Ardmore refinery
7/9/08, 12:20 p.m.
ARDMORE, Okla. (AP) - Environmental officials have discovered more contaminated areas at the old Imperial Refinery site in northeast Ardmore. An official with the Environmental Protection Agency says it appears that not all of the waste at the site can be safely removed. Imperial Refinery operated from 1917 to 1934, and during that time numerous pits, piles and water impoundments were contaminated with metals and refining wastes. Clean up at the 72-acre crude oil refinery site began Feb. 13. EPA remedial project manager Katrina Higgins-Coltrain says they have uncovered waste areas that far exceeded their estimates. The closest homes are about a quarter of a mile away.
2 escape from Stringtown prison
7/9/08, 12:02 p.m.
STRINGTOWN, Okla. (AP) - Two prisoners are on the loose after escaping from the minimum-security unit at a Stringtown prison. Oklahoma Department of Corrections spokesman Jerry Massie says 44-year-old Quentin Battle and 52-year-old Jimmy Penn were noticed missing when guards counted prisoners at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Massie says corrections officials do not have an initial indication of where Battle and Penn may be headed or whether they had obtained a vehicle. The two had been jailed at the Mack Alford Correctional Center located in Atoka County in southeastern Oklahoma. Battle was serving time on charges of concealing stolen property and writing bogus checks. He had one previous conviction for assault and battery and two convictions for previous jail escapes.
Funds available to defray cooling costs
7/9/08, 8:59 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - As the heat and summer cooling bills are on the rise, some low-income Oklahomans are eligible for federal assistance. The Department of Human Services announced yesterday that a limited amount of summer cooling assistance funds will be available statewide through a federal program.
The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program is aimed at low-income residents vulnerable to summer heat stresses. DHS will begin taking applications July 14 and will continue until all of the allocated funds are depleted. DHS has about $3 million in federal funds for this year's program. Residents applying should have their home's latest electric bill and verification of income information.
Despite showers, Panhandle remains locked in drought
7/9/08, 8:50 a.m.
BOISE CITY, Okla. (AP) - Some scattered showers have dropped into the parched Oklahoma Panhandle, but experts say it's not enough to end the drought there. About two inches of much-needed rain fell in the Boise City area on Monday in Cimarron County.
But scarcely any rain has fallen on the area in more than a year, leading climatologists and locals to compare the situation to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Assistant state Climatologist Gary McManus says the rain should help green up parts of the Panhandle, but it won't alleviate the drought. State Agriculture Secretary Terry Peach and Gov. Brad Henry both are calling for federal aid for farmers and ranchers, some of whom have been liquidating assets and harvesting dust.
Cherokee Nation gives to road project
7/9/08, 8:28 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The Cherokee Nation plans to donate more than $6 million toward a widening project for Interstate 44 in Catoosa. Work on the project near the Cherokee Nation Casino and Resort was set to begin in 2011. But state transportation officials say that with the tribe's contribution and a tribal right of way valued at more than $1 million, the project's start probably will be pushed up to the summer of 2009.
The project will widen I-44 from four lanes to eight at an intersection near the casino, widen other roads in the area and add auxiliary lanes. It also will replace a functionally obsolete bridge on westbound I-44 and a structurally deficient bridge on the eastbound side. Total cost will be between $48 million and $50 million, Ridley said.
50 names entered for top ORU post
7/8/08, 2:05 p.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - A consultant says that more than 50 people have been suggested for or have shown interest in the Oral Roberts University presidency. School leaders hope to hire a new president by next summer, although consultant Bruce Dingman says the private university is not creating an artificial deadline for accepting resumes.
ORU is looking for a new leader following Richard Roberts' resignation last fall after intense publicity over lawsuits, which raised allegations he misspent university money and poorly managed the school. Roberts has denied the allegations. The school's board of regents was replaced by a board of trustees, which is working to stabilize ORU's finances and institute shared responsibility among trustees, administrators and
faculty.
Rhae Buckley, a member of the presidential search committee and chairman of the ORU Alumni Association board of directors, says he thinks the most important qualification is servant-leadership.
Former Oklahoma congressman McSpadden dies at 82
7/8/08, 12:59 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Former Oklahoma Congressman and famed rodeo announcer Clem McSpadden has died at age 82. McSpadden's nephew, Herb, says his uncle died Monday night after fighting cancer.
McSpadden was a grand nephew of Will Rogers and served one term as a Democrat in the U.S. House after being elected in 1972. He also ran for the Democratic nomination for governor in 1974, losing to the general election's eventual winner, David Boren.
McSpadden earlier served in the Oklahoma Senate from 1955 to 1972, including two terms as its president pro tem. After his political career, McSpadden called rodeos throughout North America, including the National Finals Rodeo, the Calgary Stampede and the Canadian Finals Rodeo.
He was inducted into both the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1990. As the general manager of the National Finals Rodeo, he hired Reba McEntire - then a little-known country singer - to perform at the event.
Garrett says students need time to learn
7/8/08, 1:20 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - State School Superintendent Sandy Garrett says educators must unclutter the school day and make better use of technology to prepare Oklahoma students for the future. In her yearly state-of-education address to school superintendents on Tuesday, Garrett outlined challenges facing administrators in a time of stagnant revenues and rising prices.
Oklahoma mandates a 175-day school year, the lowest in the country. But proposals to increase the school year fell through in the 2008 Legislature because of money restraints. Garrett says schools must take steps to maximize the instructional hours in a school day to provide a world-class education. She also urged giving students individualized instruction in the
area of technology.
Pickens wants more emphasis on alternative energy
7/8/08, 11:09 a.m.
HOUSTON (AP) - Texas oilman and Oklahoma native T. Boone Pickens says he'll fund a multimedia advertising campaign to focus the nation's attention on its dependence on foreign oil. Pickens calls it the single biggest crisis facing the country today.
The former wildcatter, who now heads the Dallas-based hedge fund BP Capital Management LP, outlined his concerns and potential solutions at a news conference in New York. Pickens wants to bring energy to the forefront of the presidential campaign. His plan calls for private investment in power generation from renewable energy resources such as wind and using the nation's abundant supplies of natural gas.
Last year, Pickens announced plans to build the world's largest wind farm in Texas. The cost of the project could grow to $12 billion before its scheduled completion in 2014.
Mediation in immigration lawsuit canceled
7/7/08, 3:40 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A scheduled mediation conference between challengers and defenders of the state's anti-illegal immigration law has been canceled by mutual agreement. Charlie Price, spokesman for Attorney General Drew Edmondson, said parties in the case had agreed that mediation would be useless.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had instructed both sides to take part in a mediation conference Wednesday to explore the possibilities of a settlement. An official with the Denver Court said most civil lawsuits go to mediation. But Attorney General Drew Edmondson said Monday he never thought mediation was a workable solution in a case that involves a constitutional issue.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups say a provision of the law subjecting employers to penalties pre-empts federal law and is unconstitutional. Edmondson's office is defending the provision. A federal judge in Oklahoma City issued an order preventing the provision affecting employers from going into effect July 1.
Henry to tour Panhandle drought area
7/7/08, 3:20 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Brad Henry is planning to tour drought-stricken areas of the Panhandle and adjacent northwestern Oklahoma counties. Henry says the situation is critical for farmers, ranchers and residents of the areas hardest hit by a lack of rainfall the past year. The exact timing of the trip is still being worked out. The governor is seeking federal disaster assistance for farmers in nine counties suffering from drought and extreme weather conditions.
Agriculture Commissioner Terry Peach says the situation would be
as bad as the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, if not for conservation efforts in the area for five decades.
New OKC superintendent selected
7/7/08, 2:25 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Mustang school superintendent Karl Springer has been selected as the new superintendent of Oklahoma City Public Schools. He will oversee 85 schools with 40,000 students and 5,000
employees. He will receive a $185,000 compensation package.
Springer was introduced as the new Oklahoma City school chief Monday. The district has been seeking a permanent superintendent since John Q. Porter resigned in January. Porter was named the Oklahoma City superintendent in July 2007 and was suspended in January over disputed expense reports. He offered to resign if school board chairman Cliff Hudson did the same. The school board accepted the resignations of Porter and Hudson on Jan. 23.
Oklahoma judges only state workers to get raise
7/7/08, 2:01 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma's 267 judges got a 5 percent annual pay hike this year, while other state employees failed to get any salary increase. When the fiscal year began July 1st, the chief justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court and the presiding judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals began earning $147,000, compared with $140,000 last fiscal year. The 84 special judges in the state court system saw their salaries go from $100,050 to $105,053.
The Judicial Compensation Board meets every other year and makes a recommendation on pay for judges. The raises go into effect unless the Legislature or governor strike them. Rep. Ken Miller of Edmond, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, says the five Republican members of the nine-member House General Conference Committee on Appropriations wanted to delay the raises. However, their counterparts in the Senate didn't consider that proposal.
Tax-form donations down in Oklahoma
7/7/08, 1:43 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Fewer Oklahomans are checking a box on their tax forms designating a donation from their tax refund for a charitable cause. Only $147,404 was raised off Oklahoma tax forms in the latest fiscal year, which ended last week. That's the lowest total in recent years.
Officials at the Oklahoma Tax Commission say some of the decline may be because the checkoff boxes are now on a separate schedule and may be overlooked. There are too many to be placed on the actual return. Paula Ross, a Tax Commission spokeswoman, says the Tax Commission has discontinued ads in the tax instructions reminding taxpayers they could donate part of their refunds. Donations to some causes fell so low their checkoff boxes were removed from state tax forms.
By law, a fund's checkoff box is dropped if donations from refunds fall under $15,000 three years in a row. Two funds were dropped from the latest tax forms; seven more will not be on the next tax forms. One new fund benefiting food banks will be on the next tax forms.
State employees ponder 4-day work week
7/7/08, 1:22 p.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - A public hearing is planned this week to discuss whether a four-day work week for state employees would save money as energy prices continue to rise. Utah last week announced that it would have thousands of state employees start working 10 hours Monday through Thursday and then take Friday off in a yearlong experiment.
Oklahoma Public Employees Association deputy director Scott Barger says this state's workers would support a similar plan. He says polls have shown that 98 percent of the association's approximately 10,500 members favor a four-day work week. Office of Personnel Management executive director Oscar Jackson says some organizational decisions would have to be made for the plan to work.
Agencies would have to determine whether they could afford to close one day per week or rotate their employees so the office would remain open Monday through Friday. A public hearing is planned Wednesday at the state Capitol.
Enid college plans to open planetarium
7/7/08, 12:18 p.m.
ENID, Okla. (AP) - Officials at Northern Oklahoma College's Enid campus are awaiting the opening of what will be the state's fifth planetarium dome. Observatory director Bob Killam says the 40-foot dome will seat
115 people and could be ready for use by the start of the fall semester. NOC Vice President Ed Vineyard says that such a project could cost more than $1 million, but because the college is using a used dome and projector, the project could be completed for less than $100,000.
The other planetariums in Oklahoma are at the Science Museum Oklahoma in Oklahoma City, the Tulsa Air and Space Museum, Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee and Fort Sill.
New Rogers State president assumes duties
7/7/08, 9:14 a.m.
CLAREMORE, Okla. (AP) - Rogers State University's new president has formally taken office. Larry Rice had served as the university's president-designate since January. He assumed his new title on Tuesday, as the retirement of Joe Wiley became official. Rogers State has an enrollment of about 4,000 students on its main campus in Claremore and satellite campuses in Bartlesville and Pryor.
Rice is an Oklahoma native who has spent 29 years in higher education and served as a Democrat state representative from 1986 to 2004. He is the 12th president in Rogers State's history, but only its second since the school moved from two-year to four-year status. Wiley retired from Rogers State so he could accept the presidency at Freed-Hardeman University, a private college in Henderson, Tenn.
More Oklahoma News:
Funds approved for new ballpark (7/11/08)
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The Tulsa Drillers are a step closer to getting a new $60 million stadium after city councilors voted to renew and increase the rate of a downtown assessment district to fund it. Mayor Kathy Taylor says yesterday's 6-3 vote is critical to moving the team from the fairgrounds to a new ballbark in downtown Tulsa. The deadline for exclusive negotiating rights with the Drillers ends Tuesday. After that, the Colorado Rockies' Double-A affiliate could seek an alternate site for a new stadium, including in suburban Jenks. The measure passed with an amendment clarifying that a trust that will be created to oversee the ballpark and its finances can't incur debt for which the city would be liable. The estimated $60 million stadium is proposed to be placed in the historic Greenwood District, once known as Black Wall Street and the site of the 1921 Tulsa race riots.
Woodie Guthrie festival kicks off in Okemah (7/11/08)
OKEMAH, Okla. (AP) - The Woody Guthrie Folk Festival is under way in Okemah, the town where the folk singing legend grew up. Yesterday marked the first full day of the 11th Annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival. The free festival continues through Sunday with concerts, open mike events, poetry readings, panel discussions and fund-raisers for the state chapter of the Huntington's Disease Society of America. Fans from as far away as Great Britain casually mingled yesterday as a crowd of about 250 music fans gathered in the basement of the Brick Street Cafe to listen to performers. Musicians will take the stage for the next several days at venues throughout the eastern Oklahoma town.
Largest cities post modest growth (7/10)
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Oklahoma's two largest cities posted modest gains in population from 2006 to 2007. But estimates set to be released tomorrow by the U.S. Census Bureau show only Oklahoma City managed to keep that growth in the black between 2000 and 2007. Statewide, Oklahoma's population had an almost 5 percent growth rate between April 1, 2000, and July 1, 2007, from 3,450,654 to 3,617,316. Meanwhile, figures show that the city of Norman, home to the University of Oklahoma, posted a 10.3 percent gain in population
between 2000 and 2007. With a 1.4 percent increase in population between July 1, 2006 and July 1, 2007, Oklahoma City ranked No. 82 in the nation, in terms of population change estimates for places with more than 100,000 people.
Thousands expected at rock festival (7/9/08)
PRYOR, Okla. (AP) - An estimated 100,000 rock music fans are expected this week at Rocklahoma, a five-day music festival that kicks off in Mayes County on Wednesday. And with so many people in one place at the same time, officials say busy signals and dropped calls will be common. That's because communications towers in the area become jammed by people calling, texting and sending pictures from their cell phones. The issue first came up last month during the four-day Country Fever music festival. Janzen said it was the first time it has happened in that event's six years. Pryor Mayor Jimmy Tramel said dropped calls are becoming more frequent in the Pryor area. Tramel said more cell phone towers may be needed to accommodate increased cell-phone use in the area.
The Eagles to be first BOK act (7/7/08)
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The Eagles will be the first act to perform in Tulsa's new BOK Center. Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor announced Tuesday that the band will perform at 8 p.m. on Sept. 6. Ribbon-cutting ceremonies for the $178 million, 18,000-seat arena are set for Aug. 30. Country music star and native Oklahoman Garth Brooks will be on hand for those ceremonies but will not perform. The Eagles had a string of hits in the 1970s, including "Hotel California," "Take It Easy," "Life in the Fast Lane" and"Heartache Tonight." They released a new album last year called"Long Road Out of Eden."
Garth Brooks to have a part in opening of arena (7/7/08)
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Country music star and native Oklahoman Garth Brooks will help cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony for a new arena in Tulsa. Brooks will participate in the Aug. 30 event at the BOK Center, but he is not scheduled to deliver the arena's first performance. City officials say they'll announce the arena's opening act on Tuesday morning. After the opening ceremony, the general public will be allowed to tour the $178 million, 18,000-seat arena for the first time. A multifaith celebration that will include actor and Oklahoma native Sam Harris will be held on Aug. 31.
Exhibit displays Kerr-McGee artifacts (7/7/08)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Kerr-McGee's days in the state may be over, but a new exhibit at the Oklahoma History Center is offering visitors a look back. Anadarko Petroleum bought out the longtime Oklahoma City natural gas company in 2006 and donated thousands of items to the museum for a display on oil and natural gas businesses. Among the items are busts of Robert S. Kerr and Dean A. McGee, corporate seals, Geiger counters, hard hats and gasoline pumps. There are also old films and audio tapes and more than 180,000 documents and 190,000 photographs. Kerr and his brother-in-law founded the company that would become Kerr-McGee in 1929 in Ada and moved it to Oklahoma City the following year. The company took on its eventual name in 1942 when McGee became executive vice president.
Migrating birds make annual stop in Oklahoma City (7/7/08)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - More than 10,000 birds making an annual migration north have found a place they like to rest and spend some time -- in a small grove of trees in northwest Oklahoma City. The birds from as many as a half-dozen species migrate from Central and South America, through Mexico and into the central U.S. on their way to the Dakotas or Canada. For a few weeks, they make their nests in Oklahoma City, although scientists aren't sure why. Great egrets typically arrive in Oklahoma in the third or fourth week of March. Little blue herons show up in early April, and cattle egrets join them during the next couple of weeks. Black-crowned night herons and snowy egrets also use the nesting area. Mark Howery, a biologist at the state Wildlife Conservation Department, says no one really knows why the species share the same space or why they chose Oklahoma as the place to do so.
