Archive for the Week of July 20 - July 26, 2008
News Archives (Week of July 20, 2006)
State worker not excused for gun mistake
7/25/08, 5:35 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - State Representative Sally Kern was excused for forgetfulness in twice bringing a gun to the Capitol. But a longtime state worker went to jail, paid a fine and had to shell out hundreds of dollars for a similar mistake.
Kern was stopped from entering the Capitol on Wednesday when she was found to have a loaded handgun in her purse. She was allowed to take it back to her car. Jeff Davis spent nine hours in jail after he was arrested in 2004 with a handgun in his briefcase.
Davis said he, like Kern, had a concealed carry permit.
Henry leaving to tour Turkey
7/25/08, 5:20 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Brad Henry is going to Turkey as part of a cultural exchange program sponsored by an interfaith organization. Henry was to leave Oklahoma Friday and return on Aug. 6.
The tour is sponsored and paid for by the Institute for Interfaith Dialog, a nonprofit organization that promotes understanding and cooperation between different countries and cultures. The governor's schedule includes meetings with the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, business leaders and government officials, including the country's president. Stops were planned in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Antaylya and Capodoccia.
Sen. Coburn tested for irregular heartbeat
7/25/08, 4:48 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Sen. Tom Coburn of Muskogee has been tested for an irregular heartbeat. Spokesman John Hart says Coburn was tested Friday at a Washington area hospital but has not been admitted. The Oklahoman reported from its Washington bureau that Hart said the Republican senator is being tested for common arrhythmia and expects to return to the Senate Saturday. The 60-year-old Coburn had a benign tumor removed from his pituitary gland last summer. He had colon cancer in 2003 and a
malignant melanoma in 1975.
Judge opens some conserved land to grazing, haying
7/25/08, 11:35 a.m.
SEATTLE (AP) - A ruling by a federal judge in Seattle is good news for Oklahoma ranchers. The ruling allows hay production and cattle grazing on certain lands designated for conservation. The decision will open about 200,000 acres in Oklahoma to ranchers desperate to feed their cattle - especially those in the drought-stricken Panhandle.
The land is enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program which pays farmers not to plant crops in order to return fields to native vegetation. The National Wildlife Foundation tried to stop the grazing and haying by saying it would damage bird habitat and water quality. The judge is limiting the program to farmers and ranchers who applied to use conservation land for haying or grazing by July 8th.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture may also approve other applicants who show they made investments before that date in anticipation of using their conserved land.
NEW: Jail escapee arrested in Arkansas
7/25/08, 8:12 a.m.
MEDFORD, Okla. (AP) - A man who escaped the Grant County jail and stole a sheriff's department truck has been arrested in Arkansas. Sheriff Roland Hula says Joshua Albright was arrested in Johnson County, Arkansas, about 60 miles east of the Oklahoma state line. Details of the arrest were not immediately available.
Albright escaped about 5 yesterday morning by climbing out a restroom window and taking the truck which had the keys inside it. Hula says deputies were about to take Albright to the state Department of Corrections reception center in Lexington when he was allowed to go to the unsecured restroom.
Albright was convicted of tying up a woman and holding her for eight hours while robbing her home.
He was sentenced to two 20-year prison terms.
NEW: Schools looking for ways to deal with rising costs
7/24/08, 6:15 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - State Superintendent Sandy Garrett says rising fuel costs are strapping Oklahoma school districts and could lead some to consider consolidation. Garrett says that according to a preliminary report presented during a state Board of Education meeting, the estimated fuel costs for state school districts for the 2008-09 school year will be more than $58 million.
That report also noted that the amount appropriated by the state Legislature for education transportation funding was about $24.6 million. The Legislature passed a standstill $7.1 billion state budget for the current fiscal year. Garrett says state education officials plan to ask the Legislature next year for supplemental money to run buses.
The national average for a gallon of diesel fuel dropped almost half a cent today to $4.788. State education officials based their preliminary cost estimate on an average cost of $4.25 per gallon and on buses averaging 5 miles per gallon of fuel.
B-52 crash off Guam claims Oklahoman
7/24/08, 7:18 p.m.
HONOLULU (AP) - One of the six crew members killed in the crash of a B-52 bomber off Guam was an Oklahoman who graduated from Norman High School and the University of Oklahoma. Air Force Major Brent Williams was killed with the five others when the unarmed bomber crashed Monday while flying as part of Guam Liberation Day celebrations. His mother - Sharon Williams of Midwest City - says Air Force
officials notified her of his death.
The body of Williams and one other victim have been recovered while the search continues for the other four.
A panel of Air Force officers is investigating the crash.
Governor puts state questions on ballot
7/24/08, 4:33 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY - Governor Brad Henry has signed the authorization to place four proposed state questions on the November 4, 2008 General Election ballot.
State Question 735 would create a property tax exemption on household personal property for Oklahoma military veterans who are heads of a household and who are 100% permanently disabled through injuries received during their military service.
State Question 741would require a person or business seeking a property tax exemption to file an application for the exemption.
State Question 742 would give all people of the state the right to hunt, trap, fish and take game and fish, subject to reasonable regulation.
And, State Question 743 would allow certain winemakers to sell directly to retail package stores and restaurants in Oklahoma.
Henry gives clemency to death row inmate
7/24/08, 4:28 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Brad Henry has granted clemency to Kevin Young, sparing the convicted murderer from a pending lethal injection for a 1996 killing during the botched robbery of a gambling room. Henry commuted Young's death sentence Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The state Pardon and Parole Board had recommended that Henry grant clemency to Young. Young's attorneys argued that the shooting was not premeditated and that Young turned down turned down a plea agreement in his original trial that would have given him a life sentence.
Man killed after crane topples
7/24/08, 2:22 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - An 80-year-old man watching a steeple being put on a church was killed and his 78-year-old wife injured this morning when the crane collapsed and crushed their car. Their names haven't been released. The crane operator wasn't injured.
The accident happened about 10 this morning in the parking lot of the new Grace Assembly of God church being built in southwest Oklahoma City. Emergency officials say the man was sitting in the front passenger seat of the car and his wife in the rear.
Church youth minister Caleb Fellenstein says the crane started lowering the steeple when it flipped. The crane belongs to the Barnhart Crane and Rigging Company and senior Vice President Jeff Latture says the cause will likely be structural failure of the crane. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the state Labor Department are to investigate the accident.
Oklahomans testify on predator bill
7/24/08, 9:52 a.m
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The authors of Oklahoma's nursing home predator law have testified before a U.S. House subcommittee about the need for the legislation. State Rep. Kris Steele of Shawnee and Wes Bledsoe, an advocate for laws to keep predators out of nursing homes, testified about a bill passed by the Oklahoma Legislature.
The measure is designed to segregate those who may be dangerous to others, The Oklahoman reported from its Washington bureau. Oklahoma's bill was the first of its kind in the nation dealing with a problem that is starting to get national attention.
Judges, county sheriffs and corrections departments across the country have sent felons with violent backgrounds into nursing homes. Sometimes the offenders simply check themselves in, long after they have served out their sentences.
Chief vetoes tribal redistricting
7/24/08, 9:42 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - A tribal redistricting plan overwhelming approved by the Cherokee Nation General Council has been vetoed by Principal Chief Chad Smith, who accused the council of gerrymandering. The tribe currently has nine districts, seven of which have two representatives. The other two have one representative each.
The legislation vetoed by Smith would have established 15 districts, with one council representative each. The General Council earlier this month passed the proposal 15-2 over Smith's objections. Councilor Chuck Hoskin Jr. said at the time he was optimistic that a veto would be overturned. But Smith says the plan isn't likely to sustain a court challenge. In his veto message, Smith says the districts were not divided evenly.
Triple-digit temperatures prompt heat advisory
7/24, 08, 9:28 a.m.
NORMAN (AP) - A heat advisory is in effect through the weekend as sunny, dry conditions continue to produce triple-digit temperatures across Oklahoma.
The National Weather Service says hot afternoon temperatures show no sign of easing up and will actually intensify as an upper level high pressure ridge strengthens its hold over Oklahoma in the coming days. At the same time, southerly winds will increase, holding temperatures up a little higher than they have been in recent nights.
Winds will also draw up greater humidity from Hurricane Dolly, which came ashore along the Gulf Coast of Texas today. But forecasters say the prospects for precipitation are bleak except for isolated thunderstorms in southeastern Oklahoma.
The heat advisory will remain in effect through Saturday evening in northwestern, southwestern and central Oklahoma.
Updated: Kern stopped from bringing gun to Capitol
7/24/08, 9:35 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - An Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper prevents a state representative known for an anti-gay rant from entering the Capitol today after a loaded hangun was found in her purse. OHP spokesman Chris West says this was the second time Oklahoma City state Representative Sally Kern came into the building with a gun in June.
Signs warn visitors that guns and knives are barred in the Capitol. Those who enter must pass through an airport-style security checkpoint, including a metal detector and an X-ray machine. It's a misdemeanor to bring in a weapon.
Kern told The Associated Press that both incidents were simple mistakes. She says the first time, she reached her office before realizing she had the weapon and reported it to authorities. Kern says she forgot today to take the .380 caliber semiautomatic handgun out of her purse after talking to a colleague.
West says there didn't appear to be any malicious intent by Kern. A state employee was booked in 2004 on a complaint for bringing a loaded handgun into the building.
Heat advisory issued for NE Oklahoma
7/23/08, 5:33 p.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The National Weather Service in Tulsa has issued a heat advisory for parts of northeastern Oklahoma through early Thursday night. The advisory includes Osage, Washington, Nowata, Pawnee, Tulsa, Rogers, Creek and Wagoner counties. It is in effect until 7 p.m. Thursday.
Temperatures are expected near 100 degrees and combined with high humidities the heat index is expected to be above 105 degrees.
Kern stopped from bringing gun to Capitol
7/23/08, 5:31 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - State troopers say they have stopped state Rep. Sally Kern from bringing a firearm into the state Capitol. Guns and knives are prohibited in the building and those who enter must pass through a security checkpoint, including a metal detector.
Highway Patrol spokesman Chris West said a firearm was found in her personal effects as she entered the Capitol. He said that in early June she was also found to have a firearm as she tried to enter the building. A sign warns those entering the building that guns and knives are prohibited.
Kern once complained of death threats after her anti-homosexual rant she made was captured on YouTube.
Nine counties get aid
7/22/08, 5:05 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued an agricultural disaster declaration for nine Oklahoma counties. The designation announced Tuesday was in response to a request from Gov. Brad Henry. It will allow ranchers and farmers in those counties and five contiguous counties to receive federal assistance.
Extreme heat, dry weather and high winds have contributed to heavy damage to hay forages, livestock grazing lands, alfalfa, and other crops in parts of western and northwest Oklahoma. The disaster designation will help farmers and ranchers in Cimarron, Texas, Beaver, Harper, Woodward, Ellis, Roger Mills, Dewey and Woods counties. The five contiguous counties affected by the designation are Alfalfa, Beckham, Blaine, Custer, and Major counties.
Pickens: Congress should `clear path' for wind power
7/22/08, 4:45 p.m.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Texas oilman and Oklahoma native T. Boone Pickens is asking Congress to, quote, "clear the path" for his plan to boost use of wind and natural gas for U.S. energy needs. Pickens has been on a $58 million publicity tour to promote his plan to erect wind turbines in the Midwest to generate electricity,
replacing the 22 percent of U.S. power produced from natural gas.
The freed-up natural gas then could be used for transportation. He testified today before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. Pickens says the government should begin building transmission lines for wind-generated power or provide the right of way on private land and extend tax credits so the private sector can build the lines.
Pickens is suggesting that Congress follow the lead of former President Eisenhower, who declared an emergency to build the interstate highway system in the 1950s and 1960s.
Reid fights Coburn with 40-bill package
7/22/08, 4:31 p.m.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate is about to take up what is unofficially being called the "Coburn Omnibus." It's a package of about 40 bills stalled by conservative GOP Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada says it includes the Emmitt Till Unsolved Crime Act, aimed at probing unsolved civil rights era crimes.
Others include the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, a runaway and homeless youth bill, a bill to combat child exploitation by pornographers, and a measure to create a database for Lou Gehrig's disease.
The package constitutes a showdown between Coburn and Reid, who's increasingly frustrated by GOP delaying tactics. Coburn says he supports the intent of many of the bills, but says they would duplicate existing programs or add to the federal deficit.
Oklahoma has nation's cheapest gas prices
7/22/08, 11:29 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - It's less expensive to buy gasoline in Oklahoma than anywhere else in the country. According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of gasoline in Oklahoma on Tuesday is about $3.83 a gallon.
It's the second time in a little less than a month that Oklahoma has had the nation's cheapest gas. Missouri is second on the list with an average price of about $3.86 a gallon, while South Carolina is at $3.87 a gallon.
High rate of postpartum depression found
7/22/08, 9:26 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A recent study by the state Department of Health has found that one in four new mothers in Oklahoma reported symptoms of postpartum depression. The study also found that adolescent mothers were more likely to experience the condition than older women. With information from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, public health officials discovered that 40 percent of the mothers did not discuss maternal depression following childbirth with health-care providers.
The study concluded that teenage mothers were 2.5 times more likely to indicate symptoms of postpartum depression than mothers age 35 and older, and women whose children were born premature or had special needs were at higher risk. Secretary of Health and Commissioner of Health Dr. Michael Crutcher says that task forces commissioned by the governor and state attorney general have found that Oklahoma has a 10.4 percent rate of severe mental illness. That's the highest in the nation.
Updated: OSBI plays 911 tape in sleepover slayings
7/21/08, 1:15 p.m.
OKEMAH, Okla. (AP) - The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is appealing to the public for help in solving the mysterious killing of two girls last month outside of Weleetka in eastern Oklahoma.
OSBI spokeswoman Jessica Brown played an emotional 911 tape Monday in hopes of generating more leads in the case. The tape was of a 911 call made by the grandmother of one of the girls. The grandmother could be heard screaming that the girls were dead and telling a dispatcher the bodies were on County Line Road.
The bullet-riddled bodies of 11-year-old Skyla Whitaker and 13-year-old Taylor Placker were discovered June 8 on a gravel road less than a half-mile from the house where they were staying. Authorities say they have no suspect or motive in the killings.
Police to release 911 tapes in girls' unsolved killings
7/21/08, 9:58 a.m.
OKEMAH, Okla. (AP) - Six weeks after two young girls were shot and killed in Weleetka, investigators plan to release additional details from the unsolved case.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation says they plan to release portions of a 911 tape made by one of the girls' relatives after discovering their bodies.
Investigators also plan to share information on different techniques being used to try and solve the crime.
Thirteen-year-old Taylor Placker and 11-year-old Skyla Whitaker were gunned down June 7 on an isolated road near Taylor's home.
Officers have run down more than 500 leads in the case, but have not determined a suspect or a motive.
Follow this story on-air and on-line on The Oklahoma News Report.
OETA wins Emmy Awards for Centennial, World War II Projects
7/21/08, 9:40 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY - OETA took home Emmy Awards in four categories on Saturday night during the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences 22nd Annual Heartland Regional Emmy Awards and Silver Circle Presentations. Originated in Denver, the ceremony was conducted via satellite in Oklahoma City.
OETA led all Oklahoma media organizations with 14 nominations and won the Emmy Award for:
Set Design for the Oklahoma Centennial Spectacular Set (Steve Dahlem and Gregory Crane, set designers)
Technical Achievement for the Oklahoma Centennial Projects (Paul Christensen, Technical Producer)
Special Event Coverage for the Oklahoma Centennial Spectacular (Lee Allan Smith, Executive Producer; Blake Wade, Associate Producer; Steve Dahlem, Creative Director; Curt Casassa, TV Director; Bill Thrash, TV Producer; Price Wooldridge, Production Manager; Jennifer Kiersch, Senior Project Coordinator; Erica Reid, Project Coordinator; DeLee Smith, Project Coordinator; Paul Chistensen, Technical Producer; Melinda Lovelace, Producer; and Mickie Smith, Technical Director)
Community Service for the “Oklahoma’s World War II Veterans” Project (John McCarroll, Executive Director; Lori Holliday, Campaign Coordinator; Ashley Barcum, Campaign Coordinator; Jonathan Siler, Graphic and Video Coordinator; Dick Pryor, Talent; and Debra Martin, Editor-Director)
All told, nine OETA employees took home Emmy Awards, and OETA photojournalist Derek Watson received one of two special “Rookie of the Year Awards.” Other winners from Oklahoma included KFOR-TV, KWTV, KOTV, KOCO-TV, KJRH-TV and Graymark Productions.
For a complete list of the winners, click here. For more on the 2008 Heartland Chapter Emmy Awards, go to the ONR Hot Potatoes blog.
Tribe fights to be heard on water plan
7/21/08, 9:37 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - An Oklahoma Indian tribe claims tribal governments are being excluded from the state's effort to develop a 50-year water plan. The Chickasaw Nation has lodged complaints with the Oklahoma Water Resources Board and the governor.
A letter from tribal attorney Stephen Greetham to the executive director of the water resources board, Duane Smith, says the tribe supports efforts to develop a water plan. But, it climas that the input process has been structured to exclude any Tribal-State summit or dialogue.
Tribal nations have said they wanted to be treated as independent governments in the process. The Oklahoma Comprehensive Water Plan is an analysis of water issues in the state that will result in a 50-year plan be voted on by 2011.
Law may deter graveyard thefts
7/21/08, 9:26 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma cemetery industry leaders say a new state law may provide new deterrence against thieves who rob grave sites of metal objects.
A portion of the measure that was signed last month by Gov. Brad Henry requires sellers to provide proof, such as a receipt, that they legally obtained any item coming from a grave marker or stamped by a cemetery. It also requires more stringent record-keeping in general from buyers, no matter the source of the metal. The new law goes into effect Nov. 1.
Cemetery operators say they've been fighting thefts of bronze vases on grave markers for several years, coinciding with a sharp rise in copper prices. Officials say copper prices are hovering between $3 and $4 per pound.
Fort Sill soldiers deploy for Iraq
7/21/08, 9:19 a.m.
LAWTON, Okla. (AP) - About 100 Fort Sill-based soldiers are heading to Iraq. A deployment ceremony was held yesterday for soldiers with Charlie Battery, 2nd Battalion, 5th Field Artillery. The battery will use Q-36 radar for target acquisition missions anywhere in Iraq.
The battery received the mission a year ago to begin preparing for operations in Iraq. This included assembling and training seven radar teams. Other pre-deployment training included marksmanship, combat lifesaver courses, operations in hot weather environments, section certification, a pre-deployment site survey executed by the section chief and a battalion mission readiness exercise.
Afghanistan-bound Reserve unit gets Oklahoma farewell
7/21/08, 9:15 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Thirty-six U.S. Army Reserve soldiers who left Oklahoma City are on their way to Afghanistan to help train local soldiers. The soldiers with Detachment 53 of the 95th Division left Oklahoma City yesterday. They will relieve a unit currently training Afghanistan army drill sergeants.
Thirteen states were represented in the 36 soldiers, including six from Oklahoma. During a farewell ceremony yesterday at the U.S. Army Reserve Center in Oklahoma City, division commander Gen. James Archer told soldiers and family members that he's seen how important the mission is to the future of Afghanistan.
Changes due at Tulsa Academic Center
7/21/08, 8:49 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - A Tulsa Academic Center for troubled students will remain open but undergo some major changes. Fallout over failings at the school resulted in the recent firing of Superintendent Michael Zolkoski, who developed the idea for the school to give troubled students a second chance.
District administrators and legal advisers have developed a new review process for students who are referred to TAC. They also have placed new restrictions on enrollment to prevent the overcrowding and chaotic rate of student turnover that occurred last year. New guidelines also have been written for both students and faculty.
Zoklkoski came under fire when an investigation into the school last year uncovered overcrowding, frequent violence and violations of law concerning special education students. Zolkoski is set to leave Tulsa Public Schools on Oct. 10 as part of early contract termination agreement.
Downtown ballpark would stimulate economy
7/21/08, 8:18 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - An economic study indicates that a proposed baseball stadium in downtown Tulsa would generate about $13 million a year in economic activity and create about 200 permanent jobs.
Mayor Kathy Taylor is proposing a $60 million ballpark in the historic Greenwood District to house the Tulsa Drillers, the city's Double A baseball team. The stadium would be paid for with $30 million in private donations, $25 million in assessment fees paid by downtown property owners and $5 million from the Drillers' lease.
Ballpark backers are targeting properties adjacent to the stadium for quality, mixed-use development, which they say is an essential element to a successful project. Construction is to begin in late fall with the stadium completed for the Driller's 2010 season.
