Archive for the Week of May 25, 2008 - May 31, 2008
News Archives (Week of 5/25/08)
More illegal immigrants being arrested
5/30/08, 1:35 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Federal officials say the number of illegal immigrants arrested and deported from Oklahoma and north Texas has risen dramatically. The Department of Homeland Security says the number of illegal immigrants removed from the area is up about 40 percent this fiscal year. Homeland Security spokesman Carl Rusnok says nearly 7,000 illegal immigrants were taken into custody from the start of the
fiscal year in October through February. He says about 12,000 were arrested in all of the previous fiscal year.
Rusnok says the increase is due to better cooperation with local law enforcement agencies.
OETA receives 14 Emmy Award nominations
5/29/08, 2:15 p.m.
The Oklahoma Educational Television Authority (OETA) has received 14 nominations in the 2008 Heartland Chapter Emmy Awards. Programs receiving nominations included the Oklahoma Centennial Spectacular (7 nominations), Stateline: The New Oil, and the documentary, Oklahoma World War II Stories. OETA also received nominations for graphic design, program editing, community service, and station excellence. The 14 nominations received by OETA are the most garnered by any Oklahoma television organization. The 2008 Heartland Chapter Emmy Awards will be presented during concurrent banquets in Denver, Colorado and Oklahoma City on the evening of July 19, 2008.
Construction to start on plant where cannon will be built
5/30/08, 4:15 p.m.
ELGIN, Okla. (AP) - Elgin city officials say that construction should begin next week on a plant at which a new cannon for the U.S. Army will be built. The 10,000-square-foot facility for BAE Systems will be built in the Fort Sill Industrial Park. The company showed its first fully functional prototype of the Non-Line of Sight cannon last Friday to visitors that included Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey Jr., U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma and Maj. Gen. Peter Vangjel, the commanding general of nearby Fort Sill.
The company also has been awarded a $21.8 million contract to upgrade the Paladin, a self-propelled howitzer, or short cannon, that is often used by heavy brigade combat teams. Jim Unterseher, BAE's vice president for Army programs, says that both the Non-Line of Sight and Paladin cannons will be assembled at the new plant. Plans call for the facility to be dedicated on Aug. 25.
Meat company deal concerns AG
5/29/08, 5:29 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Attorney General Drew Edmondson is concerned the proposed acquisition of National Beef Packing Company and Smithfield Beef Group by Brazilian meat company JBS could adversely affect Oklahoma cattle producers. In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey today, Edmondson says that by taking over National Beef and Smithfield, JBS will become the largest beef processor in the nation and the new company could have a significant impact on the feedlot segment of the beef industry.
Edmondson says if the merger is approved, the country's largest meat processor will control the country's largest feedlot operation. Edmondson says beef processing already is a highly concentrated industry, with five processors exercising an 85 percent market share. He says the proposed merger will cause the consolidation of three of these processors into one.
Dozen arrested in Lawton drug bust
5/29/08, 2:30 p.m.
LAWTON, Okla. (AP) - Lawton police say they've arrested 12 people - including a nurse - as part of a drug bust. Lt. Todd Palmer says the arrests Thursday come after a three-month investigation that included Oklahoma Board of Nursing agents and the state Board of Pharmacy. Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics spokesman Mark Woodward says the nurse arrested is accused of supplying a party drug called
promethazine with codeine. Officers say they also seized a large amount of drug paraphernalia and various firearms and other weapons.
History indicates accountability bill in trouble
5/29/08, 8:50 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Brad Henry won't say, but history indicates he may veto a bill creating the Office of Accountability and Innovation inside the Legislature, one of the main planks in the program of the Senate Republican leadership. Henry has vetoed similar legislation in recent years, complaining that it is duplicative of duties of state agencies and the joint Legislative Oversight Committee on State Budget
Performance, which was created in 2003 to do "zero-based budgeting."
In 2007, Henry stripped from a general budget bill a $1 million appropriation to the Legislative Service Bureau for an outside audit of the prison system. After a long budget battle, the governor finally agreed to the
appropriation as part of an overall funding and tax-cut package. In 2006, Henry vetoed a Republican-sponsored bill to take budget performance reviews out of the state process.
Cherokee chief says he'll fight English-only proposals
5/29/08, 8:15 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Cherokee National Principal Chief Chad Smith says he plans to continue to fight any legislative proposals that would make English the official language of Oklahoma. Smith made his comments yesterday during a luncheon held by the Greater Tulsa Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Smith referred to failed attempts by the state Legislature this year to place a proposal for a constitutional amendment about the subject on the November election ballot as mere political posturing. The author of the failed proposal, state Rep. Randy Terrill of Moore, has said the proposal would prevent the state from having to deliver taxpayer services, such as driver's license tests, in a language other than English. Smith says that instead of legislation that he believes would restrict other languages, lawmakers should consider measures to encourage children to learn other languages and about other cultures. Smith says the English-only issue is not going away and that it will be back next year.
Ozone watch issued for 2 southern Oklahoma counties
5/29/08, 8:10 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The state Department of Environmental Quality has issued an ozone watch for two counties in southern Oklahoma. The watch covers Love and Carter counties on Thursday. An ozone watch is a prediction that concentrations of ozone are approaching levels of concern. Ozone is a pollutant that is formed from industry and vehicle emissions when they combine during hot and still weather. High ozone levels are considered unhealthy for children, older adults and anyone prone to respiratory problems.
To help avoid ozone formation, state DEQ officials say people should either car pool or ride a bus to work or school, wait until evening before refueling vehicles or mowing lawns and limit idling time in vehicles and the use of products that contain hydrocarbons.
Henry requests public assistance for three counties
5/29/08, 7:57 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Brad Henry has asked President Bush to grant public assistance for three Oklahoma counties hit by tornadoes earlier this month. Henry's request on Wednesday covered Ottawa, Craig and Latimer counties, where tornadoes touched down on May 10.
The White House already has approved individual assistance for the three counties, as well as Pittsburg County. If granted, a designation for public assistance would allow federal funds to be used to assist cities, towns and counties with infrastructure repairs and costs associated with the storms. Individual assistance includes grants for temporary housing and low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses.
Henry says the storms resulted in at least $4.9 million in infrastructure damage and response costs. He says he is optimistic his latest request will be approved.
Peterson decides against re-election bid
5/28/08, 6:01 p.m.
TULSA - The state lawmaker who took much of the political heat over the failure of 'Nick's Law' in the recently-completed legislative session says he won't seek re-election. State Representative Ron Peterson says it's time for him to return to the private sector. In a written statement, Peterson did not indicate whether that meant he would return to work in the insurance industry.
The Broken Arrow Republican was first elected to the house in 2000. As one of his major accomplishments, Peterson pointed to a law he authored that sets up an on-line insurance verification system to crack down on uninsured drivers. In the tatement, Peterson made no reference to the controvery involving "Nick's Law," a bill that he helped block that would have provided health insurance coverage to children with autsim.
Representative won't run again
5/28/08, 12:35 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Rep. Susan Winchester has announced she will not seek re-election to a sixth term. Winchester, a Chickasha Republican, was the first woman to serve as House speaker pro tem. She also ran unsuccessfully to become the state's first female speaker.
Winchester says she is most proud of a bill that became law removing criminal penalties against parents who leave newborn infants safely with medical providers. She also is known for sponsoring legislation to combat childhood obesity and the Farm-to-School Act, which brought fresh, local produce into schools. She is the wife of Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice James R. Winchester.
Cuts in state services predicted
5/28/08, 1:30 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A combination of a flat state budget and rising costs assures cuts in state services this year, according to a new report by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. A $7.1 billion budget adopted by the recently adjourned Legislature was billed as a "maintenance-of-effort" budget. But the report says cuts in some services are inevitable because of steep rates of inflation for basic operations.
Rising costs of 6.2 percent are mostly associated with utilities, fuel and unfunded increases in employee health care and retirement expenses. David Blatt, director of policy, wrote the report for the Institute, which was formed this year to promote fiscal responsibility, expansion of economic opportunity and a reduction
of poverty.
Blatt says total appropriations wound up $46 million above the previous year, less than 1 percent. He says agencies are faced with retirement costs that have risen $66 million in the past three years and employee health care expenses that have more than doubled since fiscal year 2003. The standstill budget approved by lawmakers last month is for the fiscal year that starts July 1.
Coburn calls FAA 'chicken'
5/28/08, 12:15 p.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma is criticizing the Federal Aviation Administration as "chicken" for grounding 299 American Airlines jets recently. Coburn says FAA inspectors were more concerned about covering themselves than they were about American or its passengers.
The decision to ground the MD-80 jets because of what the FAA says were improperly installed wiring harnesses resulted in the cancellation of more than 3,000 flights. At a town hall meeting in Tulsa Coburn said the decision cost the airline 100 million dollars and he says there was never a safety risk.
US nears record tornado year; meteorologists don't know why
5/28/08, 11:58 a.m.
WASHINGTON (AP) - With the year not even half done, the National Weather Service says 2008 is already the deadliest tornado year in the United States since 1998 and seems on track to break the U.S. record for the number of twisters in a year. Also, this year's storms seem to be unusually powerful. But meteorologists at the Storm Prediction Center in Norman say they cannot explain exactly why this is happening.
Over the weekend, an extraordinarily powerful twister ripped apart Parkersburg, Iowa, destroying more than 288 homes in the town of about 1,000 residents and killing at least four people. The brutal numbers for the U.S. so far this year are at least 110 dead, 30 killer tornadoes and a preliminary count of 1,191 twisters -- which, after duplicate sightings are removed, is likely to go down to around 800. The record for the most tornadoes in a year is 1,817 in 2004. In the past 10 years, the average number of tornadoes has been 1,254.
Ex-senator to get pension
5/27/08, 5:56 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma Supreme Court has upheld a district judge's ruling that ex-Sen. Gene Stipe is entitled to monthly state retirement payments of $7,042. The board of the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System had appealed an Oklahoma County judge's decision reinstating Stipe's
full benefits. The pension panel had reduced Stipe's pension to about $1,600 a month after he pleaded guilty to illegally funneling money into a 1998 congressional campaign.
Stipe argued his pension should not have been cut because his plea did not relate to his duties as a legislator. Stipe resigned from the Senate in 2003. He now is facing several felony counts linked to the use of taxpayer funds for private business ventures in southeast Oklahoma. He is currently in a federal prison hospital in Missouri for a mental evaluation. A judge has declared him incompetent to stand trial on the federal charges.
Strong storms roll across Oklahoma
5/27/08, 9:35 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Strong storms moved across Oklahoma causing power outages in the state but no confirmed tornadoes. Nearly 6,700 Oklahoma Gas & Electric customers were without power shortly before 7 Tuesday morning. Just over 5,000 of the outages are in the Oklahoma City metro area with other outages reported in Ada, Sapulpa, Earlsboro, Healdton and Stratford.
More than 2 inches of rain fell during the night in Porter in Wagoner County and in Vanoss in Pontotoc County. Just under 2 inches was recorded in El Reno and in Minco. The National Weather Service says a cold front is expected to move across the state during the day with a chance for more thunderstorms with large hail and strong winds.
Tulsa Transit seeing more riders as gas prices rise
5/27/08, 8:55 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Rising gas prices are apparently driving residents in the Tulsa area to public transportation. Tulsa Transit manager Bill Cartwright says ridership is up about 8 percent for the fiscal year that began last July Karen Liddle of Broken Arrow says she began driving to a Tulsa Transit station and riding the bus to her job at IBM in Tulsa last July and is saving about $200 a month. Liddle says it only took her a day to get used the idea of her car not being parked outside her office. And she says the bus service provides Express users with a ride back to their car in case of an emergency.
State, Justice Department near settlement on lawsuit
5/27/08, 8:07 a.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The executive director of the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs says the state and the U.S. Justice Department are close to reaching a settlement agreement in a lawsuit over conditions at a juvenile detention facility. The OJA's Gene Christian says talks have been ongoing since January and could be completed during the next 30 to 60 days. The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division filed the lawsuit
in December 2006, claiming juveniles held at the L.E. Rader Center in Sand Springs had been subjected to sexual and physical assaults.
The 215-bed Rader Center is Oklahoma's only maximum-security lockup for youthful offenders. Records show that either juveniles at the facility or staff members have reported 1,277 assaults during a three-year period. U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell in Tulsa is overseeing the case. A trial date in April was canceled and Christian says if a settlement is reached in the case, the lawsuit would be stayed if the state complies with the agreement.
Nearly a quarter of Okla. bridges need overhaul or replacement
5/26/08, 3:30 p.m.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Nearly one quarter of the bridges on Oklahoma's highway system need to be replaced or overhauled, and officials say hundreds of those projects are still waiting for funding. Those conditions are why Oklahoma leads the nation in bridges that are structurally deficient. Even though progress has been made in fixing the ancient structures, about 1,600 require repair or replacement, and time could become Oklahoma's worst enemy.
The grim report card comes on the sixth anniversary of the Interstate 40 bridge collapse near Webbers Falls in eastern Oklahoma, which killed 14 people. It also follows the Aug. 1 failure of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minnesota, which hurt 145 people and killed 13. Last summer's tragedy magnified a national problem: the country's decaying transportation infrastructure.
Of the 1,600 bridges needing major overhauls or replacement statewide, about 626 have been left off the Oklahoma Department of Transportation's 8-year construction plan for lack of a funding source.
More Oklahoma News:
AEP-PSO customers to see increase in electric bills (5/30/08)
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Public Service Company of Oklahoma customers are about to see a significant increase in their electric bills. The statements go into the mail today and PSO has said the average residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month will be paying about $17.50 more per month. The company says rising natural gas prices are to blame. PSO says the price of natural gas used to produce most of its electricity is up by 40 percent since last year. State law prohibits the utility from making a profit on fuel but it is allowed to pass its actual costs to customers. The state Corporation Commission has scheduled a June 26th hearing to review the increase.
High harvest prices expected because of fuel costs (5/30/08)
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Custom wheat cutters and wheat farmers alike are bracing for what will likely be the most expensive winter wheat harvest ever. Winter wheat harvest is now under way in states like Oklahoma and Texas. The wheat cutters say they aren't even sure just how much to charge farmers this year because of rising fuel prices and other costs. Custom cutter Robert Belt in Kansas says farmers can expect to pay at least $7 to $10 more per acre to have their wheat cut. And he says all told the farmers may wind up paying around $35 per acre to cut a typical 40-bushel-per-acre field. Wheat analysts say farmers who have normal yields and sell their crop at current prices of around $7.50 a bushel will make money.
Oklahoma pig farm under repair after tornado (5/29/08)
LACEY, Okla. (AP) - Millions of dollars in repairs and months of work will be needed to repair a hog farm at Lacey that took a direct hit from a tornado Saturday. Farm manager Joe Popplewell at Seaboard's Sow Farm 62 says he hopes to have the farm open and operating in four months. The tornado destroyed several barns and damaged two others. Six workers at the farm and about 8,000 pigs were not injured. Popplewell says the farm is full of debris and the repairs will cost about 3 million dollars.
JC Watts says he'll start news network targeting blacks (5/29/08)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Former Oklahoma Congressman J.C. Watts says he's planning to start a television news network. Watts told the New York Post this week the network will target a black audience and will begin early next year. He says the network will be called the Black Television News Channel and will provide news that go beyond crime stories. He did not say how much the project might cost or what his financial backing is. Watts is a former University of Oklahoma quarterback and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1995 where he served four terms. He now lives in Washington and operates the J.C. Watts Companies.
