Beacon Staff

Business group lauds Sen. Lankford

November 8, 2018

U.S. Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, received the “Guardian of Small Business” award from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) in Edmond for his voting record in support of small business. “With small businesses being responsible for two-thirds of the job growth in America, it is vital their needs and priorities are taken into account,”…

Oklahoma’s uninsured motorist mess

November 8, 2018

Can Oklahoma cut down on the number of motorists who are uninsured? Will Oklahoma’s crackdown on uninsured motorists since November 1 lead Oklahoma towards a historic zero uninisured drivers status, or at least, becoming the state with the fewest uninsured drivers? According to consumer research website ValuePenguin.com, Oklahoma’s uninisured driver rate has seen one of…

SBA loan deadline for drought woes

November 8, 2018

Director Tanya N. Garfield of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Disaster Field Operations Center-West reminded small nonfarm businesses in 14 Oklahoma counties and neighboring counties in Kansas of the November 30 deadline to apply for an SBA federal disaster loan for economic injury. These low-interest loans are to offset economic losses because of reduced revenues…

Gateway Mortgage keeps growing

November 8, 2018

Gateway Mortgage Group has experienced record growth in the third quarter of 2018. The company funded a total of $1.768 billion in mortgage loans that quarter, compared to $1.536 billion in loan volume during the same period in 2017, a 15.1 percent increase year-over-year. The company attributes its growth to a committed focus on product…

300 new in-state volunteer firefighters

November 8, 2018

Almost 300 new volunteer firefighters have joined rural fire departments three years after legislation eliminated the age limit for new volunteers. House Bill 2005, authored by Rep. Mike Sanders and Sen. A.J. Griffin, took effect November 1, 2015. The law eliminated the 45-year-old age limit for new firefighters by giving them the ability to join…

Deer-vehicle crashes rise in the fall

November 8, 2018

The chances of deer-vehicle crashes are now rising toward their peak with mating season and the quest for different food sources sending deer on the move, according to AAA Oklahoma and The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. “Deer are on the move now seeking new food sources, which often require them to travel further distances…

Charley Young Event Park honored

November 8, 2018

Charley Young Event Park, also known as CYEP, received the 2018 Great Public Space Award from the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Planning Commission. The five award winners were recognized at the 2018 Annual State Planning Conference. CYEP in the heart of Downtown Bixby has roots dating back to the 1920’s. The redesign of the…

Editorial: New Tulsa school board needed

November 8, 2018

Tulsa needs a new school board. Reform must come from the top and Tulsa won’t get it from the present board. Recently, the Tulsa Public School Board did their annual evaluation of Superintendent Deborah Gist. Of course, Gist passed with flying colors. That’s because Gist is a liberal educator who is more concerned about growing…

Editorial: More on Tulsa’s moral abyss…

November 8, 2018

Hustler Hollywood may already be open on 41st Street just west of Sheridan Road. That means you can add sexually oriented retail merchandize to the list of Tulsa vices – including tribal casinos, alcohol in almost every retail store and marijuana farms. Several years ago, former Mayor (now District Court Judge) Bill LaFortune used his…

Editorial: New legislators face challenges

November 8, 2018

Negative campaigning works, especially when it is reinforced by the liberal news media. Thanks to the wrong-headed belief that lawmakers created the mess in public education, ill-informed Oklahomans have voted in a number of teachers, former teachers and administrators into the Legislature. The first order of business for these “educators” will be to craft a…