Pawnee County is one of Oklahoma’s top five counties for opioid overdoses. But a new program is battling that. Prescription drug abuse is the fastest-growing drug problem in the United States and Oklahoma is no exception. More than 770 Oklahoma residents died from drug overdoses in 2017. Opioids, including prescriptions, are a particular problem —…
STILLWATER – When the weather is cold and limiting outdoor activities, it is a good time to tackle some house cleaning projects you may have been putting on the back burner. Cleaning out your pantry is a good way to ensure you have only the freshest foods available for your family, said Barbara Brown, Oklahoma…
According to www.smartasset.com, the City of Blackwell has the most available housing in Oklahoma. Blackwell was No. 1 in the list of affordable housing markets in the state. Blackwell, with a medium income of $40,942, has an annual property average of $365. Blackwell had an average mortgage payment of $2,534. Glenpool is the only Tulsa…
In advance of a multi-million-dollar tax increase vote, city councilors are taking a look at the rundown condition of Tulsa parks. Former city councilor Anna America, now Tulsa parks director, said she wants almost $80,000,000.00 for improvements at Tulsa’s 135 parks. Her plan calls for $10,000,000.00 for tennis courts, $20,000,000.00 to repair roofs and $11,600,000.00…
State Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, has introduced a bill that would grant “personhood” to unborn children in Oklahoma. The Personhood Act, Senate Bill 195, states, “The life of each human being begins at conception” and “unborn children have protectable interests in life, health and well-being…” It would grant “on behalf of the unborn child at…
State Sen. Mark Allen thinks large, organized protest groups should be accountable for the cost incurred for additional security, cleaning and repairs to the State Capitol. Allen, R-Spiro, authored Senate Bill 592, at least partially in response to the 2018 protests promoted by the Oklahoma Education Association and other groups. It requires organized protest groups…
Sen. Ron Sharp, R-Shawnee, is continuing his push this session to save taxpayers from paying for special elections when state legislators leave office before their term is up. Senate SB 363 requires state senators or representatives who resign, are removed from office, or are expelled, to pay the remaining balance of their campaign fund to…
The Senate has completed filing bills for the first session of the 57th Legislature. The deadline was January 17. A total of 1,040 Senate Bills and 21 Senate Joint Resolutions were filed. In 2017, a total of 831 Senate bills were filed, along with 46 Senate Joint Resolutions. The deadline did not apply to appropriations…
OKLAHOMA CITY – Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat on filed legislation that would allow homeless students to qualify for the highly successful Lindsey Nicole Henry (LNH) scholarship program. The LNH scholarship program was created in 2010 to provide state funds to children with special needs to attend private schools that could better accommodate their…
State Sen. J.J. Dossett has filed legislation to assure students, parents and educators that the results of a single reading test won’t cause children to be held back. Dossett, a former teacher, said when the Reading Sufficiency Act (RSA) was originally approved in 2011, the idea was to use a federally-mandated reading test to determine…