Staff reports
The heat index will be near 108 degrees Wednesday in Oklahoma City, and an excessive heat warning has been issued for central parts of the state, the National Weather Service reported.
The advisory is for 11 a.m.
Read more on NewsOK.com
Staff reports
Aaron White, of Oklahoma City, participated in the 2019 Department of Defense Warrior Games track finals in June at the University of South Florida.
The Warrior Games were established in 2010 as a way to enhance the recovery and rehabilitation of wounded, ill and injured service members and expose them to adaptive sports.
Read more on NewsOK.com
BETHANY
Loveless, Markis Dean: 58, died July 9. Memorial services 3 p.m.
Read more on NewsOK.com
AARP grants worth a total of $1.6M
Three Oklahoma communities are among the recipients of nearly $1.6 million in 2019 AARP Community Challenge grants, AARP announced Wednesday.
Read more on NewsOK.com
Almighty God, help us treasure the things that have true value, like love, friendship and unexpected pleasures.
Read more on NewsOK.com
By Randy Ellis
Staff writer rellis@oklahoman.com
ENID — A woman who simultaneously served as clerk/treasurer for two small Garfield County towns was charged with felony embezzlement Wednesday after a state audit revealed she had issued numerous unauthorized checks to herself.
Donna Ellen Rainey is accused of embezzling $29,783.15 from the town of Hunter and Hunter Public Works Authority by issuing 74 unauthorized checks to herself from Nov.
Read more on NewsOK.com
Staff reports
A Norman High School assistant principal has been arrested in Oklahoma City on a sexual battery complaint, police reported.
Robert Brian Davis, 40, of northwest Oklahoma City, has been jailed, and police think there could be more victims.
Davis was arrested Tuesday night at his home in northwest Oklahoma City in Canadian County.
Read more on NewsOK.com
By Kayla Branch
Staff writer kbranch@oklahoman.com
Oklahoma County has joined over 50 other cities and counties in Oklahoma to prosecute opioid manufacturers for damages caused by the opioid epidemic.
All three Oklahoma County Commissioners voted Wednesday morning to approve a contract between the county and the Fulmer Sill law firm for the “prosecution and trial of claims against various opioid manufacturers, distributors, and others,” according to the contract.
This move comes at the end of the state’s trial against pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, which alleged the company created a public nuisance through deceptive marketing and seeks $17 billion in abatement costs.
“The staggering nature of the problem created by the opioid crisis is imposing costs on all of us,” said Commissioner Kevin Calvey, who led the initiative for the county.
Read more on NewsOK.com
We are running a #ThrowbackThursday image each week, showcasing Oklahoma’s history. Be sure to follow us on Twitter @TheOklahoman, and “Like” us at Facebook.com/TheOklahoman for more historical photos.
Linda Lynn, News Research Editor
Oklahoman named to national board
Stacy Willis has been elected as a director of ACA International, the association of credit and collection professionals.
Read more on NewsOK.com
By Josh Wallace
Staff writer jwallace@oklahoman.com
For years, Oklahoma City residents have relied upon red, white and blue ambulances to offer aid during their most trying times, but those emergency vehicles will soon be decked out in blue and yellow.
As part of a rebranding effort underway at the Emergency Medical Services Authority, the old paint job will slowly be phased out in favor of what officials call a better, safer ambulance.
“We wanted to rebrand.
Read more on NewsOK.com
MARRIAGES
Deborah Bond Hinton and Richard Allen Meyers
Megan Michelle Polach and Charles Vernon Griffin Jr.
Nayelly Torres and Manuel Armando Arellano Munoz
Brieaunna Shanae Webster and Joseph David Pope
Marisela Andrade and Jose Pedro Vega Cervantes
Jacoba Macias De Flores and Julio Werner Salvatierra Gramajo
Jessica Suarez and Toshiro Joseph Toyama
Sarah Kathryn Wint and Da Mone Lavelle Franklin
Sheridan Michelle Snyder and Matthew Stephen Kahne
Bracha Reta and David Gvir
Madison Genevieve Axtell and Tyler Alexander Best
Kayleigh Michelle Daghlian and Joseph Andrew Plumbtree
Alicia Cheyenne Wixom and Devonte Letrell Cooper
Janea Mae Johnson and Austin Lee Bingham
Valerie June Crisswell and Bart Newman Cooper
Jordan Eric Miller and Devin Blaine Baranek
Connie Lynn Johnson and Donald Eugene Williams
Kelsey Cierra Simmons and Roosevelt V. Turner
Cynthia Kaye Walter and Patrick L. McKenzie
Hunter Diane Carmalee McClung and Robert Andrew Cherry
Cortney Marie Rickards and Colton Garrett Roberts
Karen Gizett Cassio and Stephen Oluwafemi Odunlami
Yesenia Perez and Christopher Thomas Denten
Kaitlin Renee Johnson and Keaton Chance Williams
Christina Michelle Lucas and Christopher Tate Gray
Kendall Nicole Wheaton and Diego J. Cedillos Marquez
Mallory Brynn Gannaway and Jacob Paul Johnston
Lia Michelle Panzner and Drew Scott Williams
Victoria Joann Vanzandt and John Louis McBride
Shawna Renee Pruett and Richie Vazquez
DIVORCES
Chanax Ulin, Santa Josefina v.
Read more on NewsOK.com
By Nuria Martinez-Keel
Staff writer nmartinez-keel@oklahoman.com
A day after embezzlement allegations surfaced against Epic Charter Schools, Gov. Kevin Stitt has requested a briefing from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation on its inquiry into “ghost students” enriching Oklahoma’s largest virtual charter school system.
The OSBI alleged Epic unlawfully received millions in state funds by inflating its enrollment with students who received little to no instruction from the virtual charter school, according to a search warrant filed Tuesday in Oklahoma County District Court.
Read more on NewsOK.com
By Ben Felder
Staff writer bfelder@oklahoman.com
In Jefferson County, an annual average of 92 pain pills per person was pumped into the rural county near the Texas border between the years of 2006 and 2012, one of the highest rates in the region during a time when the opioid epidemic spread across the country.
During that same period more than 1.4 billion pills were prescribed across the state, enough each year for 54 pills per Oklahoman, the sixth-highest rate in the nation.
Data from the Drug Enforcement Administration that tracks every pain pill in the United States was recently made public.
The Washington Post compiled that data into a county-level map and state ranking, which showed counties in southeastern Oklahoma with some of the state’s highest rates.
“We have a lot of blue-collar work going on down here, so we do see a little more of those injuries that require pain management,” said Janis Cravatt, director of the Tri-County Opioid Project in southeast Oklahoma.
“I think people are becoming more aware (of the danger) but there is still a huge gap in knowledge.
Read more on NewsOK.com
By Tim Willert
Staff writer twillert@oklahoman.com
A man who had 14 parrots seized by animal welfare officers is facing a felony animal cruelty charge.
Read more on NewsOK.com
Staff reports
An excessive heat warning remains in effect for much of the state Thursday, including central Oklahoma and the Oklahoma City area, the National Weather Service reported.
In Oklahoma City, 22 people have suffered heat-related complications since Tuesday, Emergency Medical Services Authority reported.
Thursday will be sunny and hot with a high temperature near 97 degrees and a heat index of 104 degrees in Oklahoma City.
Read more on NewsOK.com
Staff reports
Two people died in a collision Wednesday in Garvin County, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported.
Dustin Davis, 21, and Kylie Newey, 24, both of Lindsay, who were in separate vehicles, were pronounced dead at the scene of the collision about 5:15 p.m.
Davis was driving a sport utility vehicle west on State Highway 19 about 3 miles west of Maysville when he went left of center and hit a car driven east by Newey.
Read more on NewsOK.com
By Chris Casteel
All five Oklahoma members of the U.S. House voted Thursday against raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025.
The bill was approved 231-199, with three Republicans voting for it.
By William Crum
Police Chief Wade Gourley says Oklahoma City's hands-off policy toward immigration enforcement will remain unchanged.
Gourley's remarks last week caught the attention of Ward 6 Councilwoman JoBeth Hamon, who commended the policy.
At his news conference after being named chief July 8, Gourley said enforcing immigration laws is "a federal government role.
Read more on NewsOK.com
By William Crum
Sales tax lagged in Oklahoma City in the July reporting period but use tax growth driven by online sales more than made up the difference.
Sales tax is a key indicator of economic activity and was up 1.8% for July.
A growing contributor as online sales expand, use tax was up 22.9%.
Oklahoma City budget managers had projected sales tax growth of 3.2% for July, the first month of the new fiscal year.
"While we are a little bit disappointed that the July check was below target, it was still positive growth," said Doug Dowler, the budget director, in an email.
He said budget managers would "be watching sales tax collections carefully, as we always do, for any signs that point to slowing in the local economy.
Read more on NewsOK.com
