News

Pages

Local & Regional
5:52 pm
Wed May 22, 2013

Mayor Details Public Safety Tax Plan

Mayor Bartlett outlines his plan for a permanent tax to increase manpower in the police, fire and street departments.

The proposal would extend the City's share of the former county 4-to-fix sales tax and dedicate it to public safety.

Some councilors, like Blake Ewing, don't think it will fly with voters. He said the idea of a permanent extension of the tax will be unpopular.

The mayor would like councilors to place the issue on the November ballot.

Read more
Local & Regional
5:47 pm
Wed May 22, 2013

Plan to Tap Rainy Day Fund For Tornado Relief Advances

Credit KWGS News File Photo

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Senate has unanimously approved a bill to tap $45 million from the state's Rainy Day Fund to help pay for tornado disaster relief.

The Senate voted 45-0 on Wednesday for the bill that directs the funds to the Oklahoma Office of Emergency Management to aid in recovery efforts. State officials expect the money will be used to match federal money made available to affected communities.

Gov. Mary Fallin urged lawmakers to consider the bill, which is expected to be given final legislative approval Thursday in the House.

Read more
Local & Regional
5:42 pm
Wed May 22, 2013

Moore Victims Memorial Service Planned

MOORE, Okla. (AP) — Gov. Mary Fallin says a memorial and prayer service will be held this weekend to honor Oklahoma tornado victims.

The governor's office says the service will take place Sunday in the tornado-ravaged community of Moore to remember the victims of Monday's massive tornado that killed 24 people and a May 19 tornado that killed two people in Shawnee.

Fallin's office says the service will be held at the First Baptist Church in Moore, though details were still pending Wednesday. It will be open to the public.

Read more
Local & Regional
5:39 pm
Wed May 22, 2013

Scammers Likely To Follow Moore Disaster

Field investigators are on the watch for fraud and price gouging in the areas hit by tornadoes.

Attorney General Office’s Diane Clay says to watch out for “travelers” who try and take advantage of storms victims with services like tree trimming. Travelers ask for cash up front then disappear.

Clay says, “They are very hard to find because most of the time they don’t live within the state where they are trying to commit the fraud … and they almost never give their real name.”

Clay says be careful who you hire.

Read more
StudioTulsa
2:15 pm
Wed May 22, 2013

"The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II"

Aired on Wednesday, May 22nd.

On this edition of our show, we speak with the author and journalist Denise Kiernan, whose writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Village Voice, Discover, Ms., and many other publications. She's written a number of books for adults and children, and has also worked as a producer for ESPN, MSNBC, and other media outlets.

Read more
Local & Regional
12:17 pm
Wed May 22, 2013

Spring Brings Mold

As the rain pours and temperatures rise in the spring, the mold count climbs. This is around the time mold develops in Oklahoma due to the climate and region.  Martina Jelley M.D. with OU Physicians says sometimes the mold count can remain high because of warm weather.

"As the weather starts to get warmer in the spring, especially when there's been a lot of rain," Jelley says, "that's when it starts to really grow and start to float around more in the air, the mold spores. Usually in warmer areas it peaks in the summer time period."

Read more
Local & Regional
11:31 am
Wed May 22, 2013

Moore Mayor Wants Mandatory Safe Rooms

Credit BBC
New construction in Moore may be required to include safe rooms

MOORE, Okla. (AP) — The mayor of the Oklahoma City suburb battered by a monstrous tornado says he is pushing to require safe-room shelters in all new homes.

Glen Lewis said Wednesday he will propose an ordinance in the next couple of days at the Moore City Council that would modify building codes to require the construction of reinforced shelters in every new home in the town of 56,000.

The suburb was also hit by a massive tornado in 1999 that followed nearly the same path as the storm Monday that killed at least 24 people.

Read more
10:18 am
Wed May 22, 2013

Norman: Aftermath of a Storm

Lead in text: 
"Jessica’s father was at home when the tornado hit and hid in the bathroom. It was the only room in the house where the roof wasn't entirely ripped off, and her father survived. “It makes you feel blessed,” Ellerd said. She gestured toward the house. “This is just stuff.”
Clifton Adcock / Oklahoma Watch permalink The massive tornado wreaked havoc with scores of vehicles. Clifton Adcock / Oklahoma Watch permalink An overturned car and demolished building near Moore Medical Center. Clifton Adcock / Oklahoma Watch permalink An unidentified man looks through the rubble of his house on Monday.
10:14 am
Wed May 22, 2013

Lawmakers Urge More Safe Rooms for Schools

Lead in text: 
"Albert Ashwood, director of the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, said Tuesday there were no safe rooms in the two schools leveled by the tornado. Speaking at a public news briefing, Ashwood said hundreds of schools across the state have installed reinforced tornado shelters, but Plaza Towers Elementary and Briarwood Elementary were not among them."
With state officials acknowledging that two elementary schools destroyed by Monday's tornado had no safe rooms, some lawmakers began pressing to increase the number of shelters and provide funds to build them. Rep.
Local & Regional
9:19 am
Wed May 22, 2013

Rogers County Holds Off on Certifying Tax Election

Credit KWGS News File Photo
Rogers County

CLAREMORE, Okla. (AP) — The Rogers County Election Board has voted to not certify results of a recent sales tax election after a resident filed a complaint alleging the county didn't give proper legal notice of the election.

Voters in Rogers County approved a 1-cent sales tax during a May 14 election. But a resident filed a challenge to the election results, saying the county didn't properly publish a legal notice of the election in a county newspaper before the vote.

Read more

Pages