Local & Regional

Flood victims are trying to decide what to do next, rebuild, or move, or just find a long-term rental for now? There is a center in Sand Springs to provide information for those who have flood damage. County Commissioner Karen Keith represents a district where a lot of people have some hard decisions to make. She says they can get necessary information at the center.

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt named Deputy Chief Jonathan Brooks of the Tulsa Police Department as the newest Commissioner for the State of Oklahoma’s Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement (ABLE) Commission. 

Deputy Chief Brooks was confirmed by the Senate Public Safety Committee on Monday, May 6 by a vote of 10-0 and later confirmed by the Oklahoma Senate in May. 

The future of Oklahoma leadership recently stepped into combat boots for a morning of training exercises at Fort Sill.

The 51 members of the 2019 Youth Leadership Oklahoma class arrived in the early morning hours at Fort Sill for physical training and other exercises. It was a major awakening for many of the youth — all of whom are entering their senior year of high school — who now have a greater appreciation of the military.

Nearly 750 prisoners applied in the first four months of the year for their sentences to be commuted, according to the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board.

The board’s general counsel, Justin Wolf, said that’s almost twice the number of applications submitted by the end of April last year, The Oklahoman reported. More than 560 inmates submitted applications last month, Wolf noted.

Oklahoma ranks in the bottom 10 states in the nation for child well-being, according to the 2019 KIDS COUNT Data Book released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. With an overall ranking of 42nd out of all 50 states, Oklahoma ranked especially low for education (45th) and health (43rd). 

Calculators are humming at Tulsa City Hall. They are trying to get a figure on just how much the flooding cost the city budget.

Mayor Bynum says that is why the city has a revenue reserve to dip into and that should help the city weather the fiscal storm.

He says the city workers did roll-up a lot of overtime while working extended shifts as the floodwater poured across the city. 

Tulsa was under a Flash Flood Warning for a while last night as heavy rain again moved through the area. We have had over seven inches of rain this month, with the second half of June just beginning.

A small tornado touched down yesterday near Kingfisher, but caused no major damage.

The body of a missing Skiatook woman is found in Hominy Creek. The body was located downstream from where her car was found in Osage County. 

The Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death for 51-year-old Laura Pace. She had been missing for the past several days.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation says three suspects are in custody following the fatal shooting of a man at a southwestern Oklahoma apartment building.

Investigators say 26-year-old Nathan Morrow was shot and killed early Friday following an altercation at an apartment complex in Cache, about 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. Investigators say Morrow was pronounced dead at the scene.

Scattered thunderstorms are ongoing early this morning producing locally heavy rains from northwest Arkansas into southeast Oklahoma. These storms are expected to gradually weaken later this morning. The overnight thunderstorm complex has pushed a surface boundary south of the Red River, and the majority of stronger storms today will be focused south of the area. A slow moving weak upper low will also be moving over the region today and will support renewed thunderstorm development this afternoon and overnight.

Families and friends of missing or slain American Indian women and girls are again calling for justice for their loved ones.

About 200 people gathered Friday near the headquarters of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes in Concho, Oklahoma. Many wore red and marched, holding signs with pictures of women on them.

Betty Collins was born and raised in Tulsa, but the eighth grade history teacher hadn’t been to the state Capitol in Oklahoma City until last spring, when she educators throughout the state walked off the job to protest for better wages and public school funding.

For as long as Capt. Shellie Seibert can remember, the Tulsa Police Department has had a support team that responds to critical incidents, but officers burdened by chronic exposure to trauma or everyday stresses kept quiet.

Officers often see “the worst of parts of society,” and they can experience abrupt transitions from terribly volatile situations to those more run-of-the-mill, Seibert said.

“Officers are strong people, but every person gets worn down,” Officer Susannah Ralston said.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation says a body has been found in a home that burned more than a week ago.

The OSBI says in a news release that human remains were found Thursday inside the home that burned June 6 in Cleveland, about 30 miles northwest of Tulsa.

The OSBI says the Pawnee County Sheriff’s office requested assistance after the unidentified remains were found. The agency calls the death suspicious.

A suspected cause of the fire was not released.

Video from a police body camera shows a shooting suspect falling about 30 feet from a Tulsa bridge as he fled from officers.

A Tulsa police news release says officers responding to reports of someone shooting at a motorist from a car on April 30 followed the vehicle onto Interstate 244. The vehicle crashed into a barrier.

Police say Damico Taylor of Sand Springs ran from the car to the wall and climbed over.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has named the Oklahoma Department of Corrections’ operations chief as interim director of the agency.

Stitt announced Scott Crow has the job Friday following the sudden resignation Joe Allbaugh, who quit as director Wednesday.

Crow joined the department in 1996 as a special investigator supervisor. He previously worked as a law enforcement officer, including as a sheriff’s captain in Comanche County and as assistant police chief in Cache.

A holiday that is spreading across the U.S. and beyond, Juneteenth is considered the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States.

It was originally celebrated on June 19, the day that Union soldiers in 1865 told enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, that the Civil War had ended and they were free.

Celebrations include parades, concerts, and readings of the Emancipation Proclamation. This year, Juneteenth will also feature the first congressional hearing in more than a decade on reparations for slavery.

Scattered thunderstorms ongoing early this morning will gradually weaken and dissipate by the late morning hours. Severe weather is unlikely during this time frame. Additional storms will develop across the High Plains and also across central Kansas later this afternoon and evenings. Storms are likely to merge into one or more larger storm complexes and track east and southeast across eastern Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas during the late evening and overnight hours.

The Tulsa City Council announced the date and panelists for the first of four special meetings on select topics from the City of Tulsa's 2018 and 2019 Equality Indicators reports.

The Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation announced a new development on Friday morning. Shops at Mother Road Market, located on the southwest corner of 11th & Lewis, will feature five retail spaces that will be filled by a mix of new and established local retail concepts. Shops at Mother Road Market will be the perfect complement to Tulsa’s first food hall, offering customers an extended shopping experience to enjoy in addition to the current retail options inside Mother Road Market including The Nest, Mythic Press, Decopolis and the Kitchen 66 General Store.

A statewide coalition has launched a campaign to put the question of whether to expand Medicaid coverage to thousands of uninsured Oklahoma residents before voters.

A group of medical professionals, patients, business leaders, nonprofits and health care advocates launched the Oklahomans Decide Healthcare campaign on Wednesday, The Oklahoman reported.

Former University of Oklahoma President David Boren said Thursday that he initiated the termination of his contract with the school he led for 24 years because he felt a sexual misconduct probe was damaging the institution.

In his first public statement on the accusations, Boren said he is innocent and was tempted to continue fighting to protect his reputation.

Muscogee (Creek) Nation Principal Chief James Floyd and River Spirit Casino Resort Chief Executive Officer Pat Crofts announced today the Resort will reopen its doors to the public on Friday, June 21 at 8 am. The Resort closed on Wednesday, May 22 as a result of the increased rise of water in the Arkansas River.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is searching for the family of a man who was fatally shot by police in southeastern Oklahoma.

The OSBI says 27-year-old Jaquan Thompson died Tuesday after being shot by officers inside a convenience store in Poteau, about 165 miles.

The OSBI says a Poteau police officer and a Le Flore County deputy went to the store in response to a 911 call that said a man was holding a woman at knifepoint.

A U.S. Army base in Oklahoma that the federal government says will temporarily house children crossing the border without their parents was used during World War II as a Japanese internment camp.

Joe Allbaugh is stepping down as the director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.

Agency spokesman Matt Elliott says the 66-year-old Allbaugh announced during Wednesday’s board meeting that he’s resigning, effective immediately, from the post he’s held since 2016.

Known for his Marine-style haircut and straight talk, Allbaugh took over a state prison system with aging, overcrowded facilities and increased scrutiny after a series of problematic executions.