Opinion

New University of Oklahoma football coach Brent Venables may be the most fortunate man working in a prominent position in Oklahoma higher education.

Venables is blessed to have been hired based on merit, free from the “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) mania imposed on applicants for nearly every other job at OU.

In 2019, OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. told the school’s student newspaper that the “absolute most important thing to me” is to “get it right around diversity and inclusion.”

The 2020 census revealed that Illinois experienced its first population decline since the state first participated in a census in 1810. Illinois’s population decline is not a surprise to anyone who has been watching population trends.

For several months now, state revenues have been rolling in above the estimates, pointing to a bright economic future for Oklahoma.

Last week the state Board of Equalization (BOE) verified the positive fiscal outlook by certifying their preliminary revenue estimate for fiscal year 2023.

We will hit another historic high as they estimate the Legislature could have just over $10.3 billion to appropriate this coming session.

While this is wonderful news, it’s important that we proceed with caution and not spend all of these funds.

Almost three years ago my car trailer was stolen from near Banner.

By putting a $500 reward on social media, it was noticed at a mini storage on Mustang Road. The manager had high resolution pictures of the suspect, his pickup and the tag number. He lived with his parents two miles away.

I thought the two deputies that came over would go pick him up. Doesn't work that way.

Oklahoma state agencies seem to believe they’re on Santa’s nice list: They have requested an additional $815 million in funding for fiscal year 2023. This includes $660 million in appropriated funds.

This request for additional funding comes at a time when families across the state are dealing with ever-increasing prices. Inflation hit 6.8 percent in November.

There are many memories of past Christmases for each of us. Past holidays can trigger thoughts of great joy or tremendous sorrow. I’ve had a mixture of both.

The Christmas of 1989 stands out as the one that has more significance to me.

My parents gave me a perfect gift. This gift gave me a vocation as a freelance-writer. The gift was a word processor.

One of the feature stories I’m most proud of was about Michelangelo’s “Pieta.”

A few months ago,

Crowds gathered outside of the Supreme Court last week as the Supreme Court prepared to hear arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the most consequential abortion case in a generation.

Pro-life groups rallied, holding signs to “Love them both” while chanting “We are the pro-life generation and we will abolish abortion.”

If you grew up in El Reno you probably have some memories of Sunset Drive.

What I remember when I was really young was a neighbor lady, Mrs. Anderson, taking me and my siblings to get ice cream. I also remember some bars that called themselves clubs, probably because of the liquor laws at the time.

There were some really good diners and several hamburger joints along Sunset as well.

As I got older, like many of the students at El Reno High School, we spent hours cruising up and down Sunset.

On Nov. 24, South Africa reported detection of a new variant of the COVID-19 virus to the World Health Organization.

On Nov. 26, WHO designated it a “variant of concern” and tagged it with the name “Omicron.”

At the same time, WHO advised against travel restrictions and other knee-jerk responses to Omicron, and in favor of a “risk-based and scientific” approach, noting that it is “not yet clear” whether Omicron is more transmissible than other variants or even causes severe disease.