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OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Senate last week sent Gov. Kevin Stitt a bill that would eliminate the state’s sales tax on groceries.

House Bill 1955 passed by a vote of 42-2.

In addition to eliminating the state’s 4.5 percent tax, it would put a moratorium on the ability of cities and counties to raise their sales taxes on groceries until July 1, 2025.

Sen. Mary Boren, D-Norman, joined Senate Appropriations Chairman Roger Thompson, R-Okemah, in voting against the bill.

Thompson cited several needs the state has, and its history of down budget years.

A handful of House Republican lawmakers joined Democrats to kill a bill that would have moved school board elections to the November ballot.

A vote in opposition was a vote to effectively ensure that fewer voters — particularly parents — will be involved since school board elections would continue to be held at unusual times of the year with little-to-no publicity to alert voters that an election is scheduled.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Anthony Moore, R-Clinton, secured unanimous subcommittee passage of a bill that would extend the Oklahoma Promise Scholarship to all children of a certified, full-time teacher who has taught for at least 10 years in an Oklahoma public school classroom and is currently teaching.

“We know those students attending school here are 87 percent more likely to stay to live, work and raise a family here. This helps us develop our workforce and fortify our state,” he said.

LAWSUITS

CKS Prime Investments LLC vs. Shadra Llewellyn for $1,462.87 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

CKS Prime Investments LLC vs. Shari Peacock for $1,028.34 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

Velocity Investments LLC vs. Ivan Garcia for $5,937.99 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

Goldman Sachs Bank USA vs. Kelly Gregory for $8,822.88 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

Dozens of youngsters got some up-close and hands-on learning last week when Roblyer Learning Center hosted a Family STEAM Night.

STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math.

Stacey Stevenson, Roblyer STEM educator, spearheaded the Friday evening event that attracted more than 100 families to the common area at Roblyer.

Tables were set up that offered children and parents the opportunity to see, touch and participate in educational activities.

The scourge of missing Native American women has led to the creation of a podcast that is aimed at shedding light on what some say is an epidemic.

Some of the stories are expected to eventually include missing El Reno women, like Ida Beard.

Red Road Echoes first episode aired in January. It opened with the case of Neveah Kingbird, Ojibwe, a 15-year-old girl from Bemidji, Minn., who went missing on Oct. 22, 2021. Her case is still open and unsolved.

The Centre Theatre for the Arts will present "Over the River and Through the Woods" on Feb. 23 and 24 and March 1 and 2 at 7 p.m. and Feb. 25 and March 3 at 2 p.m. at the Centre Theatre, 110 S. Bickford Avenue.

The play, directed by Guy Hickerson with assistant director Patrice Gross, sees four Italian grandparents looking forward to their grandson visiting every Sunday.

That is, until they receive word that he’s moving more than 2,000 miles away.

The grandparents will do anything to keep him from moving, even help him find a girlfriend.

Voters across Canadian County will head to the polls March 5 to decide whether to update the county’s 39-year-old Sunday alcohol sales prohibition. They’ll also cast ballots for President of the United States.

The proposition on Canadian County election ballots will read: “Shall the sales of alcoholic beverages by the individual drink for on-premises consumption on Sundays be extended to begin at 8 a.m. as allowed by law like other days of the week within Canadian County, Oklahoma?”

Voters will choose to vote yes or no on the county question.

From concurrent enrollment classes to the support for STEM degree programs such as nursing, Redlands Community College students see and appreciate the value of Oklahoma’s investment in higher education.

Several of these students visited the Capitol recently for Higher Education Day to meet with legislators and advocate for continued legislative support for Oklahoma’s colleges and universities.

Mustang Superintendent Charles Bradley spoke to Mustang Board of Education members and the public about the recent tragedies that claimed the life of one student and injured another.

Bradley said Mustang Public Schools has been as open as it can be legally throughout the process while respecting the families with the information they sent to the district/public.

He began by clarifying that there were two separate incidents that occurred on Wednesday, Jan. 31. The first, which occurred on campus before school, involved a student attempting suicide.