News

WASHINGTON -- The House used Women’s History Month to serve as the backdrop for passing legislation to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act and to remove the 1982 deadline for states to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution.

House Democratic women dressed in suffragette white to commemorate the occasion and to usher through what they say are landmark pieces of legislation to advance women's rights.

WASHINGTON — Tribes in Oklahoma are both hopeful and anxious as they wait for the funds and spending rules from the American Rescue Plan that President Joe Biden signed last week.

Native American tribes nationwide will receive more than $31 billion as part of the American Rescue Plan, the largest one-time investment to Native American communities in history.

However, the amount of money set to be given to Oklahoma tribes on an individual basis is largely unknown and likely will be until further tribal consultation has occurred.

LAWSUITS

Capital One Bank N.A. vs. Jesse A. Eskew for $3,562.79 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

Crown Asset Management LLC vs. Rhonda L. Weisbrod for $1,391.27 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

Ford Motor Credit Company LLC vs. Courtney McClure for $5,073.13 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

Ford Motor Credit Company LLC vs. Ashlee Taylor for $9,851.46 to pay a debt plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

Beginning Tuesday, March 30 and running through Friday, April 2, Lucky Star Casino will be hosting a COVID-19 vaccination clinic for anyone age 18 or older.

All recipients who get the shot will receive $25 in free play to take their shot at big money that day.

Editor’s Note: Nancy Marie Spears lives in El Reno and is a student in the Gaylord School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Oklahoma. She is a member of the Cherokee Nation.

“I can look you in the eye and just about tell sincerity in somebody,” said Dorothy WhiteHorse DeLaune, who built an enduring friendship with a then 10-year-old German actress on a New Mexico movie set.

“I knew she was a special child, there was nothing snobby or anything,” said WhiteHorse, 88.

Two Warr Acres residents were arrested in El Reno, one on complaints of trafficking of drugs, including heroin and methamphetamine, as well as possessing a loaded firearm during the commission of a felony.

Police reported pulling over a vehicle near Choctaw and Wade shortly after 11 p.m. March 20. Police said an officer noticed the decal on the license tag was reported stolen.

Cindy Lou Mathis, 27, and Roger Douglas Lindley, 39, were asked to exit the vehicle. Police said they found a knife as well as a .38 caliber handgun on Lindley.

Have you ever wondered why a service dog is needed or how one can be beneficial to a veteran?

Red Avery, with Versa K-9 for Vets, offers important insight to this very question. Versa K-9 for Vets is comprised of six instructors and guest speakers.

They work as a team to share information and thoughts as well as vote on any decisions that are made for veterans and their service dogs. Avery and his team have been training service dogs for the past four years, and they all currently have a service dog of their own.

A request to rezone about a half acre on South Rock Island from Commercial Office (CO) and Combined Residential (R-2) to Commercial Convenience (CC) won the recommendation of the Municipal Planning Commission in a 4-1 vote. The lone no vote was actually an abstention which counts as a no vote.

The request was made by David Jensen. The property is just east of Old Central which is part of the high school and junior high campus.

The issue will now go to the city council. 

A tax protest brought by the Oneta Power Company in Broken Arrow is once again bringing the Supreme Court ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma to the forefront.

In a dispute over property taxes, Oneta Power is questioning whether Wagoner County should be able to levy taxes since they are on tribal land.

Most of the McGirt discussion to date has focused on criminal cases. This one is different. If the Oneta Power Company were to prevail, it would call into question a large amount of property tax money that primarily benefits school districts.

Under current Oklahoma law, school districts can receive payment for students who have not attended in two years, informally referred to as “ghost students” since they exist only on paper.

Members of a state Senate committee have now voted to reform the funding formula to reduce the number of ghost students claimed by districts.

“It’s really more about efficiency within the formula to me and moving more towards the funding following the student, and schools not being funded for kids that they’re not educating,” said Sen. Zack Taylor, R-Seminole.