As a special election nears, State Question 820 campaigns are gearing up to get Oklahomans out to vote on March 7. Three of the state’s leading agriculture organizations recently spoke against the ballot initiative.
The Oklahoma Farm Bureau, the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association and American Farmers and Ranchers are the latest organizations to endorse Protect Our Kids — No 820.
The campaign group opposes State Question 820, a ballot initiative that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana for adults 21 and older.
Scott Blubaugh is the president of American Farmers and Ranchers. He says the medical marijuana industry has already strained rural infrastructure.
“Marijuana growing facilities require a large amount of water and electricity. Additional growth in the marijuana industry will only make these infrastructure issues worse," said Blubaugh.
Meanwhile, Yes on 820 has spent more than 4 million.. mostly toward getting the initiative through the petition process and to a statewide ballot. It’s endorsed by groups like the ACLU of Oklahoma and Oklahomans for Criminal Justice reform.
The state Senate Appropriations Committee passed several pieces of legislation Wednesday related to the teaching profession.
A few of the bills are geared toward benefitting teachers. Senate Bill 16 is a $7 million ask that would create a two-year pilot program providing grants to public schools to set up childcare programs for district employees. Republican Senator David Bullard, the bill’s author.
"A lot of why we’re looking at this is teacher recruitment and retention. And as you’ll see in there, part of the reporting requirement is, did it do its job on retaining and recruiting new teachers?" said Bullard.
Senate Bill 473 would allow teachers on unpaid leave for holding a national, state or district level office to be able to retain their insurance benefits during that leave period.
And as for retirement, Senate Bill 634 would allow educators at retirement to elect to receive a partial lump-sum payment after 20 years of service, which is a reduction from the previous 30-year requirement.
The lights are now back on for thousands in Norman following Sunday’s tornado that struck the city.
OG&E says power was restored to all Norman residents around noon yesterday. Over 9,000 customers were without power when the tornado hit.
The National Weather Service has confirmed that at least eleven tornadoes spun up during Sunday night's severe weather outbreak across Oklahoma. Two additional areas are still being investigated. The confirmed count is projected to rise as crews continue to assess the destruction. The current count of eleven tornadoes in February already breaks the previous record of six, which was set in 1975 and 2009, marking a historical high for the month in Oklahoma.
A teacher of the year in Oklahoma was crowned yesterday at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. Oklahoma's Teacher of the Year is Traci Manuel from Tulsa Public Schools. Manuel teaches English at Booker T. Washington High School. She emphasized at the ceremony the need to support exceptional students, citing personal experience.
"In fact, growing up I was that child that took longer on any test taken. I was that child who had to go to a reading program for two days a week for years while my friends sat, played and relaxed." said Manuel.
According to the district, Manuel began teaching for TPS in 2005. She'll now have the opportunity to participate in the National Teacher of Year Competition.
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