Voters in 34 Oklahoma counties made their voices heard at the ballot box Tuesday on school bonds and other issues.
Sapulpa voters barely approved a $279 million dollar school bond package that will fund the construction of a new high school campus, including a performing arts center, storm shelter and indoor athletic facility.
Other districts weren’t as successful. School bonds in McLoud and Luther both failed to reach the 60-percent supermajority required to pass. McLoud was seeking to build 12 new high school classrooms and a track and field facility, but for now, their team will continue practicing in a grass lot.
A $75 million dollar bond to fund improvements to two Canadian Valley Technology Center campuses in El Reno and Chickasha failed, with more than 50-percent of voters rejecting the proposal.
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt announced a plan to build a new arena in exchange for a renewed contract with The Oklahoma City Thunder.
On Tuesday, Mayor Holt announced the Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed to play their home games in the city for another 25 years if voters approve funding for a new arena. The team’s current long-term agreement ended earlier this year, but they agreed to a short-term extension that will expire in less than three years.
Holt will give a presentation to the city council on Sept. 26, and if a majority approves to call for an election, OKC voters can cast their ballots on Dec. 12.
The arena will cost a minimum of $900 million and will be funded by a 72-month one-cent sales tax starting after the current MAPS 4 one-cent sales tax ends, effectively causing no increase in taxes.
In addition, $70 million in MAPS 4 funds and $50 million from the owners of the Oklahoma City Thunder will go toward the new arena.
The OSU Extension is providing free well water testing at county fairs across the state.
When fairgoers walked into the Johnston County Fair, the first thing they saw wasn’t a petting zoo or a prize-winning quilt. Instead, they were greeted by researchers from the OSU Extension and a cooler full of water bottles.
Nicole Colston with the Extension says getting your well water tested can be difficult, but filling up a water bottle and heading to the fair is pretty easy.
"It's challenging to get your water tested in Oklahoma. There aren't a lot of options. And DEQ and OSU have water testing facilities, but for things like E. coli, it's not always feasible because it will have to stay cold.," said Colston.
That’s why the Extension is providing free well water testing at county fairs. After about a week, they’ll share results and information about how to treat and prevent well contamination. They’ll be at the Osage County Fair in Pawhuska this weekend and are planning events for the rest of fair season.
Oklahoma Christian University, in partnership with the Chickasaw Nation, is ushering in its first full school year with an on-campus mental health clinic providing low-cost services for Oklahomans and hands-on experience to marriage and family therapy masters students.
OCU’s Family Therapy Clinic opened in January, offering services like individual, couples, and children and adolescent counseling in its six-room clinic on campus and via telehealth. Three faculty members lead the clinic and observe master’s students as they counsel clients.
The clinic doesn’t take health insurance, but its service pay scale ranges from $25-75 based on income. The clinic accepts payments from health savings accounts and offers fee adjustments for people with financial barriers.
Jennifer Patterson, the clinic’s director, says the trade-off of a training clinic with recorded and observed sessions is high-quality, low-cost care that combines knowledge from experienced faculty members and eager students.
“So that’s the most exciting thing is like, change is happening, good therapy services are happening, and, um, that we just know that that's going to continue to multiply as our therapists go out into their jobs and establish a career, that more people will be receiving high-quality therapy," said Patterson.
First-time appointments can be scheduled through a form on the clinic’s website.
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