Oklahoma Schools Receive Hoax Supervisory Document on Walters’ Bible Directive
School districts across the state received packages Wednesday claiming to be from the State Department of Education and containing 80 pages of extra-Biblical lore, purporting to be a supervisory document for State Superintendent Ryan Walters’ Bible directive. But, it was a hoax.
Included in the package is what’s titled “The Book of Aaron: A Lost Book of the Pentateuch” by Julian of the Jains. It claims it was unearthed in Syria in 2008 and translated by “Syncretic Pedagogical Services, LLC,” copyrighted by “the Beast of the Sea,” also known as the antichrist, from the Biblical book of Revelations.
The cover letter says it was written by Walters, but instead of signing with his correct title, the signature says instead, “Secretary of Education.”
A spokesperson for the department says the package is fraudulent and claimed without providing evidence it was backed by George Soros. He says any attempt to target schools will be met with the “full force of the law” and encourages districts to report the packages to law enforcement.
Gov. Stitt’s Work Permit, Visa Task Force Releases Final Report
Gov. Kevin Stitt’s work permit and visa task force has five recommendations for how Oklahoma can encourage non-citizens to join its workforce. They include establishing a new government office and providing certain folks with a special privilege to drive.
Tricia Everest is Stitt’s Secretary of Public Safety and chairs the Oklahoma Work Permits and Visas Task Force.
She says the first recommendation is to create a new state “Office of New Oklahomans.”
"Having a centralized convener of all the information – barriers and opportunities, real and perceived – It really would be a solution for us and this is a great opportunity to take it up," said Everest.
The task force also recommended issuing certain qualified migrants “Driver’s Privilege Cards,” or DPCs, to be used solely to drive in Oklahoma, not for use as a valid form of I.D.
These and the other three recommendations are only ideas. Their implementation depends on political will in the Oklahoma legislature.
Those other recommendations include allowing professional credentials for global talent in Oklahoma, piloting different kinds of state-issued visas for international workers and allowing employers to seek non-citizens to fill high-demand jobs.
Over 40 Horses Die at Oklahoma Rodeo Company; Tainted Feed Suspected
A rodeo stock company in Western Oklahoma is mourning the loss of multiple horses after potentially being fed faulty feed.
The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture is investigating the deaths of more than 40 horses from Beutler & Son Rodeo Company.
The family owned business that raises livestock for rodeo competitions all over the U.S., including the Oklahoma State Fair, believes the horses were mistakenly given tainted feed.
The Agriculture Department says a veterinarian was concerned over the feed that they located from Kansas, and that an inspector has taken samples from the feed and sent them off for testing.
The Kansas Department of Agriculture has also been informed.
OU Assistant Football Coach DeMarco Murray Suspended for Home Opener After NCAA Recruiting Violations
An Oklahoma Sooners assistant football coach will be suspended for the team’s home opener Friday night.
OU running backs coach DeMarco Murray committed recruiting violations when he contacted prospects before an allowed time period. That’s according to a decision by the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions.
The report says over a period of 16 months, Murray contacted 17 recruits with 65 phone calls and 36 text messages during a prohibited time.
OU notified the NCAA of the violations, while self-imposing recruiting restrictions for their entire staff, and specifically off-campus recruiting for Murray.
The penalties were less severe as a result, with the NCAA doling out one year of probation for the school, a one-game suspension for Murray, and a three-week recruiting ban on phone and electronic contacts after this season.
That report included more severe violations by former OU track and field coach Tim Langford, when he told a female student-athlete to pay some of her scholarship funds to two male student-athletes to help them pay rent.
NOTE: The next episode of the KGOU AM NewsBrief will be on Tuesday, Sept. 3.
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