Bird Flu Detected in Second Northeast Oklahoma Poultry Flock
A second commercial poultry flock in northeast Oklahoma is positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza.
Oklahoma Department of Agriculture Food and Forestry officials say more than 40,000 birds were culled after the virus was detected on Sunday.
This comes after a different flock of more than 60,000 chickens were euthanized to contain the virus in the same county last month.
Agriculture experts say detections of the virus are typically higher as wild birds migrate.
Lee Benson, a department spokesperson, says because wild water fowl can carry the virus, the department is communicating with producers.
“So, it's a situation where we do our best to stay in contact with as many poultry producers as we can, and not just poultry producers, but other livestock producers and USDA and really stress biosecurity," said Benson.
Benson says the state has established a so-called control zone in Adair and Delaware County. In the area, poultry movement is restricted to limit the flu’s spread.
House Launches Portal for Oklahomans to Suggest Government Efficiency Improvements
House Speaker-elect Kyle Hilbert wants input from Oklahomans on how their state government could be more efficient. A new online portal launched by the House Tuesday is the avenue for them to share.
Hilbert says his chamber’s new Government Efficiency Portal piggybacks on the incoming Trump administration's new Department of Government Efficiency, abbreviated to DOGE – like the popular meme.
Run by Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, DOGE is not an actual government agency but an advisory board meant to guide the incoming president on how and where to cut federal spending.
Hilbert is asking Oklahomans how their state government can do the same.
According to a press release, answers should be submitted by Oklahomans with "first-hand experience with duplicative and wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars."
Examples of that waste will be submitted to House fiscal leaders for review in connection with next year’s budget allocations.
Sen. Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, Hilbert's counterpart across the rotunda, has also expressed interest in improving government efficiency.
Broken Arrow School District Considers Switch To 4-Day School Week
The Broken Arrow School Board is considering a proposal to switch from five days of school a week to four.
The discussion brought to the board by district administrators.
The move would make Broken Arrow the largest district in the state with a four-day week.
The calendar is popular in rural districts. It’s touted as a teacher recruitment and retention tool as Oklahoma struggles with an educator shortage.
But logistical challenges in such a large district are intimidating.
What would happen to the thousands of kids needing daycare on the fifth day they’d normally be in school? How would the move impact academic outcomes?
Broken Arrow’s school board president, Steve Allen, is leaning toward pumping the brakes.
“I think we have to continue to work, look for answers to the challenges instead of forcing this down the community's throat and saying, 'We're doing this by God, let's go’,” Allen said.
The school board must decide by February if the next school year will feature a four-day week.
Researchers Are ‘Hopeful’ But Concerned About White-Nose Syndrome in Western Oklahoma Bats
Bats in western Oklahoma caves face an uncertain future because of white-nose syndrome.
Bats are among farmers’ oldest defense against pests. But a deadly fungus that has already killed large portions of certain species of bat in the eastern U.S. might be spreading in Oklahoma.
Among those, is the tri-colored bat.
A new study from the University of Central Oklahoma tracked the population size of that species within some of the state’s gypsum caves. It estimates those bats declined from about 700 in 2005 to just 34 this year, at least in part from human activity: pollution, pesticides, wind turbines. But the fungal disease is in Oklahoma and could also be to blame.
UCO researcher Lynda Louks says there’s a possibility the bats are adapting to the disease.
“Yes we're seeing some hits, but I'm hopeful that we're not going to see big die-offs, I think that every year and so far so good," said Louks.
Louks says tri-colored bats in Oklahoma might be more prepared for white-nose syndrome than their eastern counterparts were when it was first discovered in 2006.
________________
For additional news throughout the day visit our website, KGOU.org and follow us on social media.
We also invite you to subscribe to the KGOU PM NewsBrief.