Stitt Considers Eliminating State Forestry Service
Gov. Kevin Stitt is floating a plan to ax the state’s Forestry Service. The idea comes after he criticized the state’s response to fires that blazed across Oklahoma in March.
Stitt is requesting a full post-mortem on the fire response from his Secretaries of Agriculture and Public Safety.
In the meantime, he’s musing over the possibility of eliminating the state’s Forestry Services, which he says accounts for about a third of the budget for the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.
"Why do I even have a Department of Forestry? Let's just get rid of the whole thing," said Stitt. "I've saved $75 million for the taxpayers. Or let's take 50 million of that and let's give it to our local firefighters or our volunteer fire departments."
Ultimately, state lawmakers have the authority to dissolve the Forestry Services, which were created by the legislature 100 years ago this month.
DOGE-OK Releases First Report On Reducing State Government
Oklahoma's version of DOGE has released its first report.
Gov. Kevin Stitt is praising the findings from DOGE-OK’s report, identifying nearly $160 million in what he calls wasteful health grants from the federal government.
The most waste, according to the report, comes from efforts to surveil infectious diseases, test wastewater, modernize data collection, and train experts to test and track pathogens.
Programs designed to rein in diabetes, identify hearing problems in newborns, sexual risk avoidance education, were all identified in the report as duplicative, or in need of evaluation.
In a news release, Stitt took credit for reducing the state employee headcount compared to Oklahoma’s population increase during his time in office.
That despite the fact that the number of state employees has actually gone up with Stitt as governor.
March Tornadoes Add to Extreme Weather Totals in Oklahoma
Last month was marked by historic fire weather that burned at least 170,000 acres, causing four deaths. But March also saw a significant number of tornadoes.
At least 15 touched down in Oklahoma last month, the second most for March since record-keeping began in 1950. Fourteen of the tornadoes happened on the 4th.
Gary McManus is the state climatologist and helps run the Oklahoma Mesonet. He helped gather the data showing the near-record-breaking number of tornadoes.
"You would think that would be the big news for Oklahoma. But as is often the case, you know, nearly breaking the record isn't as big as what actually occurred – and that's something like what many are considering the worst wildfire outbreak in Oklahoma history," said McManus.
McManus says all the tornadoes were considered weak by National Weather Service investigators.
Execution Date Set For Prisoner Transferred to Oklahoma to Serve Death Penalty
The next person on Oklahoma’s death row now has an execution date. George John Hanson was transferred to Oklahoma last month to meet his fate.
George John Hanson is scheduled to be put to death on June 12.
Until recently, Hanson was incarcerated in a federal prison in Louisiana. He was set to spend the rest of his life there.
But then Hanson was prosecuted for the 1999 murder of Mary Bowles.
Hanson and an accomplice carjacked and kidnapped Bowles from a Tulsa shopping mall and shot her at an isolated dirt pit near Owasso.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond has vied for Hanson’s death since.
And unless he is recommended for clemency by the Pardon and Parole Board, and granted it by Gov. Kevin Sitt, Drummond’s petition for the 60-year-old’s death will succeed.
Hanson will be the second Oklahoman put to death this year.
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