Norman Special Election On Water Rates
Norman residents are voting on whether to raise their water rates.
City officials say they need the extra money to replace aging water lines and improve water quality.
A rate hike would raise most customers’ bills by about $5 a month.
City officials say that would generate almost $7 million per year, which the city could use to improve its water lines.
Norman Utilities Director Chris Mattingly says this has been the city’s worst year on record for line breaks.
“With our budgets being low, we're only able to go in and patch and repair and then fix the damage that the blowout does. But we're not able to really schedule pipe replacements in a preventative fashion,” Mattingly said.
Norman gets most of its water from Lake Thunderbird, but about a quarter comes from municipal wells.
The city needs funds to chlorinate that water or it won’t be in compliance with state and federal water standards.
Norman is the only large city in Oklahoma that requires a city-wide vote to raise water rates
Early voting began this week, and the special election will take place on Tuesday.
Racial Harassment Incident At University of Oklahoma
The College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences at the University of Oklahoma released a statement Thursday regarding racial harassment that occurred in late April.
According to the statement, the incident took place late at night on April 26. Five female students who were part of the leadership team for Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences exited the Bizzell Memorial Library after a study night.
From there, an individual approached them and began to yell racial slurs at the girls.
This individual continued to follow and chant slurs as the group walked to the North Oval.
When part of the group continued from the oval to the Sarkeys Energy Center, the person continued to pursue.
All five students are safe.
The college maintains that the behavior is unacceptable, and they are dismayed that acts of racism continue to happen on campus.
This is not the first racial incident to occur on campus. In 2015 members of a fraternity were caught on camera saying a racial chant, in 2019 a video of a sorority girl wearing blackface and using a racial slur surfaced, and in 2020 two professors received backlash after using the n-word in class.
Oklahoma Civil Rights Trail
The Oklahoma Historical Society will receive new funding to connect historic locations related to the Civil Rights Movement.
Gov. Kevin Stitt signed Democratic Senator Kevin Matthews’ Senate Bill 509 on Thursday, creating a revolving fund for the Oklahoma Historical Society to develop the Oklahoma Civil Rights Trail.
The trail will begin in Ponca City at the Standing Bear Park Museum and Education Center.
The trail will continue through the state’s all Black communities before ending at the Clara Luper Center, which will be constructed in Oklahoma City.
The fund is not subject to fiscal year limitations and can receive state and federal funds as well as gifts and donations.
OU Sooners Are Softball National Champions Again
The Oklahoma Sooners are softball national champions yet again.
OU beat Florida State by a score of 3 to 1 last night, to secure their third straight national title.
The Seminoles got on the board first with a home run in the bottom of the fourth inning, but the Sooners responded the next inning with back-to-back home runs by Cydney Sanders and team captain Grace Lyons – and never looked back.
Coach Patty Gasso, who is in her 29th season with the Sooners, said the stress and expectations of the season made it their toughest yet. But, they tried to keep the noise out of their circle.
"We just want to play ball. Jayda Coleman wants to rob home runs. Tiare Jennings wants to hit doubles and be clutch. I mean, that's how they're made. They just want to play ball," said Gasso.
The Sooners — who only lost one game all season — will now stretch their NCAA record winning streak of 53 games into next season.
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