Osage Chief Meets With AG Drummond On Tribal Tag Issue
Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear of the Osage Nation spoke with state Attorney General Gentner Drummond to develop a compact to protect Osage drivers from being ticketed for having tribal tags.
According to Osage News, Principal Chief Standing Bear said tribal attorneys from various tribes, including Osage, may submit a proposed compact to AG Gentner Drummond's office and that he would work with the tribal attorneys on the legal issues.
Standing Bear also told Osage News his office is going to write a tribal tag compact which would keep the process and protections as they are currently.
He's also been working with the Osage Nation attorney general's office, the tax commission and elected leaders on the issue.
Earlier this month, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol abandoned decades of precedent when troopers began ticketing drivers with tribal plates whose cars aren't garaged within their reservation boundaries.
TSET Grants Target Community Infrastructure To Promote Healthy Lifestyles
The Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust is awarding nearly $4.6 million to fund 11 community projects.
The efforts aim to better health outcomes through enhanced infrastructure.
TSET will fund things like the development of plans for community parks and trail systems, improvements to community fitness centers and ADA-compliant sidewalks and playgrounds. Some of the awardees include the City of Pauls Valley, the Town of Fort Cobb and Eastern Oklahoma State College.
There’s a link between environments encouraging physical activity and things like reduced risk for obesity, heart disease and strokes.
The trust’s executive director Julie Bisbee says it recognizes this connection and looks forward to seeing how these thoughtfully designed projects will impact communities throughout Oklahoma.
Several of the programs will be funded over three years.
Stillwater Agency Receives Funding For Family Services
Stillwater-based 'Our Daily Bread Food & Family Resource Center' will get a $10,000 grant to improve family services.
The grant is part of a project to ensure children born during the COVID-19 pandemic are developmentally on track.
A study from the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes Program found that up to 15% of infants and toddlers who were developmentally on track before the pandemic showed signs of developmental delays during the pandemic.
Rachel Condley is the food pantry’s director. She says the grant will help Our Daily Bread work with statewide partners to meet the needs of families.
The local food pantry will team up with organizations like the OSU Center for Rural Health to gather feedback through surveys and conversations.
Community events and interviews will begin in the next few weeks.
New Record Set For Tulsa’s Route 66 Marathon
A new course record was set at Tulsa’s annual Route 66 Marathon Sunday.
Runners from all over the country and the world participate in Tulsa’s Route 66 Marathon.
As it turned out, all of Sunday's big winners are from Oklahoma.
Steven Baker of Tulsa is this year’s first place male racer and set a new course record at 2 hours and 26 minutes.
Baker hopes this won’t be his last run.
“Uh, I hope to do one major… it’s my goal before I’m done. I’m 32. Still got time to do one major, at least,” Baker said.
Bonnie Branson of Edmond celebrated her 47th birthday by running the marathon and became this year’s first place female racer.
She wore a cap on her head throughout the race. It has major significance to her.
“I just lost my dad a year ago, so I always wear his hat… and so, when it hurts, I always think of that, you know?” Branson said.
Thousands of people turn out for Tulsa’s race every year, and event organizers say the numbers have been growing each year since the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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