Tornado Damage Forces Marietta Business To Permanently Close
The Dollar Tree distribution center in Marietta is permanently closing after sustaining extensive damage from an EF-4 tornado in April.
A company spokesperson said the facility is unable to be reopened in the foreseeable future, and the decision has been made to shut down the warehouse.
More than 450 people worked at the distribution center.
Plea Agreement Reached In OSU Dead Longhorn Prank
Four Oklahoma State University students pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges for a prank last year that involved a dead longhorn.
Bennett Fady, Luke Ackerly, Brody Shelby and Andrew King, were charged after placing a dead longhorn on the lawn of the FarmHouse fraternity.
The carcass was placed the day before OSU was set to play the University of Texas in the Big 12 Championship football game. The longhorn is the mascot of the University of Texas.
All four agreed to a plea agreement with Payne County prosecutors that includes a one-year deferred sentence, a $500 fine, 200 hours of community service, drug and alcohol evaluations, and a 1,000-word essay.
The men are former members of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity. Police said the frat was engaged in an ongoing prank war with its rival FarmHouse.
Alpha Gamma Rho announced in a statement the four students charged in the incident have been suspended from the fraternity.
OSDE Budget Comes With Conditions To Stifle Superintendent Walters’ Media Campaigns
Funding negotiations are wrapping up at the State Capitol, and lawmakers have settled on this year’s education budget.
They’ve added stipulations on that spending that could stifle State Superintendent Ryan Walters’ media campaigns.
The House and Senate Joint Committees on Appropriations and Budget advanced Senate Bill 1122 Monday, which implements the $3.86 billion education budget agreement reached last week.
But also included are stipulations on the State Department’s spending: OSDE can’t refuse to apply for federal grants the state has been receiving, and the money can’t be spent on securing media interviews or public relations unless required for federal grants.
Walters came under fire after a recent Oklahoma Watch investigation revealed he used state funds to pay for national public relations campaigns, anti-teacher union videos and political op-eds.
“That needs to stop. That kind of conduct needs to stop. And I think that any person in the legislature would agree with that,” said House A and B Education Subcommittee Chair, Moore Republican Mark McBride.
The bill now heads to the chambers’ floors.
Gov. Stitt Announces Commissioning Committee for U.S.S. Oklahoma Submarine
Construction on the Navy’s new Virginia-class nuclear submarine U.S.S. Oklahoma continues on the east coast. Gov. Kevin Stitt Tuesday announced the creation of the boat’s commissioning committee.
Stitt and the state’s U.S. Senators will serve as honorary chairs. The committee includes Greg Slavonic, executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs, whose wife, Molly, is the vessel’s official sponsor.
A news release from Stitt said one of the first orders of business for the commission is to develop scholarship opportunities for the Oklahoma’s sailors looking to further their education while serving.
The submarine is expected to go into service in 2027, and will be the first U.S. Navy vessel to carry the name Oklahoma since the battleship Oklahoma was sunk by the Japanese surprise attack at Pearl Harbor more than 80 years ago.
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