Oklahoma County Jail Fails Health Inspection
The Oklahoma County Detention Center failed to meet state health standards last week after facility staff refused to let inspectors inside.
A report from the Oklahoma State Department of Health notes staff attempted to conduct an unannounced annual inspection last week, but were denied entry to the facility.
The report says facility staff listed not having enough staff members on hand to support the inspection process as their reason for denying entry.
This comes as plans to build a new jail have stalled following a vote by the Oklahoma City Council to reject the location proposed by the Board of County Commissioners.
The jail has faced many criticisms in recent years related to problems including lack of staff, unsanitary conditions, and high inmate mortality rates.
Bacone College Files For Bankruptcy
A historic Oklahoma college is filing for bankruptcy in a last-ditch effort to save its campus.
Bacone College was Oklahoma’s first higher education institution and America’s first Native college.
Its doors opened in 1881 with three students in Muskogee. More than 100 years later, the college’s leaders are fighting to stay open.
Interim President and Cherokee Nation citizen Leslie Hannah says the college has now filed for Chapter eleven bankruptcy.
It owes more than $1.5 million to creditors and is at risk of insolvency.
Chapter eleven bankruptcy allows entities to “pause” their debts to reorganize finances by a certain deadline. Bacone has until July 5 to do just that.
Hannah said he and the board hope their plan will allow them to protect the historic campus.
“The board’s philosophy was, you know, if the property’s gone the college is gone. You know, we’re not a college without that property, so we’ve got to save the property,” Hannah said.
The college’s next court hearing is set for July 22.
Chickasha School District Equipping Classrooms With Trauma Kits
Starting this fall, Chickasha Public Schools will equip every classroom with trauma kits.
School officials say the goal is to enhance emergency preparedness across the district in times of natural disasters or active shooter situations.
The kits will include items like gauze, CPR masks, gloves, medical shears and tourniquets.
The district will receive a thousand kits.
County officials hope this will set a precedent for other school districts across the state and nation.
Extreme Heat Creates Dangerous Situation For People Experiencing Homelessness
As temperatures break 100 degrees across the state, some people are impacted more than others.
Oklahoma summers are hot and likely to get hotter. For those living outside, this can be dangerous or even deadly.
The Oklahoma City nonprofit the Homeless Alliance operates a day shelter seven days a week. There people experiencing homelessness can shower, eat, use the internet and escape the summer heat.
Meghan Mueller is the CEO of the Homeless Alliance. She said for many people, concern for the homeless community becomes front of mind when it’s really cold outside.
“The heat can be just as dangerous if not more so than extreme cold,” Mueller said.
Mueller is asking the public for donations of bug spray, Chapstick with sunscreen, aloe vera and Tylenol to help unhoused neighbors make it through the summer more safely.
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