Water Trouble In Purcell Resolved
Water restrictions have been lifted in Purcell after residents in the area went days without service.
A statement on the city’s website says crews repaired five water line leaks in the rural water district west of town by Friday, but restrictions remained in place over the weekend to allow water tower levels, particularly for the one west of town, to recover.
Restrictions were lifted Monday morning, but a precautionary boil order remains in effect until clearance is received from the state Department of Environmental Quality.
Some residents had to rely on bottled water from the Purcell Multi-purpose Center during the outage, which began for some last Tuesday.
Tulsa Lawsuit: Move Children Out Of Juvenile Center
Attorneys representing children in the Tulsa County Family Center for Juvenile Justice want their clients moved out of the facility.
Updates were made recently on a lawsuit filed in May.
The amended lawsuit accuses more than 20 employees of either sexually abusing or harassing 30 youth in the center.
It also accuses the Tulsa County Commissioners and the state Office of Juvenile Affairs of failing to stop the situation.
Attorneys are asking that the youth be moved to house arrest.
They accuse an employee of publicly blaming detained youth for getting officer Jonathan Hines arrested for allegedly raping a youth. Hines and another detention employee have been charged for alleged sexual acts with the youth at the center.
The amended lawsuit accuses authorities including county commissioners of not taking corrective action in the center after Hines was charged in April.
A spokesperson for the commissioners said that under state law, Tulsa County’s juvenile bureau and judge are responsible for the center.
Members of the commissioners’ office did recommend improvements at the center to the judge in 2023.
Judge Plans To Grant Protective Order In Lawsuit Against State Superintendent Ryan Walters
A Cleveland County judge says he will grant a protective order for a student who is suing State Superintendent Ryan Walters and the State Board of Education.
The case involves an administrative rule about changing pronouns on school records.
Judge Michael Tupper said last week he will grant a protective order allowing a Moore Public Schools student and their mother to go by pseudonyms in court and relevant documents throughout the lawsuit, according to The Oklahoman newspaper.
Tupper told the two sides’ attorneys to update certain language, and if he agrees with it, he would issue the order.
The student is transgender and wanted to change their pronouns in school records, but they were blocked by an administrative rule prohibiting school districts from doing so without the State Board of Education’s authorization.
The lawsuit was filed in December.
The student’s attorneys claim Walters and a previous lawyer for the agency publicly identified the student during a state board meeting earlier this year and want the protective order to stop it from happening again.
State Health Department Seeks Public Input on WIC Nutrition Program Operations
The state Health Department's Woman, Infants and Children program is seeking input on the operations of its nutrition program.
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program provides food, nutrition education and health care referrals to low-income pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women and their children up to age five.
Now, the program wants Oklahomans to share their personal experiences with it as the state submits its operations plan to the federal government.
More than 72,000 Oklahomans participate in the program every month.
The program hopes to share these experiences with the federal government to attract funding and use them to help shape how it will operate in the next fiscal year.
Clients can submit their comments to the State Department of Health’s website or by mail through Aug. 1.
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