Oklahoma Allows Political Candidates To Use Campaign Funds For Dependent Care
Political candidates in Oklahoma can now use campaign funds for dependent care.
The Oklahoma Ethics Commission made the change this week.
Political candidates can spend their campaign war chests on “ordinary and necessary campaign expenses” under Oklahoma law.
The Oklahoma Ethics Commission’s rule change defines child and elder care as one of those expenses.
State Senator Jessica Garvin of Duncan began pushing for the expanded definition last year.
“I think the narrative is shifting where we see conservatives realizing that we can’t just be pro-birth, that we have to be pro-life. And I think this is just another one of those pro-life topics,” Garvin said.
Oklahoma joins 33 states that allow using campaign funds for dependent care.
Tulsa Public Schools Adding New Security Measures Due To Threats
The state’s largest traditional public school district is implementing new safety measures.
The changes come in response to an uptick in threats of violence.
Across the state, dozens of schools are receiving threats of violence, causing in some instances cancellations of classes or lockdowns.
Oklahoma City Police say they are investigating dozens of threats made toward local schools this year,
The department says there have been 65 school threats in the Oklahoma City metro area to date, and 33 came in the past week.
Investigators have identified some people involved, and felony charges for Terrorism Hoax and Threatening Acts of Violence are being submitted to the District Attorney's office.
The superintendent for Oklahoma City Public Schools released a statement Thursday: “The recent increase in hoax threats have created a major disruption to the learning environment for students... and is unacceptable.”
A spokesperson for Tulsa Public Schools told StateImpact threats have been received at a majority of secondary sites.
Beginning after fall break, TPS says it will implement bag checks, wanding and walk-through detectors every day at middle and high schools. Tulsa Police Chief Dennis Larson said individuals making threats can expect consequences.
“We will act on it. We will investigate it. And we will prosecute,” Larson said.
You can report suspicious activity on the ProtectOK app or by texting “OKS Threat” to 226787.
Threatened Oklahoma Fish Get New Home At OKC Zoo
The Oklahoma City Zoo is home to two new tiny species of fish. They might not look like much at first, but experts hope they inspire conservation efforts.
The first species, Arkansas River shiners, are silvery show-offs, flitting up and down at the front of their tank in the Oklahoma Trails section of the zoo.
A few feet away, the leopard darters are spotty and brown, about the size of your pinky. They’re less flamboyant than the shiners, peeking shyly from beneath the rocks in their enclosure.
Both species are new to the OKC Zoo but native to Oklahoma. Assistant Director of Aquatics Richard Shanks said it’s not too hard to keep them happy at the zoo.
“Really, it's about keeping the water, not necessarily keeping the fish — making sure that our water is pristine,” Shanks said.
That’s what the fish need in the wild too, and it’s getting harder for them to find. The shiners have disappeared from most of their native range, including their namesake river, and now only live in the Canadian River.
The leopard darters live in the Little River Basin in Southeast Oklahoma. Both species are federally listed as threatened.
“Freshwater fish, above all other species, are the most at risk group of animals because they need clean, plentiful water, which the world is running out of,” said wildlife photographer Joel Sartore. “Climate change, global warming. Call it what you will — the waters are irregular now.”
Sartore visited the OKC Zoo to photograph the fish Thursday for his Photo Ark, a National Geographic-funded project Sartore started in 2006.
The darters and shiners join more than 16,000 endangered and threatened species Sartore has photographed. He says the idea is to show people why it’s important to protect them.
“We photograph everything from polar bears and elephants all the way down to ants and shiners and sparrows and salamanders,” Sartore said. “Because on black and white backgrounds, they're all the same size. They all have an equal voice, and we can look them in the eye and really see that there's intelligence there and that they are worth saving.”
Shanks said he’s glad they get to introduce Oklahomans to these native fish, which the zoo acquired from U.S. Fish and Wildlife breeders in Tishomingo.
“It kind of brings home that endangered species aren't halfway across the world,” Shanks said. “We have them right here in our own backyard.”
Sartore said he hopes the fish inspire people to change how they manage their literal backyards, picking plants that don’t require insecticides and herbicides that eventually make their way into the water.
“If we could get people to think about planting native plants and pollinating plants, things that are good for butterflies and bees, that would be a great thing,” he said.
Sartore also wants to hype people up to support the zoo.
“I'm the Photo Ark, but really zoos are the arks. And breeding centers, like in Tishomingo, they're the arks,” Sartore said. “They're just doing everything they can to try to not let it go away, because they can't bring it back once it's gone.”
You can visit the Arkansas River shiners and leopard darters any time the OKC Zoo is open. Oct. 5 might be a good day. The zoo will be distributing native plants and hosting activities from 9 a.m. to noon for its Native Species Day event.
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