School Districts Say “No” To Showing Walters’ Prayer Video
Oklahoma school districts are responding after State Superintendent Ryan Walters sent hundreds of district leaders a video that he said must be shown in classrooms.
Multiple districts are saying “no.”
In the video, Walters announces the new Office of Religious Liberty and Patriotism and prays for Donald Trump and his team.
He also accuses the so-called radical left of attacking religious liberty in schools and teachers’ unions of promoting anti-American sentiments.
Walters told superintendents the video was mandatory viewing for students and must be shared with all students’ families.
Now, several large school districts say they won’t adhere to his mandate.
Mustang Public Schools Superintendent Charles Bradley said the district won’t interrupt instruction to share the video as “there is no authority or requirement” to do so.
A spokesperson for the Oklahoma Office of the Attorney General confirmed the mandate to share the video is beyond Walters’ authority and called it “contrary to parents’ rights, local control and individual free-exercise rights.”
Resolution Coming For Lawsuit That’s Caused Strife Between Governor, Attorney General
A lawsuit settlement that’s been a point of contention between Oklahoma’s governor and attorney general appears to be on its way to a resolution.
The lawsuit, Briggs v. Slatton-Hodges, was filed against the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) last year.
Plaintiffs argue hundreds of people who were ruled incompetent to stand trial have been left in jails across Oklahoma for inordinate amounts of time – all while waiting for the ODMHSAS to provide court-ordered treatment.
If someone is ruled incompetent to stand trial, their case will be delayed until after they receive treatment. For some people in jail, the wait for treatment took years.
Whether to accept the consent decree as a settlement, and in what form, has been a subject of spirited debate since it was first drafted earlier this year.
Defendant and ODMHSAS Commissioner Allie Friesen has repeatedly argued the consent decree places an undue burden on Oklahoma taxpayers and, as written, would not support the ODMHSAS revitalized mission to better serve those deemed incompetent.
The Contingency Review Board, headed by Gov. Kevin Stitt, has met multiple times in the last few months to discuss the potential pitfalls of the consent decree, backing Friesen’s decision to reject it.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond called the move premature both times the Contingency Review Board met.
Now, both Stitt and Drummond are saying the matter is resolved. Few details are available, and the most updated version of the agreement is sealed.
The Attorney General’s office said the consent decree is not very “materially different” but declined to share details.
Commissioner Friesen’s office also declined to comment on the content of the settlement.
Paul DeMuro, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, agreed with the AG’s position and said changes clarified what he believed “was already permitted.”
“I can't get into the details other than to say that the governor and the commissioner had a few concerns about the department's ability to provide jail-based restoration and we were able to resolve those concerns in the settlement conference,” DeMuro said.
DeMuro said he feels positive about the settlement’s long-term future and Thursday's conference had a good atmosphere as all sides put their differences aside to come to an agreement.
“There’s been some public statements on all sides that have amped up the rhetoric,” DeMuro said, “but at the end of the day, our leaders did the right thing and worked it out.”
Next, the Contingency Review Board is expected to consider the settlement in January.
Price Tower Goes Up For Auction Online Monday
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Price Tower in Bartlesville goes up for auction online Monday.
The starting bid is $600,000.
Wright is a world-renowned architect who almost exclusively focused on houses... making Price Tower special because it’s a skyscraper.
Listing broker Scott Schlotfelt said serious buyers will have a chance to review terms of ownership.
“They have access to documents about the building. They sign an NDA and are able to review all of those prior to the auction starting,” Schlotfelt said.
Buyers are vetted by the auction website Ten-X.
Schlotfelt said using the global platform will put Price Tower in front of potential buyers worldwide.
“Because this property is so unique, then that way it’s getting eyes from South Korea or the Middle East. I mean, it could be anywhere around the world because that site is so large,” Schlotfelt said.
The auction begins Monday and lasts three days.
Norman Fire Department Offers Fire Safety Tips
As temperatures drop, the Norman Fire Department is warning about the greater risks for fires.
Falling leaves, dry grass, and dead vegetation are what the Norman Fire Department said creates the biggest fire risk this time of year.
NFD said not only do recreational fires present problems, but indoor heating systems could spark dangers.
Michael Rigsby is the Fire Inspector at the Norman Fire Department. He said it’s important to stay cautious when cranking the heat.
“You can have a carbon monoxide detector in your house and that’ll detect if any gas is leaking or anything like that. It's normal whenever you fire up your heater in the winter that you might smell a burning smell. A lot of times that's just old dust burning away,” Rigsby said.
The Department is sharing some safety tips like keeping fires at least 25 ft. away from structures; only burn wood - never trash or leaves; and annually sweeping fireplaces and chimneys.
They say the best precaution is to check your smoke detectors' batteries.
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