Judge Arrested For Disruptive Conduct At Oklahoma County Courthouse
A Wewoka municipal judge was arrested at the Oklahoma County courthouse on Thursday.
The judge was acting as an attorney at the time, and was held in direct contempt for aggressive and disruptive conduct.
Kelly Lynn was arrested for allegedly yelling and cursing at a public defender during a family court docket on Thursday.
Additionally, Lynn was carrying a firearm when he was arrested in the courthouse. While he was acting as an attorney at the time, municipal judges are allowed to carry firearms anywhere in the state under Oklahoma statute.
At a sentencing hearing held just hours later, District Court Judge Sheila Stinson sentenced Lynn to five days in the Oklahoma County jail.
Lynn is a former Norman City Council member who received backlash for allegedly grabbing and threatening a retired teacher and grandmother at a bar.
He was not charged with any crimes but lost his bid for reelection in 2023.
High School Seniors Can Now – And Must – Fill Out FAFSA
Oklahoma high school seniors can now start filling out their Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, forms. And, because of a new state law that applies to the Class of 2025, they are required to complete the form or formally opt out to graduate.
The statute requires anyone graduating from an Oklahoma public high school to submit the form, which went live on Thursday. As of this spring, 15 states had universal FAFSA completion laws on the books.
But, there are ways around it. If students choose not to submit a FAFSA form and are under 18, a parent or legal guardian must sign this opt-out form. If they are 18 or older, they can sign the opt-out themselves. A school counselor can also authorize an opt-out.
To fill out the form, students or their parents or guardians need to create an account on StudentAid.gov and follow the directions to input identity and financial information. Those who do not have a social security number can create an FSA ID. The FAFSA or opt-out forms must be submitted before students’ graduation.
According to a report from the National College Attainment Network, Oklahoma’s Class of 2023 left more than $64 million on the table in Pell Grant funds by not completing the FAFSA. Pell Grants are designed to assist low-income students and, with some exceptions, do not have to be repaid.
Oklahoma’s Class of 2024 had a 46% FAFSA completion rate, which is nearly 9% below the previous year’s completion rate. The national average completion rate is 53.6%.
Seniors have a shorter window than usual to get their FAFSA forms together this year. After last year’s revised FAFSA form was plagued with problems, the federal government test-launched this year’s form on the typical open date, Oct. 1, to ensure it was free of last year’s technical failures. So far, reviews on this year’s form are positive.
Oklahoma Opioid Abatement Board Seeks Partner To Track Grant Outcomes
The Oklahoma Opioid Abatement Board is searching for a firm to track its grant outcomes.
The Opioid Abatement Board is responsible for dolling out settlement funds Oklahoma has received from lawsuits against drug manufactures.
The board announced this week it is looking for an outside partner to monitor how those funds are affecting the communities and groups.
Terry Simonson is the Special Counsel for Attorney General Gentner Drummond who chairs the board. He said measuring outcomes, including lower rates of opioid overdose, are an important part of the process.
“We need them now. If the money goes out, they need to be out there with the people spending the money to make sure what you're spending on, what's the data show?” Simonson said.
Board chair Kelly Dunn said setting up an agreement has been stalled because getting money to communities that need it has taken precedence.
Oklahoma Tribes, National Park Service Correcting Fort Marion Narrative
The federal parks officials who run a Florida historical site are changing the narrative about it, and bringing that narrative to Oklahoma.
Tribal nations in Oklahoma are vital to preserving that memory.
The Fort Marion Symposium remembers the history of the incarcerated people - many from Oklahoma - at what is now the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument in St. Augustine, Florida.
“Prisoners at Fort Marion, they're going to be viewed as somebody that did something bad and heinous,” said Max Bear, the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal Historic Preservation Officer.
“You go back to the oral stories of, ‘Hey, this is what really happened,” Bear said.
Bear said those Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa, Caddo and Comanche men weren’t criminals. They were protecting their homelands.
So, the history is being remembered here in Oklahoma to preserve tribal nation perspectives for the first time: on the homelands of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes.
_________________
For additional news throughout the day visit our website, KGOU.org and follow us on social media.
We also invite you to subscribe to the KGOU AM NewsBrief.