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Oklahoma leaders agree on income tax cut for 2015
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Gov. Mary Fallin and Republican legislative leaders announced a plan Tuesday to cut Oklahoma’s top personal income tax rate to 5 percent starting in January 2015, overhaul the workers’ compensation system and set aside $120 million to repair the state Capitol. Fallin, Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman and House Speaker T.W. Shannon unveiled the details of a broad agreement that also calls for an eight-year plan...
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Metcalf enters plea to second-degree murder
The final suspect in the slaying of a former Denison High School football player in Cartwright entered a plea at the last minute rather than face a trial by jury. Dustin Shawn Metcalf, 29, was scheduled for trial Tuesday on a first-degree murder charge for the shooting death of Dresean Jaron Jones, 19, in August 2011. Metcalf entered a blind plea to a reduced charge of second-degree murder. Pleading blind means no plea bargain was offered...
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Oklahoma Muslims fret about anti-Islamic rhetoric
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Some Oklahoma Muslims have expressed concern about anti-Islamic rhetoric mounting at the state Capitol after the creation of a counter-terrorism legislative caucus whose members have focused on the activities of a Muslim civil rights group. Spearheaded by Rep. John Bennett, a Marine Corps veteran who served three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and is a fierce critic of Sharia Law, the caucus has fewer than a d...
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United Way collecting items for soldiers
Bryan County United Way collecting items to be sent to soldiers overseas by local Rotary Club Bryan County United Way is collecting items to be sent overseas to our soldiers for Rotary District 5770. Please bring items below to the UW office no later than Wed May 1 st . Please call the number above if you can help with a donation. The items will be delivered to the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Norman, OK Friday May 3 rd . Items needed ...
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Firefighters put out attic, tree and grass fires
Durant firefighters have snuffed out several fires during the past few days. At 7:22 a.m. Monday, they were dispatched to 524 N. 12th Ave. to investigate smoke. Upon arrival, they discovered smoke around the top of the house. They then cut a hole in the south end of the house to gain entry to the attic, where they found a wall on fire which they quickly extinguished with minimal water, according to a department report. The fire was contai...
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Bryan County’s supplemental budget approved
The Bryan County Commissioners met with Excise Board members Monday to make a ruling on a supplemental budget for the two months left in the fiscal year. There has been much debate between county commissioners and the Bryan county sheriff about whether to cut funding to the jail staff since the move to the new county jail. Commissioners retain the opinion that this was the plan and what was promised to the people while the sheriff said he...
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Second week of BrainStorm activities begins at Southeastern
DURANT – Week two of Southeastern Oklahoma State University’s “BrainStorm’’ began Monday, and continue through the end of the week. The third annual event includes lectures on such diverse subjects as science, literature, business, and history, along with musical, dance, theatrical performances. BrainStorm began last Monday – activities are held at various venues across the campus and are free and open to the public. Below is a sampling o...
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Trial set for murder suspect
The final suspect in the slaying of a former Denison High School football player in Cartwright was scheduled to go to trial today. Dustin Shawn Metcalf, 29, is charged with first-degree murder for the shooting death of Dresean Jaron Jones, 19, in August 2011. Metcalf was one of four people charged following an investigation by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office. According to an affidavit, Wesl...
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Fight over e-cigarettes heats up at Okla. Capitol
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — With more people turning to smoke-free, electronic cigarettes to help quit smoking, a new industry is blossoming across Oklahoma: Mom-and-pop stores that sell “vapor” products that use a heating element to convert nicotine into an inhalable water vapor. But many of these small businesses fear big tobacco companies are trying to cut them out of this growing market and have found themselves engaged in a political figh...
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Oklahoma fertilizer plants largely unregulated
TULSA (AP) — Fertilizer manufacturers in Oklahoma are not inspected for general safety and are only regulated if there is a spill or emission, two state agencies said. Oklahoma is home to several fertilizer manufacturing plants, including one of the largest of its type in the nation just northeast of Tulsa in the town of Verdigris. The CF Industries plant there is the “largest UAN (Urea and Ammonium Nitrate) production facility in North...
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US Supreme Court to hear Okla. water rights appeal
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A water rights dispute between Oklahoma and Texas will go before the U.S. Supreme Court this week, a case officials say could clear up confusion about the right of one state to claim part of a shared waterway that flows through a neighboring state. The Tarrant Regional Water District, which serves an 11-county area in north central Texas including Fort Worth, Arlington and surrounding areas, wants to purchase more t...
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Earthquake swarm keeps central Okla. all shook up
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — More annoying than threatening, tiny tremors are shaking portions of central Oklahoma with increasing frequency — rattling homes, knocking things over and interrupting sleep. “I feel them every time,” said Luther resident Felicia Bennett. One day last week, “I felt three. It woke me up. The house shaking. Sometimes I hear it popping. Occasionally something will fall. Not often.” No fewer than 16 small earthquakes ...
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St. Williams to host calf fry and cow patty bingo
St. Williams Catholic Church has come up with a unique new fundraiser, being billed as its first-ever calf fry and auction. The event is set for April 28 - next Sunday - from 12:30 to 3 p.m. at the church (8th Street and University Blvd.) It promises to include some things not seen in Durant in awhile, and certainly not all in one venue. The event will be a fundraiser for the St. Williams Church building fund, as the church is planning to...
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Some residents allowed back home after Texas blast
WEST, Texas (AP) — After days of waiting, the first group of residents who fled their homes when a fertilizer plant exploded in a blinding fireball were allowed to go home Saturday to find out what remained. The news came after a nervous day where officials told residents packed in a hotel waiting for updates about their neighborhood that leaking gas tanks were causing small fires near the blast site, keeping authorities from lifting bl...
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Boston bomb suspect hospitalized under heavy guard
BOSTON (AP) — Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev lay hospitalized in serious condition under heavy guard Saturday as people around the city breathed easier and investigators tried to piece together the who and why of the deadly plot. Tsarnaev, 19, was reported to be in no condition to be interrogated the morning after he was pulled, wounded and bloody, from a tarp-covered boat in a Watertown backyard. The capture came at ...
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Okla. leaders nearing deal on income tax cut
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A plan to slash Oklahoma’s top personal income tax rate could be unveiled next week, but state leaders acknowledged Thursday that the deal hinges on agreements between the House, Senate and governor’s office on a workers’ compensation overhaul and an eight-year infrastructure improvement plan. The income tax cut has been a top priority of Gov. Mary Fallin, while Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman has championed ...
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Calera Police urge drivers to be cautious in work zones
Calera – Agencies and organizations across the state have been promoting work zone safety as part of National Work Zone Awareness Week that began April 15 and concludes today. In an effort to save lives on Oklahoma’s roadways, Calera Police urges motorists to be aware of work zones and construction areas while driving. According to statistics from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, 16 people were killed and 838 people were injured...
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Okla. House passes food stamp fraud proposal
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A bill aimed at clamping down on food stamp fraud overwhelmingly passed the Oklahoma House Thursday, despite critics’ concerns that needy children could go hungry and the legislation solved a problem that really doesn’t exist. The bill, passed 78-12, is aimed at people who trade or sell food stamps yet stay on the program’s rolls because they take prosecutor offers of lighter, deferred sentences. Under federal law, ...
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Photo provided by Dean Phillips This is a "pace bracelet" provided to Larry Qualls of Durant during Monday's Boston Marathon. If he had finished, the time of 4:09:59 would have put him at the finish line at the time of the terrorist blasts.
Witnessing evil on Boylston Street
Editor’s note: A group of four people with Bryan County roots were in Boston for the marathon on Monday. One of them, Larry Qualls, participated in the race. His racing partner, Dean Phillips of Bennington, didn’t race but took part to help Qualls keep pace. His official race time was 4:09:59. The first bomb went off at race time 4:09:43, and the second at 4:09:55. These people, like thousands of others, are extremely lucky to not be among t...
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Duncan lawmaker apologizes for anti-Jewish remark
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A Republican lawmaker from Duncan apologized Wednesday for a derogatory remark he made toward Jewish people while debating a bill on the House floor. Rep. Dennis Johnson used the word “Jew” in the context of negotiating a lower price for an item while discussing a bill to modify a current law that requires a minimum 6 percent markup on the retail sale of most goods. After several legislators remarked on his commen...
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