Oklahoma lawmakers want to cease funding for ACORN
State Rep. Gary Banz is joining state lawmakers across the country in calling for an end to taxpayer funding for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).
Congress voted to temporarily defund ACORN and both the IRS and Census Bureau have severed their relationships with the organization. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has identified several states that provide funding to ACORN and its affiliates - New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Illinois. In response, ALEC’s members have passed a resolution calling on all states to conduct audits to identify and immediately end all funding to ACORN and its affiliates.
Banz, R-Midwest City, plans to introduce a resolution at the beginning of the legislative session next February opposing any further government funding of ACORN.
“ACORN has more than 1,200 neighborhood chapters in 75 cities across the nation and some of those organizations have received taxpayer money,” Banz, R-Midwest City, said. “Fortunately, it does not appear Oklahoma currently funds the group, but the recent revelations of apparently illegal ACORN activity have called into question their mission and the appropriateness of any taxpayer funds being given to them.”
Banz, said the taped evidence of ACORN employees willfully assisting tax evasion and child prostitution was the last straw.
GOP senators get high RIED marks
Five Republican Senators scored a perfect 100 and twelve scored a 90 or above on the annual legislative scorecard released by the Research Institute for Economic Development (RIED), giving Oklahoma Senate Republicans an average score of 88.6, making the highest number of pro-business and pro-prosperity senators in the history of the RIED report.
“I couldn’t be more proud of my Republican colleagues in the Senate,” said Senate President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee. “This is a group of leaders from around the state who reflect their local districts and work very hard and effectively on their behalf.
“They are committed to growing and prospering our state through promoting and passing strong economic policy, and their success in that regard is vividly reflected in the most recent legislative scorecard released by RIED,” he said.
Coffee pointed out that the average Republican score of 88.6 is nearly eight times the average Senate Democrat score of 11.9. In addition, five Republican Senators scored a perfect 100, including Senate Majority Floor Leader Todd Lamb (Edmond), Assistant Majority Leaders Clark Jolley (Edmond) and Brian Bingman (Sapulpa), Education Committee Chairman John Ford (Bartlesville) and Agriculture Committee Chairman Ron Justice (Chickasha).
Coffee observed that the highest ranking Democrat on the RIED report scored 41, twenty-nine points below a passing grade.
Ed Gungor to speak at WIN Nov. 7
New York Times best-selling author Ed Gungor, who is lead pastor at Sanctuary in Tulsa, will speak at the November 7 meeting of WIN (Writers of Inspirational Novels).
Gungor is the author of several books, including Religiously Transmitted Diseases: Finding a Cure When Faith Doesn’t Feel Right, The Vow: An Ancient Path of Spiritual Formation That Still Transforms Today, and the New York Times bestseller There Is More To The Secret. His latest release is What Bothers Me Most About Christianity: Honest Reflections from an Open-Minded Christ Follower.
WIN, the Tulsa-area chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers, meets the first Saturday of the month from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Jenks Public Library, 523 W. B Street.
Visitors are welcome. For more information, contact Gina Conroy at pres@win-acfw.com, or visit the WIN website: www.win-acfw.com.
Lawmakers tour Roman Nose Park
Members of the Natural Resources Subcommittee of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee met at Roman Nose State Park in Watonga for an interim legislative study on the Oklahoma State Park System.
Hardy Watkins, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department and other State Park officials briefed the legislators on the economic impact of the State Parks and gave an overall view of the park system, along with a tour of Roman Nose State Park. The interim study was held at the request of Rep. John Wright, R-Broken Arrow, who is running for lieutenant governor.
“Tourism is a key economic driver for the State of Oklahoma,” said Wright. It is in our state’s best interest to have a viable, successful Tourism Department.”
In fiscal year 2009, approximately 12.2 million people visited an Oklahoma State Park, and that number was up almost 150,000 over the previous year. These visitors generated an estimated $18.5 million in earned revenue for the Tourism Department.
Watkins told legislators that preliminary figures produced by the Oklahoma State University Center for Hospitality and Tourism Research show for every person who visits or stays at a state park facility, $51.00 is generated in the adjoining community per visit.
“Our parks are economic engines, especially in rural Oklahoma,” said Watkins. “When people visit our state parks, they will spend money in the surrounding communities which increases the tax revenues.”
In a review of OTRD’s bookings during the summer travel season, residents of the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metro areas comprised 55 percent of visitors generating over $550,000 in revenue. Texas residents who visited an Oklahoma State Park generated an additional $500,000 in revenue.
Watkins also gave an overview of the state park system. Currently, the system consists of:
· 50 state parks
· 5 lodges
· 7 golf courses
· 304 cabins and cottages
· 46 leased concessions
· Numerous campsites, scenic trails, boating and other recreational facilities statewide.
Legislators were shown examples of furnishings at the renovated cabins located throughout our system, and saw plans for the renovated Roman Nose State Lodge which is scheduled to open in early 2011.
Support for education is applauded
The Council of Presidents and the Oklahoma State Regents have honored Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee and Majority Leader Todd Lamb for their dedication to strengthening Higher Education in Oklahoma.
The senators were praised for their continued support for higher education and have been named recipients of the 2009 Distinguished Service Award.
Higher Education Chancellor Glen D. Johnson said Coffee and Lamb were very deserving of the honor.
“They have both been consistent advocates for the needs of our students throughout their tenure in the State Senate,” Johnson said. “Their leadership during this difficult budget year was instrumental in providing an increase in funding for higher education, making a tuition freeze possible. Our State System of Higher Education is very grateful for their actions.”
Coffee thanked the Council and the Regents for the award, adding support of Higher Education was critical to the future of the state.
“Creating more college graduates is key to attracting more high-paying jobs and corporations to Oklahoma,” said Coffee, R-Oklahoma City. “Our investments in higher education are truly an investment in the future of our state.”
Lamb, R-Edmond, also addressed the importance of Higher Education in advancing Oklahoma’s economy. Lamb is running for lieutenant governor.
“In the 21st century, knowledge-based jobs will become more important to our economy than ever before. We want Oklahoma to be in a position to benefit and become a leader in these new economic frontiers,” Lamb said. “Supporting Higher Education will make that vision a reality.”
Holly buys Tulsa Sinclair refinery
(PRNewswire) - Holly Corporation has entered into an agreement with a subsidiary of Sinclair Oil Corporation to purchase Sinclair’s Tulsa refinery.
Under the terms of the agreement, Holly will purchase Sinclair’s 75,000 barrel per day (BPD) refinery located in Tulsa, including its approximately 2.3 million barrels of storage, for $128.5 million comprised of $54.5 million in cash and $74 million in Holly common stock. Holly will also purchase the refinery’s inventory of approximately 500,000 barrels at the time of closing at market value. Holly plans to integrate this facility with its existing 85,000 BPD Tulsa refinery. The transaction has already completed the required Federal Trade Commission review process.
At closing, Sinclair and Holly will enter into a long-term agreement under which Holly will provide up to 50,000 BPD of gasoline and diesel fuel to Sinclair to supply its marketing network throughout the Midwest.
Holly Energy Partners, L.P., a Holly affiliated partnership, announced that it has agreed to purchase approximately 1.4 million barrels of additional storage at Sinclair’s Tulsa facility, as well as light products, asphalt and propane loading racks and a product delivery pipeline.
During the last five years, Sinclair has invested over $300 million in upgrades and other projects at its Tulsa refinery to meet current EPA low-sulfur gasoline standards and to produce 100 percent ultra low-sulfur diesel (ULSD). In addition, Sinclair is in the process of completing certain required emission reduction projects at the facility. Holly estimates it will be required to make an additional investment of approximately $16 million for these projects.
Holly intends to use existing third-party pipelines and, if needed, build new pipelines to link the Sinclair refinery and Holly’s Tulsa refinery, which are approximately two miles apart, to form a single, large, highly-complex integrated facility. This will allow Holly to upgrade the gas/oil produced at Holly’s existing Tulsa refinery into higher-margin gasoline and diesel by processing the gas oil through the Sinclair refinery’s Fluid Catalytic Cracking unit. Initially, Holly anticipates that approximately one-half of the diesel produced at the combined facility will be converted to ULSD with the remainder continuing to be sold as high-sulfur diesel for railway use.
Holly plans to spend approximately $10 million over the next two years to expand the Sinclair refinery’s diesel desulfurization capacity so that all diesel produced at the integrated complex can be converted into ULSD. Holly expects to spend $30 million on a related project to add sulfur recovery capacity and to add to the flare gas recovery system at its existing Tulsa refinery.
Matt Clifton, chairman and CEO of Holly Corporation, said, “This acquisition represents a unique synergistic opportunity to form the highest complexity factor refining facility in the Midcontinent while substantially reducing previously planned capital expenditures at our existing Tulsa refinery. By operating the fully integrated complex at a combined crude oil capacity of approximately 125,000 BPD, rather than its combined name-plated crude capacity of 160,000 BPD, we will save approximately $110 million of previously required regulatory capital costs versus our initial $150 million estimate. We also expect the integrated facility will reduce expected capital expenditures for forthcoming reduced benzene in gasoline requirements from approximately $30 million for the Holly facility alone to approximately $15 million for the integrated complex.
Tulsa County cited for transparency
Tulsa County has been singled out by a national watchdog group for having the most transparency of any county government in Oklahoma.
The Sam Adams Alliance Sunshine Review Project gave Tulsa County the only A-plus in Oklahoma for the amount of information provided on its website.
Tulsa County is one of only five counties out of 3,000 in the nation with that high of a mark. Initially, Tulsa County got a C-minus but that was changed after a set of constructive changes were made in a three-week period.
“Our folks here weren’t satisfied with doing just minimum to get that A,” said Commission Chairman John Smalligo. “We went above and beyond to provide some extra information on our website to make sure that we got an A-plus rating.”
Fifty-five Oklahoma counties failed the transparency rating test because they have no websites.
Using a chart based on budgets, meetings, elected officials, administrative officials, permits/zoning, audits, contracts, lobbying, public records and taxes, Tulsa County got the top score in 10 out of 10 categores.
Oklahoma County got a top score in only seven of 10 categories. It fell short in audits, contracts and lobbying.
The online report (www.sunshinereview.com) about Tulsa County made the following comments:
• Budget information is provided.
• County board members are listed with contact information.
• Board meeting dates are posted, as well as meeting agendas and documents.
• Local tax information is available on the treasurer’s website.
• Building permits are available on the Inspections page as well as the county’s zoning codes.
• Administrative officials listed under their departments.
• It posts who the public information officer is and how to contact him.
• Stimulus information is posted for the county.
• It discloses membership to taxpayer-funded lobbying associations.
•It posted the 2008 audit.
• The county posts its contracts.
Rabies tests for
Oklahoma bats
are positive
More bats in Oklahoma are testing positive for rabies this year and the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) is advising Oklahomans to be aware of the risk of getting rabies from bats.
During the fall and winter, bats are migrating and searching for places to hibernate, increasing the chances that humans may come into contact with a bat during this time of year.
Thus far in Oklahoma in 2009, there has been a total of 12 cases of rabies in bats, including 10 bats confirmed with rabies in August and September. Only one bat tested positive for rabies in the state in 2008.
Rabies is a viral disease that can be transmitted to animals and humans mainly by a bite, but exposure may also occur through contamination of broken skin or mucous membranes with saliva from an infected animal.
Bats are a source of rabies in Oklahoma for other animals and humans.
Although most bats do not have rabies, any bat that is active by day, found in a place where bats are not usually seen (i.e., in a room in the home or on the lawn), or is unable to fly, is more likely to be rabid. Such bats are often the most easily approached and handled. Therefore, it is best never to handle any bat.
The OSDH offers the following steps to avoid getting rabies from bats:
• Avoid handling bats. Teach children to avoid handling bats and other unfamiliar animals, wild or domestic, even if they appear friendly. Children should not bring bats to school for show and tell.
• If you are bitten by a bat, wash the bite wound with soap and water and seek medical attention. Do not release the bat. Contact the local animal control authority or county health department to discuss testing the bat for rabies.
• Vaccinate your animals against rabies to protect yourself, your pets and your community.
• If you think your pet was bitten by a bat or is found playing with a bat, consult your veterinarian.
• “Bat-proof” your home by closing holes larger than a quarter-inch by a half-inch with caulk. Use window screens, chimney caps, and draft-guards beneath doors to attics. Most bats leave in the fall or winter to hibernate, so these are the best times to “bat-proof” your home.
If a bat is found in your home, leave the bat alone and contact animal control for assistance. If professional help is unavailable, use precautions to capture the bat safely.
When the bat lands, approach it slowly with a container (i.e., box or coffee can), while wearing gloves, and place the container over it. Slide a piece of cardboard under the container to trap the bat inside.
Tape the cardboard to the container securely, and punch small holes in the cardboard, allowing the bat to breathe. If a person or animal was potentially exposed, contact the local animal control authority or county health department to discuss testing the bat for rabies.
People usually know when they have been bitten by a bat. However, most types of bats have very small teeth which may leave marks that disappear quickly.
There are situations in which you should seek medical advice even in the absence of an obvious bite wound.
For example, if you awakened because a bat landed on you while you were sleeping, if you awakened and found a bat in your room, if you see a bat in a room with an unattended child, or see a bat near a mentally impaired or intoxicated person, try to safely capture the bat and have the bat tested and seek medical advice.
OKWU President Everett Piper to present series
Based on the book, Beyond the Door; Why Ideas Matter, author Everett Piper, Ph.D. will present a four-week lecture series entitled “Ideas Matter.”
The series begins November 2 and continues on the following Mondays until Nov. 23, from 7-8 p.m. at the Oklahoma Wesleyan University Tulsa Campus, 10810 E 45th Street, room 105.
Dr. Piper speaks boldly and unapologetically on issues such as natural law, unalienable rights, self-evident truths, and the unavoidable consequences of ideas on personal, political, community and corporate well-being.
He challenges his academic and political peers for what he calls their “fallacious Orwellian duplicity” of “intolerant tolerance.”
Dr. Piper has contributed regularly as a writer for the Bartlesville Examiner Enterprise, Chuck Colson’s Breakpoint magazine, Crosswalk.com, Bullypulpit.com, and Politicalmavens.com, as well as the Oklahoma Council for Public Affairs’ Perspectives magazine.
The lectures will address many of the chapters from his book, Beyond the Door; Why Ideas
Matter, bringing home the lessons shouted by our forefathers:
• Liberty is given by God and slavery is constructed by man.
• Conserving God’s revealed truths is the only context for freedom - for liberation - for being truly liberal.
For, history shows us time and again that without God’s objectives standards as our rule and measure, men and women find innumerable ways to enslave themselves and each other while all the while waving a sanctimonious banner of liberty.
Since August of 2002, Piper has served as the fifth president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University.
His credentials include a B.A. from Spring Arbor University, an M.A. from Bowling Green State University, and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University.
Some endorsements of Dr. Piper’s book Beyond the Door; Why Ideas Matter:
• Jim Garlow, Ph.D - New York Times Best Selling Author, Cracking Da Vinci’s Code
• Dr. Tom Harrison, Sr. Pastor, Asbury United Methodist Church, Tulsa
• Peter Jones, Ph.D. - Director, truthXchange, scholar-in-residence and adjunct professor, Westminster Seminary, California
• Ken Sellers, Oklahomans for Sovereignty and Free Enterprise and Tulsa County GOP Executive Committee.
Chain-owned Midwest City Sun ceases publication
The Midwest City Sun will close this month after serving the communities of eastern Oklahoma County for nearly three decades.
The twice-weekly Sun published its last edition Oct. 28, said Publisher Lance Moler.
The Sun will refund subscribers their account balances after that issue. Its staff will contact advertisers with outstanding contracts.
The Sun has offered readers local news since it was first published in March 1980. The newspaper, published Wednesdays and Sundays, represents an amalgam of smaller papers that once covered individual communities in eastern Oklahoma County. The Sun and its website, www.mwcsun.com, serve the communities of Midwest City, Del City, Choctaw, Harrah, Nicoma Park, Spencer, Jones and Luther.
The Sun is the last remaining title in the Oklahoma County Newspapers group. It is owned by Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., of Birmingham, Ala.
The closing of the Sun and its offices at North Air Depot affects 10 employees.
Farm Bureau resolution points to water’s value
Considering water as a valuable, natural resource should remain as a major priority for the state’s largest farm organization in 2010.
This was one of 625 resolutions proposed during Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s statewide resolutions committee meeting Oct. 20-21 in Oklahoma City.
The resolutions will be voted on during the annual OFB convention Nov. 6-8 in Oklahoma City.
The committee will submit a resolution to the convention’s voting delegates to make protecting agriculture’s sales tax exemption a priority issue in 2010.
There also were resolutions proposed on international food safety standards, opposing federal climate change legislation and asking the news media to use scientific terminology on health issues.
Rural health care, support for a farm tire recycling program, improved infrastructure in rural Oklahoma and animal health issues all drew discussion from committee members.
Approximately 60 county Farm Bureau leaders invested the better part of two days pouring over resolutions proposed by county Farm Bureaus.
“This is one of the major things that makes me so proud of our grassroots policy development process,” said Mike Spradling, OFB President.
“Any individual can submit a resolution for consideration. Our members thoroughly study and research these resolutions before voting at our state convention.”
Don’t trust Iran on nuclear deal,
Ethicist warns
A prominent Christian leader cautioned against accepting a possible breakthrough in diplomatic negotiations with Iran on nuclear enrichment as a realistic solution to the Iranian nuclear problem.
“Iran has a long history of not living up to its end of a deal, according to Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, “and this proposed deal does not require Iran to stop enriching uranium.
“Furthermore, this deal assumes we know how much enriched uranium the Iranian government already has.
“How do we know they don’t have more hidden facilities where enrichment is taking place?”
According to recent press reports, Iranian negotiators have said a deal that would have Iran send most of its existing enriched uranium to Russia for processing is “on the right track,” but made it very clear that they have yet to gain approval of any such deal from Iran’s political leadership.
Land said, “If the deal is signed, I think President Reagan had it right when he said, ‘trust but verify,’ and in Iran’s case, it’s trust but verify on steroids.”
Recent Public Opinion Strategies polls reveal that 72 percent of American voters polled believe it is “unlikely” that Iran will live up to the type of nuclear agreement being discussed, while only 27 percent think it is “likely” that Iran will comply.
A full 39 percent say it is “not at all likely” that Iran will abide by the type of nuclear agreement being discussed in Vienna.
Land is one of over 50 signers of a letter sent to Congress by Christian Leaders for a Nuclear-Free Iran last month, calling for urgent action to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
The letter urged a total arms embargo and a cut off of exports of refined petroleum products, including gasoline, as a firm yet peaceful measure against the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.