Oklahoma

A court diversion program saved his life. Now he guides others through the program

Published

1 year ago

January 1, 2024

A court diversion program saved his life. Now he guides others through the program

Michael Holder grew up in south Oklahoma City drinking and doing drugs.

By age 40, he’d been stabbed, arrested and even shot in the neck with a 9 mm pistol. The bullet missed his spine by 2 centimeters as it exited his back, he says.

What Holder expected would be a life of crime with an early ending changed in 2021, however, when an assistant public defender convinced him to enter into a drug court diversion program started at Oklahoma County District Court in 1995.

“I was headed down a bad path,” says Holder, 42, who today is clean and works as a peer recovery support specialist at the Diversion Hub while pursuing an addiction counseling degree at Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City.

After that, he plans to obtain a psychology degree from the University of Central Oklahoma, and perhaps one day, a doctorate.

“I’m on a 10-year plan,” he says.

For now, Holder enjoys his work at the Diversion Hub in Oklahoma City as a navigator helping people who are participating in the county’s Court Ordered Outpatient Diversion program, a treatment-based program for criminal offenders whose problems are rooted in mental health issues.

“God had a purpose for me. I just wasn’t ready yet,” he reflects today.

Holder believes there are others like him who are looking for the same kind of help, and additional funds recently received by the county and Diversion Hub should help.

More: These Oklahomans needed mental health care. Instead, they died in jail

The $1 million grant made by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance will help significantly increase the diversion drug court’s capacity over the next four years.

The money eventually will expand the program’s capacity from the 150 participants it handles today to 250 at any given time, a release about the grant states.

The need definitely is there. Only 57% of those seeking to enter the program in 2022 were admitted, largely because of staffing shortages, the release states.

Specifically, the additional funds will help the county’s drug court bring on an additional assistant district attorney and an additional public defender.

It also will pay to add a program navigator, who will work with 125 drug court participants each year to help them secure needed services by guiding them to appropriate resources.

Plus, the grant is paying to introduce new case management software to make it easier for the court’s staff to supervise program participants, and it is setting aside other dollars to help participants pay for required urinalyses while they look for steady work.

Funding for the new navigator is critical, says Melissa Walton, strategic director of Oklahoma County’s Treatment Courts program.

“When someone pleas into the drug court program right now, we have recovery navigators who help get them out of jail, help them get started doing urinalyses and put them in touch with their probation officers,” Walton said.

“But as they go through latter stages of the program, they might need more help to get their IDs, GEDs and find jobs so they can finish the program, and that’s a little bit harder if you don’t have a support system,” she said.

Nine diversion programs operated by Oklahoma County’s courts system

Oklahoma County’s jail population fell below 1,300 the first weekend of December, marking the first time since 1996 it has held so few prisoners.

The jail in early December also was no longer the state’s largest. Its population on Dec. 5 was 1,325 detainees, compared to 1,419 in Tulsa County, jail CEO Brandi Garner told the Oklahoma County’s jail trust on Dec. 4.

The per capita detainee rate for Oklahoma County stood at 166 per 100,000 residents, while Tulsa County’s per capita detainee rate was 212 per 100,000, Garner said.

More: Oklahoma’s Narcan vending machines have dispensed thousands of life-saving doses in six months

“There is a lot of people who deserve credit for this,” said Garner, who took an opportunity to thank Oklahoma County’s judges, district attorneys, public defenders, bondsmen, her staff and Oklahoma County’s diversion programs.

“It is astounding to see all of the teamwork” making that progress possible, she said.

There’s no doubt that Oklahoma County’s diversion programs help.

Including Drug Court, Oklahoma County’s courts currently operate nine different diversion programs involving about 1,300 defendants, giving people charged with felony and misdemeanor crimes alternatives to jail and prison sentences. They include:

ReMerge Court: A pre-trial diversion program serving high-risk, high-needs mothers facing nonviolent felony offenses.
DREAMS (Diversion, Recovery, Engagement and Mental Support) Court: A program that serves individuals facing felony charges who suffer from mental illnesses, developmental disabilities or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders.
DUI Court: Offers participants facing that particular felony the tools they need for rehabilitation through individualized, evidence-based treatment.
Community Sentencing: Program designed to assist individuals facing felony charges by providing them with supervision, treatment, personal development, and employment assistance services.
Misdemeanor Diversion: Program that gives individuals charged with misdemeanors in Oklahoma County a chance to engage with appropriate treatment services to help them overcome barriers by using community resources to meet their needs.
COOP (Court Ordered Out Patient) Diversion: Program that gives individuals access to treatment programs after they have been charged with misdemeanors because of mental health issues.
Veterans Diversion: Program giving veterans charged with misdemeanors a chance to engage with appropriate treatment and community services to help them overcome barriers.
Veterans Treatment Court: An 18-month-long program designed to give veterans who are struggling with trauma, mental illnesses and/or substance abuse issues opportunities to receive treatment and to work with case managers to apply for any Veterans Affairs benefits they have earned.

As for the Drug Court diversion program, Walton said 73.5% of its participants have completed the three-year program since July 1, 2022. She said 83% of them are living with their children, and 99.3% are employed.

Other grants awarded, sought by Oklahoma County

In November, the Oklahoma County district attorney’s office received a grant for about $1 million to bolster the county’s Veterans Diversion program.

District Attorney Vicki Behenna said the office will use the grant to identify veterans being held on criminal offenses earlier in the adjudication process to get more of them into treatment.

Like Holder, participant David Onzahwah, who served eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps as a legal administrator including during Operation Phantom Fury in 2004 also credits it for changing his life.

Onzahwah entered the treatment program after being arrested in 2018 on a felony complaint of assault and battery by strangulation.

Today, he is a peer specialist at the Oklahoma City Veterans Affairs offices.

“Veterans Treatment Court saved my life,” said Onzahwah. “Going through the program was like a mission assignment to me. It sparked a fight in me to keep improving myself in order to accomplish goals. I want the public to know that this program saves lives, reduces stigmas and helps heal veterans that are having trouble adjusting to the civilian lifestyle.”

“These veterans work hard and are eager to change their lives for the better. Veterans Treatment Court gives them an opportunity to make this change,” said Oklahoma County District Court Judge Brent Dishman, who oversees that program.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma County Commissioners in December authorized the county’s staff to seek about $2.4 million as its share of money set aside within Oklahoma’s County Community Safety Investment Fund.

The fund gets its dollars from court-related costs savings brought about by the Smart Justice Reform Act.

Oklahoma County intends to use those dollars to expand Oklahoma County’s diversion courts program further, said Walton and Assistant Public Defender Madison Mélon, who supervises programming and staff for all of Oklahoma County’s diversion programs, plus represent defendants who are in the program.

Walton and Mélon credit the nearly two-dozen nonprofits that partner with the courts and Oklahoma County’s Diversion Hub to provide those defendants with the services they need to help them succeed.

They are especially appreciative of the Diversion Hub for its willingness to hire former program graduates like Holder to be navigators for new defendants just coming into the diversion programs.

“We started in 2019 with just two peers provided through the Oklahoma City-County Health Department. Before that, we didn’t have any,” Mélon said. “I love these people and want to help them, but I have never been where they are. I can only do so much.”

That’s where people like Holder come in.

Before getting into the program in early 2021, Holder had been arrested and charged nine months earlier of two counts of unauthorized use of motor vehicle (he was in possession of a 2022 Lincoln Navigator and a 2020 Ford Focus that weren’t his when he was arrested) and three counts of possessing and concealing stolen property.

He said it took a wake-up call in Oklahoma County’s jail and finding God for him to be able to “basically just quit, just quit the stupidness and insanity I was going through.”

When he meets someone getting out of the jail now, he shows them a lone image he keeps from his past — a mugshot of his most recent arrest.

He buried the actual picture he had of himself before then in a field off NW 122 and Pennsylvania Avenue during a funeral he gave himself, Holder said.

“I had to change my people, my places and my things. I cut ties with all of them,” he said.

“I am somebody who has been there and done that as far as addiction and interfacing with the criminal justice system goes, and I am somebody who knows what it is like. I have lived it,” he said. “People can see that.

“Drug treatment court saved my life. All these people combined really helped, and I am grateful for that every day. For people who want to follow it? It works.”

Mélon and Walton would love to see more people like Holder working with their clients, they said.

“We now have three, four, five, soon-to-be six full-time peers that the Diversion Hub has hired for us working on the teams, and it has been the biggest blessing, in so many different ways both for participants and the the staff,” Mélon said.

“They are a daily reminder of why we get up and come to work every day. I always say they are my favorite coworkers, more than anyone else. It is just different and fun to get to work with them,” Mélon said.

Source link

Click to comment

Oklahoma

OU Baseball: Oklahoma Wilts as North Carolina Overpowers OU Ace

Published

16 hours ago

May 31, 2025

Press Room

OU Baseball: Oklahoma Wilts as North Carolina Overpowers OU Ace

Oklahoma’s Witherspoon brothers reversed roles this weekend in the NCAA Tournament.

No. 3 starter Malachi Witherspoon, who posted a 1-8 record in SEC play with a 6.08 earned run average, dominated Nebraska on Friday night at the Chapel Hill Regional.

Then ace Kyson Witherspoon, who went 5-3 against the Southeastern Conference with a 2.98 ERA, was rocked for six unearned runs in the first inning against host North Carolina on Saturday.

Baseball can be weird sometimes.

Kyson Witherspoon’s early struggles against the Tar Heels eventually became an 11-5 Sooner loss at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, as the No. 5 national seed Tar Heels rolled to an easy victory.

OU fell to 36-21 on the season, while UNC improved to 44-12.

The No. 2-seed Sooners now face elimination Sunday in an 11 a.m. CT rematch with Nebraska. OU beat the 3-seed Cornhuskers 7-4 in their first-round game on Friday after jumping on top 7-0. The Tar Heels await the survivor of that contest Sunday at 5 p.m. CT. Nebraska eliminated 4-seed Holy Cross 4-1 on Saturday morning.

After OU left a runner in scoring position in the top of the first, North Carolina most certainly did not in the bottom of the first.

Kane Kepley reached on what would become a fatal error by Dawson Willis, but Witherspoon quickly retired the next two hitters.

That would be the Sooners’ only highlight early.

Two-out singles from Gavin Gallaher, Hunter Stokely, Alex Madera and Tyson Bass staked UNC to a 3-0 lead — all unearned due to the error at third base.

That’s when right fielder Sam Angelo broke it open with a three-run home run to left field that made it 6-0.

“Just figuring out what we’re doing,” OU coach Skip Johnson said during a fourth-inning in-game interview with the ESPN broadcast crew. “If we play good catch in the first inning, I think he throws six pitches. They took the momentum and we’ve gotta get some momentum back.”

Witherspoon’s previous season high for runs allowed — for an entire game — was four (twice). The Tar Heels scored six in their first eight batters.

His previous season-high for hits allowed was six (four times), but UNC had seven after loading the bases again in the second inning.

The Sooners were chasing the scoreboard rest of the night, and that was a tough task against Carolina hurler Jason DeCaro, who came into the weekend with a 10-4 record and a 3.42 ERA. DeCaro went six innings, allowed three runs on seven hits and struck out eight while walking none.

UNC added a run in the fourth to make it 7-0 on Gallaher’s RBI single to score Kepley, but things got really out of hand in the fifth.

Bass and Angelo hammered back-to-back solo home runs to extend the Tar Heels’ lead to 9-0 and end Witherspoon’s night.

Witherspoon hadn’t given up more than one home run in a game all season, but he served up three on this night. His four-inning start also tied his shortest outing of the season (he threw four innings at Alabama on March 28).

Witherspoon finished the night yielding a season-high 10 hits and nine runs — three earned — and tied both his season-low with just four strikeouts and his season-high with three walks.

“Kyson’s been really good for us all year,” Johnson said.

The Sooners finally answered with a pair of runs in the sixth on Sam Christiansen’s RBI double and Kyle Branch’s RBI groundout.

But North Carolina answered immediately with a run in the bottom of the inning when Gavyn Jones gave up a hit batter, a wild pitch and an RBI single by Madera to make it 10-2.

OU plated another run when Drew Dickerson opened the seventh with a single, advanced on back-to-back ground-ball outs and came home on Trey Gambill’s RBI single up the middle to cut it to 10-3.

Again, however, the Tar Heels answered when Beau Sampson walked Angelo to lead off, then misfired a pair of wild pitches and eventually gave up an RBI single to Carter French for an 11-3 lead.

OU made it 11-4 in the eighth when Christiansen drew a one-out walked, took second on a passed ball and scored on Dasan Harris’ RBI single to left.

Jaxson Willits make it 11-5 in the ninth when he delivered an RBI single to score Jason Walk.

Left hander Cameron Johnson came in to pitch the eighth for OU. Johnson, a weekend starter over the first seven weeks of the season after transferring from LSU, hadn’t made an appearance on the mound since April 13 and had only thrown 20 innings total in 2025.

Source link

Oklahoma

What channel is Texas vs Oklahoma softball today? Time, TV schedule for WCWS game

Published

1 day ago

May 31, 2025

Press Room

What channel is Texas vs Oklahoma softball today? Time, TV schedule for WCWS game

It’s Red River Rivalry time in the 2025 Women’s College World Series.

No. 6 Texas and No. 2 Oklahoma will square off in the winner’s bracket of the WCWS from Devon Field in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, presenting a rematch of the 2024 championship series. With a win, either team would move that much closer to booking a return to the end-of-tournament series to determine the national champion.

The Longhorns used a dominant start from Teagan Kavan to earn a 3-0 victory over No. 3 Florida, while Ella Parker delivered a three-run walk-off home run off Karlyn Pickens and No. 7 Tennessee to steal a win. Patty Gasso and the Sooners are looking to earn a fifth straight championship.

Here’s what you need to know about Saturday’s WCWS winner’s bracket game between rivals Texas and Oklahoma:

Stream Texas vs. Oklahoma with ESPN+

What channel is Texas vs Oklahoma softball on today?

TV channel: ABC
Streaming: ESPN app | ESPN+

Texas and Oklahoma’s winner’s bracket game will air on ABC. Streaming options include the ESPN app (with a cable login) and ESPN+, the latter of which is ESPN’s subscription service. Beth Mowins (play-by-play), Jessica Mendoza (analyst) and Michele Smith (analyst) will be on the call, with Holly Rowe serving as the sideline reporter.

Texas vs Oklahoma softball start time

Date: Saturday, May 31
Time: 3 p.m. ET

First pitch for Texas and Oklahoma’s winner’s bracket game is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET from Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Texas softball schedule 2025

Below is Texas’ postseason schedule. For the Longhorns’ full schedule, click here.

Austin Regional

Friday, May 16: No. 6 Texas 10, Eastern Illinois 2
Saturday, May 17: No. 6 Texas, Michigan 4
Sunday, May 18: No. 6 Texas 9, UCF 0

Austin Super Regional

Thursday, May 22: No. 11 Clemson 7, No. 6 Texas 4
Friday, May 23: No. 6 Texas 7, No. 11 Clemson 5
Saturday, May 24: No. 6 Texas 6,No. 11 Clemson 5

Women’s College World Series

Thursday, May 29: No. 6 Texas 3, No. 3 Florida 0
Saturday, May 31: No. 6 Texas vs. No. 2 Oklahoma (3 p.m.)

Oklahoma softball schedule 2025

Below is Oklahoma’s postseason schedule. For the Sooners’ full schedule, click here.

Norman Regional:

Friday, May 16: No. 2 Oklahoma 8, Boston College 0
Saturday, May 17: No. 2 Oklahoma 11, Cal 2
Sunday, May 18: No. 2 Oklahoma 12, Cal 1

Normal Super Regional:

Friday, May 23: No. 2 Oklahoma 3, No. 15 Alabama 0
Saturday, May 24: No. 2 Oklahoma 13, No. 15 Alabama 2

Women’s College World Series:

Thursday, May 29: No. 2 Oklahoma 4, No. 7 Tennessee 3
Saturday, May 31: No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 6 Texas (3 p.m.)

Women’s College World Series schedule

Women’s College World Series: May 29-June 6
WCWS finals: June 4-5/6

The Women’s College World Series will run from May 29 through June 6, with the three-game WCWS finals taking place from June 4 through June 5 or June 6, depending on whether teams need the “if necessary” game.

Source link

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State Fair announces 2025 concert lineup, from Black Stone Cherry to Joe Nichols

Published

2 days ago

May 30, 2025

Press Room

Oklahoma State Fair announces 2025 concert lineup, from Black Stone Cherry to Joe Nichols

The 2025 Oklahoma State Fair will take place September 11-21 at the OKC Fairgrounds.
Nightly free concerts on the Chickasaw Country Entertainment Stage will feature artists like Joe Nichols, Sister Sledge, and Black Stone Cherry.
The Bandshell will showcase Oklahoma performers daily.

The Oklahoma State Fair is about three and a half months away, but live music fans can go ahead and mark their calendars, since the event’s organizers have announced this year’s eclectic concert lineup.

One of the state’s largest yearly events, the 2025 Oklahoma State Fair is set for Sept. 11-21 at the OKC Fairgrounds, 3001 General Pershing Blvd.

This year’s fair will spotlight rock ‘n’ roll bands, country music artists, contemporary Christian hitmakers, R&B groups, tribute bands and more on its Chickasaw Country Entertainment Stage.

Admission to the nightly concerts is free with outside gate admission to the fair.

The 2025 Oklahoma State Fair concert lineup on the Chickasaw Country Entertainment Stage is:

7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11: Joe Nichols, the country singer known for hits like “Gimme That Girl” and “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off,” returns to the Oklahoma State Fair.
7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12: Sister Sledge, the Philadelphia sibling group of Debbie, Joni, Kathy and Kim Sledge, entered the cultural consciousness with their 1979 worldwide hit and iconic album “We Are Family.”
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13: Black Stone Cherry with The Kentucky Headhunters, two rock bands from the Bluegrass State, are heading this fall to the Oklahoma State Fair.
7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14: ZZ-KC is based in Kansas City and tours the country paying tribute to Rock and Roll Hall of Famers ZZ Top.
7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 15: Josiah Queen, the “I am Barabbas” hitmaker who was named one of Amazon’s Breakthrough Artists to Watch for 2024, just wrapped his first headline tour as a contemporary Christian recording artist.
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16: Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone will bring their 1960s hits like “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter” and “I’m into Something Good” to OKC.
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept: 17: Shawn Klush – Tribute to Elvis returns to the Oklahoma State Fair with the addition of a horn section to add to the authenticity and excitement of his homage to The King.
7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18: Drew Baldridge, a country singer-songwriter hailing from Patoka, Illinois, has scored hit singles with “Dance with Ya” and “She’s Somebody’s Daughter.”
7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19: Hairball, a tribute band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2025 by performing classics by KISS, Van Halen, Queen and more, complete with pyrotechnics, costume changes and theatrical flair.
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20: Stephen Pearcy the Voice of RATT with Quiet Riot brings together the frontman for glam metal band behind the 1980s hits “Round and Round” and “Lay It Down” with the Los Angeles quartet known as the first heavy metal band to top Billboard charts.
7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21: Los Herederos de Nuevo Leon, a regional Mexican band specializing in norteño music, returns to close out the Oklahoma State Fair, which traditionally reserves the final concert slot on its Chickasaw Country Entertainment Stage for a Spanish-language act with appeal for a multi-generational Latino audience.

“I have been buying talent for the Oklahoma State Fair for quite some time, and I can honestly say this is one of the strongest lineups I can remember,” fair spokesman Scott Munz said in an email to The Oklahoman.

“Without hesitation, there is truly something for every musical taste during the 11 days of the 2025 Oklahoma State Fair.”

Along with the concerts on the Chickasaw Country Entertainment Stage, the Oklahoma State Fair will feature a diverse lineup of Oklahoma performers from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. daily at The Bandshell.

For more information on the concerts, carnival rides, food vendors, performances and other attractions at the 2025 Oklahoma State Fair, go to https://okstatefair.com.

Source link