Oklahoma

Grieving Oklahoma Mother Advocates for School Bullying Reform After Son’s Tragic Suicide

Published

1 year ago

December 21, 2023

Grieving Oklahoma Mother Advocates for School Bullying Reform After Son’s Tragic Suicide

Eli is pictured on a family vacation. Photo Courtesy of Kalah Ballance

TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — Kalah Ballance is a mother of two whose 12-year-old son, Eli, took his own life after being bullied.

Ballance says that after confronting her son’s school on multiple occasions to end the bullying, her family received little to no help. Now, Ballance is sharing his story, hoping to create change in schools.

“My ten-year-old texted me a little bit after they got home and he said, Eli shot himself,” said Ballance. She fought back the tears as she recounted one of the last conversations she had with her son, “That morning it was, I love you have a good day make good choices. ‘I love you too Mom, I’ll see you tonight’.”

Ballance told NewsChannel 8 that the bullying had been happening for years leading up to Eli’s death. She says that she had relentlessly contacted school officials and, even after her son’s hand was broken on the bus following an altercation with a bully, she was met with a response no parent wants to hear.

“I even asked the superintendent ‘What are we going to do to keep Eli safe’ and I got met with, ‘Well we can’t promise and guarantee anything, but we will try,” said Ballance.

The Oklahoma Education Association reported that 40% to 80% of students experience bullying at some point. Now Ballance is calling on schools to do better.

“The schools need to do better; they need to be better. They have their anti-bullying policies, which are a joke, they don’t follow them. You know, it’s always the same story, my child is being bullied the school won’t do anything,” says Ballance.

Psychiatrist and owner of Lighthouse Psychiatry, Dayana Arteaga, says that the school’s support and intervention are important when it comes to stopping bullying and supporting students who are being bullied.

“I think it’s really important for schools to be paying close attention when bullying is taking place and to take it very seriously. There are disciplinary actions that can be taken against kids that engage in bullying to make sure that the student body as a whole knows that it’s really important to not engage in those behaviors,” Arteaga said.

Ballance says they are in the early stages of forming a movement in Eli’s honor that will push for legislation to help end bullying in schools as well as provide speakers to shed light on the serious implications that come with it. The movement can be followed on the Facebook page Eli’s Love.

Source link

Click to comment

Oklahoma

Oklahoma 8-year-old girl missing, father dead after SUV crash in Texas flood

Published

2 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Press Room

Oklahoma 8-year-old girl missing, father dead after SUV crash in Texas flood

An 8-year-old Oklahoma girl is still missing in Texas after floodwaters carried away the family SUV on Christmas Eve.

According to local reports in Sherman, Texas, the SUV ran off the road into a drainage ditch before succumbing to the flood. The Sherman Police Department said six people were inside the vehicle when it crashed.

Four family members were rescued. CBS News reported that the missing girl’s father, Will Robinson, did not survive. Robinson was a coach for the Durant High School Lady Lions basketball team.

By the afternoon of Christmas Day, searchers had covered seven miles of creek in the area without success.

“We are shifting our focus into the county, targeting some possible locations where we have not looked to as yet,” the department wrote on Facebook Wednesday. “Our search will continue until dark today, then we will resume searching again (Thursday) before daylight.”

Source link

Oklahoma

Oklahoma 111-65 Omaha (Dec 22, 2024) Game Recap – ESPN

Published

10 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Press Room

Oklahoma 111-65 Omaha (Dec 22, 2024) Game Recap – ESPN

NORMAN, Okla. — — Raegan Beers matched a career high with 28 points, and No. 10 Oklahoma rolled past Omaha 111-65 on Sunday.

Beers, a 6-foot-4 center, made 11 of 13 field goals and grabbed nine rebounds to help Oklahoma win its fifth straight since an overtime loss to Duke.

Skylar Vann had 12 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and Kiersten Johnson added 12 points for the Sooners (11-1). Oklahoma scored at least 100 points for the third time this season after entering the day ranked fourth nationally with 90.7 points per game.

Ja Harvey scored 21 points and Cora Olsen added 15 for Omaha. The Mavericks (8-5) had won seven straight since a 79-77 loss to Wisconsin, but gave up a season-high point total against the Sooners.

Oklahoma led 52-34 at halftime, with Beers producing 15 points and six rebounds.

The Sooners exploded in the third quarter, outscoring the Mavericks 35-25 to take an 87-59 lead. It matched the most points Oklahoma has scored in a quarter this season. The Sooners made 14 field goals and five 3-pointers in the period.

Takeaways

Omaha: Aside from Harvey, none of the Mavericks could get going. Harvey made 8 of 14 field goals while the rest of the team made 15 of 52.

Oklahoma: The Sooners continued to bully opponents in the paint and beat them with pace. They outrebounded the Mavericks 57-33 and forced 20 turnovers.

Key moment

Oklahoma set the tone from the beginning by scoring the game’s first eight points. The Sooners led 26-10 at the end of the first quarter.

Key stat

Omaha made just 2 of 21 3-pointers while Oklahoma made 13 of 35.

Up next

Omaha hosts North Dakota on Jan. 2. Oklahoma hosts New Mexico State on Dec. 29.

——

Get poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

Source link

Oklahoma

Oklahoma Sooners add another transfer portal quarterback

Published

22 hours ago

December 25, 2024

Press Room

Oklahoma Sooners add another transfer portal quarterback

The Oklahoma Sooners made a splash via the transfer portal when they added former Washington State quarterback and the top player in this year’s portal class, John Mateer. But the Sooners weren’t done at quarterback, adding Western Carolina signal caller Cole Gonzales.

Gonzales started 22 games in three seasons with the Catamounts, completing 63.5% of his passes for 6,445 yards, 49 touchdowns, and 20 interceptions. On non-sack rushing attempts, Gonzales averaged 5.4 yards per carry and ran for 701 yards and three touchdowns.

In 2023, he was the 2023 Southern Conference Player of the Year and was a two-time first-team All-Conference selection. Last year, he completed 66.1% of his throws for 2,547 yards, 26 touchdowns and threw just six interceptions in 11 games. That year, Gonzales threw for five touchdown passes three times and six games with more than 250 yards passing.

In 2024, he completed 61.7% of his passes for 2,545 yards and 12 touchdowns and threw seven interceptions this season. Gonzales was really efficient in the deep passing game, with a 45.5% completion percentage on throws greater than 20 yards down the field. That was good for sixth in the FCS among quarterbacks with at least 44 pass attempts on deep throws.

In the 2024 season opener against N.C. State, Gonzales threw for 211 yards and two touchdowns, completing 62.9% of his passes. He also carried the ball six times for 78 yards, according to Pro Football Focus, who removes sacks from rushing totals.

Against Furman, in week eight of the 2024 season, Gonzales threw for 620 yards and five touchdowns.

In Gonzales, the Sooners add more quarterback depth to the roster to go along with Mateer, Michael Hawkins Jr., and 2025 signee Jett Niu. He’ll have one year of eligibility remaining in 2024.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.

Source link