Oklahoma
Local pastors call out Falls Creek and its lack of responsibility to camper safety
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – It began with a Twitter thread from Mayflower Congregational Minister Lori Walke following an investigation into Southern Baptist Conference (SBC) revealed not less than twenty years of intercourse abuse allegations from its members by clergy and different employees that went unheard and unaddressed.
Walke mentioned Tuesday, Could 24, that native church buildings are those left to carry out background checks on the employees they create with them to the largest camp within the state.
“When abuse occurs, Falls Creek factors its finger again on the native church, regardless of many years of expertise concerning background verify compliance by native church buildings,” mentioned Walke on Twitter.
She inspired dad and mom to give up sending their kids to the summer season camp, or every other camps run by the Southern Baptist Conference.
Falls Creek is run by the Baptist Basic Conference of Oklahoma, now generally known as Oklahoma Baptists. The Baptists didn’t return KFOR’s request for an in-person interview, however in a press release they mentioned:
“In recent times, Falls Creek has made much more vital strides in enhancing the security protocols that have been already in place for campers.”
Nonetheless, the assertion didn’t point out how they have been making enhanced security protocols.
“If you recognize that there’s a problem, then, you recognize, make some adjustments to the oversight, chaperoning or no matter,” mentioned Todd Littleton, Pastor at Snow Hill Baptist Church.
The Falls Creek 2021 Cabin House owners Handbook states: “Personal Caretakers should ensure that Cabin House owners have secured background checks on all third-party contractors.”
Additionally stating that contracts between cabin house owners and leasees, “on no account implies Falls Creek or the Oklahoma Baptists conference as a celebration of the cabin lease settlement.”
Walke was referring to that contract language as a means for the Oklahoma Baptists to deflect duty.
For Littleton, he noticed a management breakdown 20 years in the past. That was when he stopped taking his church to the camp.
“From our standpoint, on the management aspect, there have been some issues,” mentioned Littleton.
Walke’s tweets come the day after the Guidepost Report calling out the SBC for hiding sexual abuse instances and negligence in taking motion.
Six years in the past at Falls Creek, a 13-year-old was raped by 35-year-old Benjamin Petty.
Petty was a cook dinner for one of many church teams on the camp. He spent days with the 13 yr outdated earlier than the rape.
Court docket paperwork state that at no level did camp leaders elevate questions throughout Petty’s “three-and-a-half day grooming course of.”
Littleton mentioned he agreed with Walke’s statements concerning Falls Creek. He additionally mentioned all the denomination must do higher.
“We’re most likely going to must work tougher if we would like the belief. We’re going to must be extra proactive to say ‘here’s what we’re doing’ relatively than ‘simply belief us’,” mentioned Littleton.
Oklahoma
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings Issued In SW Oklahoma
Temperatures stay hot this week, and this 4th of July looks hot into the afternoon. Showers and storms are also possible during the afternoon and evening on Thursday.
Severe storm warnings and watches in the state:
- Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Caddo and Grady County until 3:15pm.
What is the weather like on Thursday, July 4 in Oklahoma?
Happy Independence Day, Oklahoma! For many it will be a scorcher. Highs will be in the triple digits with heat index values from 105 to 115 degrees.
There is a chance of severe storms into the afternoon. These storms will likely develop along a strong cold front around 3:00 PM. The highest chance for the OKC Metro is from 3 PM – 7 PM.
Storms Thursday could produce large hail and winds up to 80 mph along with intense lightning.
By late this evening, storms will be weakening and pushing south. Folks south of I-40 may have to dodge a few storms for the fireworks displays.
What does the weather look like for the rest of the week?
Much cooler temps. arrive Friday and into the weekend. A great weather pattern for next week as the heat dome is out west leaving us in a cooler spot! We also see rain and storms off and on next week.
Follow our meteorologists!
Meteorologist David Payne
Meteorologist Lacey Swope
Meteorologist Jed Castles
Meteorologist Cassie Heiter
Meteorologist Justin Rudicel
Meteorologist Andrew Adams
Oklahoma
UFO ‘spotted’ in USA? Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper takes selfie with unique vehicle
In a bizarre incident, Oklahoma Highway Patrol “spotted” a UFO on the road and pulled it over for a picture. Ryan Vanvleck, an officer, caught a UFO-shaped vehicle for an obstructed tag. He also took a picture of the unique-looking vehicle, which was later shared on Instagram by the official Instagram handle of Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
“It’s not every day you pull over a UFO. Trooper Ryan Vanvleck #722 pulled over this vehicle on the Turner Turnpike yesterday for an obstructed tag. They were on their way to a UFO festival in Roswell, New Mexico. Trooper Vanvleck let them go with a warning,” wrote Oklahoma Highway Patrol in the post. They also shared two pictures of the vehicle. (Also Read: ‘UFO or glitch in the matrix’: Unusual light source in sky leaves people with questions)
In one of the pictures, Trooper Ryan Vanvleck clicked a selfie with the UFO vehicle. The vehicle is silver in colour and has a circular glass ceiling through which one can see two women sitting inside it.
Take a look at the post here:
This post was shared on July 3. Since being shared, it has gained close to 5,000 likes. Many people also took to the comments section of the post and shared their reactions.
Here’s how people reacted:
An individual wrote, “very funny. I bet Trooper Vanvleck will tell this story to his grandchildren. Love it.”
Another Instagram user, Stephen, posted, “Listen. Sometimes you see something really cool and would like a closer look. The people know they’re attention grabbers. And in all my years, I’ve never seen one person upset that they got pulled over.” (Also Read: Harvard expert debunks alien, UFO sightings, says ‘they wouldn’t survive’)
“Outta this world! Super cool car!” commented a third.
Instagram user Brandon Sellers joked, “The agents from Area 51 are on the way as we speak.”
“Missouri State Police pulled them over yesterday or the day before for the same thing, I read the trooper recommended they not use the stingray option during this trip! He also issued a warning! Pretty neat car!” added a fifth.
Oklahoma
Sobriety checkpoints set along Oklahoma roads on Independence Day
ARDMORE, Oklahoma (KXII) – While fireworks, family and friends may be the focus of the Fourth of July — creating a plan to get home safe deserves just as much attention.
To help ensure everyone gets home safe, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) will set up sobriety checkpoints along major roadways in Oklahoma on the Fourth of July.
“There are gonna be some checkpoints, I know in Mayes County and some of the other counties, law enforcement are planning to have sobriety checkpoints set up there,” OHP Trooper and Impaired Driving Liaison Mike Shanholtzer said.
These checkpoints are a part of the Oklahoma ENDUI program created by then-Governor Mary Fallin in 2013.
The ENDUI program utilizes community education, officer training, and increased patrols on the nights surrounding major holidays to reduce the number of accidents involving drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Shanholtzer said, if you’re planning to drink and head home, calling a sober friend or a rideshare service is a must.
“Have things lined up,” he said. “Don’t get a position where, ‘oh no, I’ve had a couple beers and I don’t feel like I should drive but I’m gonna try and make it home,’ that’s not what we want.”
However, Shanholtzer said no matter what your plans are, it’s important to pay extra attention while on the roads this weekend.
“Be more attentive, realize there’s going to be a lot of traffic, that we have people that are going to use drugs or alcohol, people that aren’t paying attention,” he said. “If you are hyper vigilant and paying attention, you may be able to avoid a crash even if it’s someone else’s actions that could have caused it.”
Copyright 2024 KXII. All rights reserved.
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