More than $53 million in middle-mile broadband expansion grants were recommended for approval this week by the Oklahoma Broadband Governing Board.

The Oklahoma middle-mile projects, recommended for approval by the Grants Review Committee, are funded by the American Rescue Plan Act’s State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.

Several additional projects were recommended for approval “should funding become available.”

By provider, the Oklahoma middle-mile broadband grants recommended for approval are:

• Hilliary: $40,874,734.10 for Alex, Burns Flat, Cordell, Daisy, Duke North, Duke South, Gracemont, Granite, and Talihina
• Indian Electric Cooperative Inc.: $4,375,043.34 for Cleveland to Osage, Naval Reserve to Pawya, Pawya to Pawhuska, and Red Rock to Pawnee
• Pine Telephone: $2,716,000 for Latimer County
• Resound Networks: $1,499,818.54 for Choctaw West, Jackson-Harmon, and Kay-Osage
• Trace Fiber Networks, LLC: $3,918,452.23: Asher, Garvin, and Pontotoc

Resound Networks’ Kay-Osage project was recommended for a $376,867.13 award, though the amount requested was $497,288.37.

Also by provider, those recommended for approval if future funding is available include:

• Centranet, LLC: $43,215,216 for Oklahoma Star Network and Shawnee-Stroud-Stillwater
• Chisholm Broadband: $6,530,472 for Alva-Medford-Tonkawa, Besie-New Cordel-Rocky, Canute-Burns Flat, Choctaw County, Coal County, Data Center Capacity, Hammon-Leedy, Jet-Nash, Lamont-Hunter, Latimer County, Magnum-Eldorado, Medford-Deer Creek, Roger Mills-Taloga, Sayre-Elk City, and Thomas-Custer City-Arapaho
• Cox Communications: $3,891,218.26 for Haskell to Okmulgee, Mounds to Okmulgee, and Washington County to Rogers County
• CVEC Fiber, LLC: $1,719,564 for CVEC Fiber – Middle Mile
• Dobson Technologies: $1,090,935.42 for Binger to Hinton, Bristow to Okmulgee, and Red Oak to Talihina
• FiberLink, LLC: $1,883,609.24  for Creek County
• Hilliary: $3,733,731.68 for Stonewall
• MBO Video, LLC: $14,586,343.80 for MBO Project (“MMMBOP”)
• Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education: $29,800,700 for Oklahoma Community Anchor Network (OCAN)
• Pioneer Telephone Cooperative: $2,575,380 for Bradley/Lindsay, Cashion/Piedmont, and El Reno Middle Mile
• Plains Internet, LLC: $10,195,328.00 for Middle Mile South and Plains Internet
• Resound Networks: $13,103,583.50 for Beaver-Texas, Bryan-Marshall, Caddo-Grady-Canadian, Comanche-Grady-Stephens, Craig-Ottawa-Rogers, Custer-Washita-Caddo, Grant-Garfield-Kingfisher, Greer-Kiowa-Washita, Logan-Oklahoma-Cleveland, McClain-Garvin, and Woodward-Harper-Ellis
• Terral Telephone Company: $3,369,294.25 for HWY 32
• Totah Communications, Inc.: $1,877,727 for OK SLFRF MM Grant
• Trace Fiber Networks, LLC.: $5,074,064.16 for Johnston-Bryan, Marshall County
• Wyandotte Telephone Company: $12,532,608 for Wyandotte
• Zayo Group, LLC: $13,991,876.18 for North Tulsa and South Tulsa

Additional information about Oklahoma broadband, including state funding resources, grants made, state-specific coverage, and more can be found on the Telecompetitor Broadband Nation webpage for the state.

As Stroke Awareness Month continues, a Tulsa speech therapist is shedding light on the recovery process and the critical role speech-language pathologists play in post-stroke care.

Recognizing stroke damage in communication and swallowing

Speech-language pathologist Joanie Wells with Ascension St. John Medical Center said that one of the first signs of a stroke may involve difficulty with communication or swallowing.

“Some similar things that I’m looking for as a speech therapist in a patient who’s had a stroke could be a deficit in a patient’s ability to speak or voice or communicate in any way,” Wells said. “Receptive and expressive language can be impacted. Cognitive communication skills such as problem solving or attention skills can be impaired and very commonly trouble swallowing as well is a deficit that I would look for.”

Wells said these symptoms can show up right away.

“It can be pretty immediate,” she said. “Sometimes changes in speech or trouble swallowing, for example, are some of the first symptoms that can let someone know that they should be concerned they may be having a stroke.”

Recovery often begins in the hospital and continues afterward

Once a patient is diagnosed with stroke-related deficits, a speech-language pathologist steps in to begin treatment, often starting during hospitalization and extending into other levels of care.

“We evaluate, provide treatments and even sometimes compensatory strategies for patients that are struggling with any of those deficits in their speech and their swallowing,” Wells said. “And it’s important to know that that rehab starts in the hospital setting, but it can continue after the hospitalization, such as outpatient rehab or skilled nursing, different levels of care after the stroke as well. People can continue to make progress.”

Trouble swallowing is a common but overlooked problem

Wells said one of the most overlooked areas of stroke recovery involves swallowing, which speech therapists are trained to address.

“I think a lot of people are not familiar with a speech therapist being the person that would provide assistance for patients having trouble swallowing after stroke,” she said. “And that’s like one of the most common services that we do, especially right after stroke, because it can be so common to have that trouble with swallowing.”

Long-term outcomes depend on time and treatment

Although stroke recovery can take time and varies by patient, Wells said treatment helps specialists understand what progress can be expected.

“So really we just see how patients progress over the course of treatment in the hospital and then afterwards as well,” she said. “And then with time we can kind of see what kind of gains they’re able to make.”

With the series tied at two apiece, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets squared off for a Game 5 battle in Oklahoma City. It was another competitive battle that ended in a comeback victory in favor of the Thunder, winning 112-105.

The duo of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray was in the spotlight of this matchup, combining for 72 points. Despite having one of the best defenses in the NBA, there was nothing Oklahoma City could do to shut Denver’s star duo down.

A quick start for the Thunder was quickly answered by Jamal Murray and the Nuggets in the first half. Everything was clicking for Oklahoma City to open the game, going up by eight points early. Murray, Nikola Jokic and company quickly led their squad back to erase that early deficit.

Star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got out to a brutal start for such an important game. He started going 2-for-9 from the field with six points, struggling to see his shots fall. Luckily for him, his All-Star companion, Jalen Williams, was hot. He opened the game with 11 points on a much nicer 50% percentage, but that didn’t stop the Nuggets from creating a respectable lead.

With seconds waning off the clock in the second quarter, the lead for the Denver Nuggets was increasing. Jokic and Murray were scoring with ease and the lead eventually ballooned to 11 points. The Thunder needed a response to close out the half anywhere on the roster and luckily, that happened.

Rebounding was an issue for the Thunder, losing that stat battle 49-43. They allowed 16 offensive rebounds compared to their eight, one area where Oklahoma City left some points on the board.

Buckets from Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace brought the deficit back to within two points heading into halftime. It was an important late scoring run for the Thunder that made things much closer going into the final 24 minutes.

Jokic was a clear standout in this game at every point. He finished the night with 44 points, 15 rebounds and five assists on 17-for-25 shooting. He was dominant on the offensive end and put up a vintage stat line, reminiscent of his past MVP seasons.

For the Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander came up huge. He finished the game with 31 points on 12-for-23 shooting, adding six rebounds and seven assists. Gilgeous-Alexander did everything he could to help his team win, contributing on defense as well.

The start of the third quarter was simply a disaster for the Thunder. The same Denver duo was cooking on offense and there was nothing the OKC defense could do to stop it. Jokic and Murray were proving why they are two of the best playoff players in the league with their overall performances.

Oklahoma City responded slightly, but still trailed by eight points heading into the final quarter. They were going to need their stars, including Williams and Holmgren, to step up big down the stretch.

Williams and Holmgren were far too quiet throughout most of this game. After an 11-point start for Williams, he went scoreless through the beginning of the fourth quarter. He did hit some clutch shots down the stretch, however, finishing the game with 18 points. Holmgren finished the night with 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting,

While those two struggled, guard Alex Caruso continued his offensive and defensive contributions off the bench for the Thunder. He finished the game with 13 points and four rebounds on 4-for-10 shooting, making his presence felt while guarding on the other end of the floor.

In need of an offensive spark, the Oklahoma City Thunder found sanctuary in guard Lu Dort. He knocked down three straight triples for the Thunder to bring them within two points halfway through the fourth quarter. It gave Paycom Arena energy, as well as the team, allowing them to close the gap and lock down on defense.

Some big triples from Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander, along with good defense in the final minute, helped the Thunder earn the tough victory.

An even more important Game 6 tips off 7:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, May 15 on the road in Denver.