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Oklahoma teachers told to repay hefty bonuses they received ‘in error’

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Oklahoma teachers told to repay hefty bonuses they received ‘in error’


Several teachers in Oklahoma who were paid hefty signing bonuses last fall are being told those were granted in error, and the state is now demanding the money back. At least one of those teachers is suing.

The bonuses were designed by the Oklahoma Department of Education to recruit teachers for hard-to-fill positions, such as early elementary and special education. Teachers, at least one of them urged by a supervisor, applied and received funds via the Teaching Signing Bonus program instituted by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters last year.

The bonuses were paid in November, giving teachers just enough time to spend the money before the state’s sudden demand that they pay it back by the end of February, including taxes, or it would be sent to collections, Oklahoma Watch reported.

Oklahoma’s state education department has said it awarded $185,000 to teachers who were not qualified for the program and paid $105,000 to teachers who were qualified but received too much money. At least nine teachers are affected. Lawmakers from both parties, as well as the affected teachers, are crying foul, according to The Oklahoman.

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Special education teacher Kristina Stadelmen was awarded $50,000, netting $29,000 after taxes.

“I obviously don’t have the money to pay it back by the end of February,” said Stadelman, who used the mini windfall for home improvements and to fund her maternity leave. “I came home the day I found out and just cried for two days straight.”

Those eligible for the bonus program must be certified teachers who commit to five years serving in pre-kindergarten through third grade classrooms, as well as pre-K through 12th grade special education classes in Oklahoma public-school districts, Oklahoma Watch reported.

Another stated stipulation is that the teacher cannot have been employed in an Oklahoma public school district during the 2022-2023 academic year. However, not everyone understood that requirement. The state says it gave out the bonuses before realizing the teachers in question were not eligible, reported KTUL-TV.

Kay Bojorquez applied after a supervisor suggested it, not realizing that working at Epic Charter Schools last year meant she should have been turned down. She didn’t know anything was wrong until the Jan. 13 letter arrived telling her that the $50,000 she’d been awarded, which she used to pay down debt and send her son to college, was not hers to keep.

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“When I read the letter, I threw up,” she told Oklahoma Watch last week. “I’ve had two panic attacks in the last two days.”

She and others said being forced to pay it back will cause financial ruin. Borjorquez has filed a lawsuit against Walters and the state education department.



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Oklahoma State expected to lose talented EDGE to transfer portal

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Oklahoma State expected to lose talented EDGE to transfer portal


Oklahoma State EDGE Kyran Duhon plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, On3 has learned. Duhon was a member of the 2024 recruiting class.

Duhon spent one year at Oklahoma State, logged 16 total tackles (eight solo) across nine games. He began his career at UTEP, where he had a productive true freshman season, Duhon finished 2024 with 43 total tackles, including seven sacks and two PBUs.

At UTEP, his one season there resulted in second team All-Conference USA honors. He was also named to the On3 True Freshman All-America Team as well as the the Conference USA All-Freshman team.

However, Duhon’s stay in Stillwater didn’t go as expected. Oklahoma State finished the season with a 1-11 record, which included the Cowboys firing longtime head coach Mike Gundy after a 1-2 start. Doug Meacham was named interim head coach but ended the year 0-9.

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Eric Morris has since been named as the program’s next head coach. He comes from North Texas, which finished with an 11-2 record and a trip to the American Conference championship game this past season. However, it doesn’t appear that Duhon will be sticking around during the changing of the guard at Oklahoma State this offseason.

Before college, Duhon was the No. 1,706 overall player in the class, and was recruited as the the No. 165 linebacker during the cycle, per the Rivals Industry Rankings, which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He was ranked as the No. 242 overall player out of Texas.

Once the NCAA transfer portal opens on Jan. 2, players can officially enter their names in the NCAA transfer portal and go on to initiate contact with their preferred schools. The portal will be open for 15 days and close on Jan. 16.

Notably, players who are on teams competing in the national championship game are allowed five extra days to make their portal decision. The College Football Playoff championship game will be played on Jan. 19, so the players on those teams will be allowed until Jan. 24 to enter the portal and choose their next school.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

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Oklahoma man doing target practice in back yard charged in fatal shooting of neighbor

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Oklahoma man doing target practice in back yard charged in fatal shooting of neighbor


A man in Oklahoma is facing a manslaughter charge after he allegedly shot a woman several blocks from his home while firing a gun he got himself for Christmas at an energy drink can in his back yard.

As told in court documents reviewed by NBC News, the death of Sandra Phelps at the hands of Cody Wayne Adams illustrates how deadly the consequences can be when those engaging in the US’s prevalent gun culture do so unsafely. Adams’s back yard was not equipped to stop bullets from leaving the property and striking unsuspecting people in the surrounding area, according to authorities.

Phelps was sitting under a covered porch with family on Christmas and holding a child in her arms when they heard gunshots north of the house, said an affidavit laying out the circumstances of Adams’s arrest.

“Sandra commented that someone got a new gun for Christmas and then shortly after Sandra said ‘ouch’ and collapsed,” the affidavit said. It said there were no more gunshots after that.

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Emergency personnel were dispatched to Phelps’s address at about 3.15pm Thursday, the Stephens county sheriff’s office said in a statement.

“We later received a call stating an individual had just received a gun for Christmas and was target practicing in his backyard and that they believed it would be pointing in the direction of the scene,” the sheriff’s office statement added.

“Investigators went to the reported address and spoke with an individual [who] confirmed he was shooting a target in his back yard and that he had heard that someone has died from a gunshot wound a couple of roads over.”

That individual was Adams, 33, who showed deputies a Red Bull can in his back yard that he had been shooting with his handgun, according to the affidavit justifying his arrest.

Authorities allegedly concluded that the vantage point from where Adams was shooting aligned with the angle of the bullet that killed Phelps. They also determined the home lacked a suitable shooting backstop meant to protect those in the surrounding area from being struck by stray bullets.

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“Adams became visibly upset and began to cry” when he learned of Phelps, the affidavit added. He was arrested on a count of first-degree manslaughter and later released on a $100,000 bond.

In the US, unintentional deaths from firearms are a small percentage of gun deaths in the country. But they occur four times more often in the US than in comparable countries – and most involve a handgun.



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Oklahoma man accused of shooting neighbor dead during Christmas target practice

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Oklahoma man accused of shooting neighbor dead during Christmas target practice


What began as Christmas Day target practice in an Oklahoma neighborhood ended in tragedy when a stray bullet fatally struck an elderly woman as she sat on her front porch holding a baby.

Cody Wayne Adams, 33, has been charged with first-degree manslaughter after firing the fatal shot, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by ABC News.

The woman, whose identity was not disclosed, was sitting on the front porch with family members at a home on County Road 1800 on Thursday afternoon when she was shot from several blocks away, the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.

According to the affidavit, the victim was seated on a love seat and holding a baby in her left arm when she was struck in her right upper arm. The bullet then entered her chest cavity.

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Family members told the responding deputy that they had heard someone firing five to seven gunshots and that the victim had “commented that someone got a new gun for Christmas” and shortly afterward “said ‘ouch’ and collapsed,” the affidavit stated.

Cody Wayne Adams, 33, has been charged with first-degree manslaughter after he allegedly shot and killed an elderly woman a few blocks from his home

Cody Wayne Adams, 33, has been charged with first-degree manslaughter after he allegedly shot and killed an elderly woman a few blocks from his home (Stephens County Sheriff’s Office)

As investigators canvassed nearby properties north of the shooting, deputies found that all but one home had “suitable shooting backstops or firing locations,” according to the affidavit. The only exception was Adams’s home.

Adams allegedly told deputies that he had been shooting a Glock 45 he recently bought for himself for Christmas, using a Red Bull can as a target in his backyard, according to the affidavit.

When a deputy told Adams he suspected the shooting may have caused the woman’s death, Adams “became visibly upset and began to cry,” the affidavit stated.

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Adams made his first court appearance Friday. A judge set his bond at $100,000, according to online court records. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for February 26, 2026.



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