Oklahoma
Ryan Walters names Libs of TikTok creator to Oklahoma school library panel – Arkansas Advocate
OKLAHOMA CITY — An out-of-state conservative running the far-right-wing social media account Libs of TikTok will sit on an Oklahoma committee reviewing school library content.
State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced on Tuesday he named Chaya Raichik to a Library Media Advisory Committee at the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
Over the past year, Walters and the Oklahoma State Board of Education passed new rules that prohibit pornographic material and sexualized content from school libraries. Violating the rules could result in an accreditation downgrade for a district.
The Library Media Advisory Committee reviews books in question to give recommendations on whether they contain banned content.
The volunteer committee is made up of parents, current or retired librarians, and English literature teachers, according to the state Education Department. And now it will add Raichik, a Brooklyn real estate agent who became a major voice in conservative social media channels.
She celebrated her committee appointment in a Tuesday social media post in all capital letters: “WE WILL GET PORN OUT OF SCHOOLS!”
Her account is known for calling out “pornographic” content in schools and for making anti-LGBTQ+ posts. Two Oklahoma school districts received bomb threats after being highlighted on Libs of TikTok.
“If you’re going to sexualize kids and introduce really inappropriate subjects in school, I’m going to call it out,” Raichik previously told Oklahoma Voice.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Walters has shared Libs of TikTok posts multiple times and met with Raichik in September. He said she has a “much-needed and powerful voice” and referred to her social media presence as a “tremendous platform that will benefit Oklahoma students and their families.”
“Chaya is on the front lines showing the world exactly what the radical left is all about — lowering standards, porn in schools, and pushing woke indoctrination on our kids,” Walters said in a statement. “Because of her work, families across the country know just what is going on in schools around the country. Her unique perspective is invaluable as part of my plan to make Oklahoma schools safer for kids and friendly to parents.”
Union Public Schools faced several days of bomb threats in August after Libs of TikTok shared a video from a district librarian, who satirically posted about pushing a “woke agenda.”
Libs of TikTok left out context from the video — a caption where the librarian stated her “woke agenda” was to teach children to love books and be kind. Walters shared the Libs of TikTok post on his own social media, stating “Woke ideology is real and I am here to stop it.”
The bomb threats against the Tulsa district stoked outrage throughout the state and prompted state lawmakers, both Republican and Democrat, to urge elected officials to tone down political rhetoric around education.
An Education Department spokesperson, Dan Isett, said Raichik isn’t responsible for the threats.
“The people who post bomb threats are the people who post bomb threats,” Isett said.
It was only a few weeks later that Walters and Raichik raised the alarm about another Oklahoma school district — Western Heights Public Schools.
They complained an elementary principal in the southwest Oklahoma City district performed as a drag queen in his spare time. Raichik also drew attention to a possession of child pornography charge the principal had faced two decades earlier.
That charge had been dropped and expunged from the principal’s record.
The episode put Western Heights and the principal at the center of a national firestorm, as Walters called for him to be fired while speaking on Fox News’ prime-time broadcast. The district also received a bomb threat, but Oklahoma City police determined it wasn’t credible.
Both Walters and Raichik have vocally opposed transgender people and their presence in schools.
The state superintendent also targeted books with LGBTQ+ themes. He said graphic novels like “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe and “Flamer” by Mike Curato contain explicit sexual images and shouldn’t be available to students.
His administration called for 190 books centering LGBTQ+ perspectives to be reviewed. The titles came from the American Library Association’s Rainbow Book List.
School library content also appears to be a concern among the state Legislature. Two bills on the topic have been filed for consideration in the coming legislative session.
Senate Bill 1208 from Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain, would prohibit pornographic content in school libraries and would require all school districts to submit a list of their library materials to the state Department of Education.
SB 1888 from Sen. Rob Standridge, R-Norman, would ban books on the study of sex, sexual lifestyles or sexual activity and books that are “predominantly sexual in nature” from public schools.
This story was originally published by the Oklahoma Voice, which is a part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: [email protected]. Follow Oklahoma Voice on Facebook and Twitter.
Kamden Mantooth caps wild week by leading Mustang to 6A baseball title
It was a wild week for Kamden Mantooth, who helped Mustang beat Edmond Santa Fe 5-4 for the 6A baseball title. After being forced to sit in the semifinals due to an ejection in the quarterfinals, he pitched 5 2/3 innings Saturday.
Joe Patterson was hoping it would be different this time.
The Mustang baseball coach is no stranger to state championship games.
But as Mustang headed into its Class 6A title matchup against Edmond Santa Fe in May, a state championship victory remained a goal that hadn’t been fulfilled for Patterson as a player or head coach.
“That was all together — playing and coaching — my (sixth) state championship game, and I was 0-5,” Patterson said.
Patterson can now revise that record to 1-5 as the Broncos beat defending champion Edmond Santa Fe 5-4 at ONEOK Field in Tulsa.
An unforgettable day for Patterson.
An unforgettable season.
After leading Mustang to its third title and a 39-6 record while playing a brutally difficult schedule, Patterson is The Oklahoman’s 2026 All-State Coach of the Year.
“It was one of those years where it felt like I wasn’t working the whole year,” Patterson said. “Just a special group and everybody involved did such an amazing job and the players got along and the senior leadership was just unbelievable.”
A year after going 19-16 and falling at regionals, this season was vastly different for Patterson as Mustang dominated from beginning to end.
The Broncos won 11 of their first 12 games and ended the season the exact same way, claiming victories in 11 of their last 12 matchups.
They thrived in tight games, going 12-3 in matchups decided by two or fewer runs.
“We lost a bunch of close games last year,” Patterson said. “We didn’t have as great a season as we wanted, so we talked about trying to change the team morale and change the culture just a little bit in the fall, and we really focused on that. Just trying to make the place a more positive place for the kids and emphasize them having a little bit more fun but still working.”
Born and raised in Duncan, Patterson’s love of baseball and sports in general go back to those days.
His dad, Bill, was Duncan’s head football coach from 1997-2003 before accepting an assistant position at Owasso and serving as the Rams’ head coach from 2007-2016.
A standout in football and baseball in high school, Joe Patterson was at Duncan as a freshman and sophomore before spending his final two years at Owasso and then playing college baseball from 2007-2010. He went to Oral Roberts for one year, Seminole State for a season and Texas A&M for his final two.
Patterson was named the national junior college player of the year at Seminole State and had a successful stint at Texas A&M, hitting .362 with 21 homers and 100 RBIs with the Aggies.
He’s been at Mustang since the summer of 2019 after coaching at Westmoore.
Former OU shortstop Brandon Zaragoza played for Patterson during his senior year at Westmoore and was a Mustang assistant for the last four seasons before recently being named Westmoore’s new head coach.
Patterson has had a huge impact on Zaragoza, who will take what he’s learned from his former coach into his new gig.
“He just brought pure joy to the game for me, especially with just his ability to, one, obviously coach the game, but two, to allow his players to go out there and perform,” Zaragoza said. “The coolest thing about Pat was his ability to just pick up on player knowledge. Just kind of knowing what he has in terms of personnel and then of course his ability to just game plan, strategize, just get his guys ready to play.”
Patterson always wanted to coach at a one-high school town like Mustang.
He has his wish now, and Zaragoza says it’s a well-oiled machine.
“That’s kind of how I describe it a lot to people,” Zaragoza said. “Just a well-oiled machine in terms of just the coaches that are over there and the attention to detail and the preparation. There’s no loose ends at Mustang. And given how big the school is, you can always get kind of lost in personnel or all that stuff, but just the way that Mustang operates, it’s top tier.”
Mustang didn’t necessarily have big names this season like some teams in the state, but the Broncos had several guys who shined.
Outfielder and Northern Oklahoma College-Enid signee Nate Sutton hit .449 with 15 homers and 70 RBIs.
Fellow senior Kamden Mantooth was second on the team with a .442 batting average. A shortstop, Mantooth started at pitcher in the title game and held Edmond Santa Fe to eight hits and four runs — three earned — over 5 2/3 innings.
“It means everything for us,” Mantooth said after the championship win. “We’ve been working for this since we were in seventh grade. We’ve been working for this, and we finally achieved our goal that we wanted.”
For Patterson, it’ll forever be a special moment as he had his 6-year-old son with him in the dugout and his dad watching from the stands.
Patterson had lost two title games as a player at Owasso and three as a head coach — two at Westmoore and one at Mustang.
The outcome was different this time, and it was well worth the wait.
“It was just a feeling of relief and happiness,” Patterson said.
Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @nicksardis. Sign up for The Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Nick’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
Crews responded to a fireworks stand after it caught fire in Broken Arrow Saturday night.
Authorities urged people to avoid E. Kanosha Street near S. 236th E. Avenue as the road is closed and fireworks could spread in the area due to the fire.
Broken Arrow Fire Department released a statement confirming no injuries were sustained as a result of the explosions or fire.
Fire crews quickly controlled the fire in about 20 minutes according to Broken Arrow Fire Department.
The initial cause of the fire is under investigation.
Viewer Leslie Maxey, who lives close to the fireworks stand, sent in video of the ongoing fire.
“We were putting our daughter to bed with a book when we heard an explosion that was gradually getting louder and louder,” Maxey said.
This is a developing story.
What you need to know about Oklahoma ahead of the College World Series
North Carolina will face a dangerous Oklahoma team that is on a roll.
Oklahoma (41-22) has been just as dominant. The Sooners, making their 13th College World Series appearance and first since 2022, surged through the postseason as road warriors. They won the Atlanta Regional by upsetting No. 2 seed and ACC champion Georgia Tech in the final, then swept Big 12 champion and No. 15 seed Kansas by a combined score of 21-3 in the Lawrence Regional.
The Sooners, who are 3-0 in Omaha after beating No. 7 seed Alabama and knocking off No. 3 seed and SEC champion Georgia twice, are seeking their third national championship. Oklahoma won titles in 1951 and 1994 and finished as runner-up to Ole Miss in 2022.
Here are a few things to know about Oklahoma:
Best player: Catcher Deiten LaChance
LaChance is Oklahoma’s most powerful hitter. He is batting .333 with 12 doubles, two triples and team highs of 16 home runs and 65 RBIs.
Throughout the postseason, he is hitting .326 with four home runs and 15 RBIs. In Omaha, he is 5-for-14 (.357) with one home run and five RBIs.
Strengths
Like North Carolina, Oklahoma is a balanced team that is good at a little bit of everything and is built to frustrate opponents.
Oklahoma is a balanced hitting team like UNC, but the Sooners have hit a few more homers with 91, compared to the Tar Heels’ 82. That is largely due to the Sooners smashing 26 home runs in their 10 postseason games. In Omaha, OU has homered eight times, including five homers in its win over Georgia in its previous game.
The Sooners have stolen 129 bases this season. That is good for 24th nationally and second in the SEC.
Pitching-wise, OU is 18th nationally in strikeouts per nine innings and leads the SEC in shutouts.
Weaknesses
The most glaring weakness is the pitching staff, despite its ability to strike out opposing batters and record shutouts.
The Sooners have a 4.98 ERA as a staff. Only one pitcher with 10 or more appearances has an ERA under 3.60.
They also allow 4.51 walks per nine innings, which ranks 138th nationally.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
-
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/tl-upcycle-i-took-my-first-alaskan-cruise-here-are-7-packing-mistakes-you-should-avoid-and-what-to-bring-instead-tout-a648e8cb19fa4f50879919933ca6b4ed.jpg?w=400&resize=400,240&ssl=1 "I Took My First Alaskan Cruise—Here Are 7 Packing Mistakes You Should Avoid, and What to Bring Instead From")
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/tl-upcycle-i-took-my-first-alaskan-cruise-here-are-7-packing-mistakes-you-should-avoid-and-what-to-bring-instead-tout-a648e8cb19fa4f50879919933ca6b4ed.jpg?w=80&resize=80,80&ssl=1 "I Took My First Alaskan Cruise—Here Are 7 Packing Mistakes You Should Avoid, and What to Bring Instead From")
Alaska3 minutes agoI Took My First Alaskan Cruise—Here Are 7 Packing Mistakes You Should Avoid, and What to Bring Instead From $6
-
Arizona6 minutes agoDana Kennedy: A caregiver advocating for Arizona’s aging population | Arizona Capitol Times
-
Arkansas11 minutes agoWashington isn’t watching Arkansas? Pete Buttigieg says it should be.
-
California18 minutes agoIs California home insurance cheap, considering the risks?
-
Colorado21 minutes ago1 injured in shooting outside Colorado Springs nightclub; suspect sought
-
Connecticut26 minutes agoStrong Storm Emerges For Northern Connecticut: Here’s When, What To Know
-
Delaware33 minutes agoModest Delaware Home Boasts Incredible Connections to American History Over 250 Years
-
Florida36 minutes ago8 Best Small Towns On Florida’s Emerald Coast For A Crowd-Free Summer
