Oklahoma
‘This will rehydrate us’: new sheriff operations bills to support Oklahoma departments
LAWTON, Okla. (KSWO) – New legislation passed in May will give sheriff departments across the state a chance to apply for grant money which may be extremely beneficial for smaller departments.
Oklahoma lawmakers created House Bill 2914, otherwise known as the ‘Oklahoma Sheriff’s Office Funding Assistance Program’, which will offer state sheriff offices a grant to use for operational costs.
”I think this is a thumbs up,” said Jefferson County Sheriff Jeremie Wilson. “It’s a support. It’s kind of like when you’re dehydrated and you get an IV and they rehydrate you. This is gonna rehydrate us.”
Though the grant money can not go directly towards salary increases, the bill will offer departments the chance to rearrange funds with some of that money freeing up for salaries.
”Essentially will help some of the poorest counties in Oklahoma be able to properly compensate and pay sheriff deputies in those counties,” said one of the bill’s co-authors District 62 representative, Trey Caldwell. “We’ve seen time and time again in.. surrounding Lawton Counties where they couldn’t even pay a living wage to sheriff deputies.”
Representative Caldwell said in counties like Tillman, Sheriff Deputies make roughly $20,000 a year. Low pay is something Sheriff Wilson said his department also goes through.
”Right now we’re the fifth poorest county in Oklahoma. So, with that, the commissioners and I, we work close together. We try to obtain the best law enforcement presence that we can but funding drives everything.”
With a tight budget, Sheriff Wilson said he’s experienced problems with retention on an already small force. He hopes this bill will fix that, giving citizens a better peace of mind.
”At any one time there may be only one deputy on duty and covering that vast territory,” Rep. Caldwell said. “Just trying to make sure that we can kind of help them meet those needs, because those constituents deserve to have a safe and prosperous environment as well.”
Sheriff Wilson added the state’s support doesn’t go unnoticed.
“This is a way that the state is gonna help us. I took it as a ‘thank you’ and ‘keep up the good work’,” he said.
The bill will issue funds in a hierarchy system. There are three tiers, arranged to give poorer counties more money:
“$150,000 for a county in the lower 26 counties ranked by gross assessed total tangible property value,”
“250,000 for a county ranked higher than 26 but lower than 53…”
“300,000 for a county ranked equal to or greater than 53..”
In a statement sent to 7News, State Appropriations and Budget Chair, Kevin Wallace said in part quote:
“County sheriffs provide numerous services throughout the state, including ensuring our citizens’ safety. Helping counties with the means to recruit and retain sheriffs will provide better protection for all Oklahomans.”
You can read the rest of that statement at the bottom of this article.
The bill will become active on July 1.
FULL STATEMENT:
“County sheriffs provide numerous services throughout the state, including ensuring our citizens’ safety. Helping counties with the means to recruit and retain sheriffs will provide better protection for all Oklahomans. The current base salary for a county sheriff is $19,000, which is abysmally low in today’s economy. Raising the base to $44,000 better compensates these officials for the many services they provide and will also allow an increase in deputy pay. While I and many others would prefer the base to be higher, this is the amount we were able to negotiate with our Senate budget partners. This funding for sheriff’s pay could also help offset the costs of other areas of local government within counties.”
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NORMAN — The Sooners were behind the eight ball for much of Tuesday’s game against Oral Roberts.
But one swing of the bat got them in a more favorable position.
Shortstop Jaxon Willits blasted a grand slam in the sixth inning to give No. 14 Oklahoma its first lead before eventually winning 7-6.
The Sooners trailed by as many as five runs before they rallied late.
In the first inning, Oral Roberts’ Cooper Combs hit a two-out grand slam to give the Golden Eagles a comfortable cushion. OU infielder Deiten Lachance got the Sooners on the board in the second inning with a solo home run, but ORU responded with a solo shot of its own in the next frame.
The Golden Eagles made it a 6-1 run game in the top of the fourth, and they appeared to be on cruise control. But in the bottom of that frame, OU’s rally began.
Dasan Harris made it a four-run game again with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth before Camden Johnson hit a sacrifice fly of his own in the fifth.
Then, in the sixth, the Sooners took their first lead of the game.
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Harris singled before Kyle Branch and Connor Larkin walked to load the bases. Willits then swung at the first pitch he saw, sending it well over the right-center field fence.
Neither team scored after Willits’ home run, as OU relief pitcher Xander Mercurius retired nine ORU batters in a row to seal the Sooners’ one-run win.
Michael Catalano started on the mound for Oklahoma, but his outing was short-lived — he gave up four earned runs on two hits and five walks in 1 ⅓ innings.
After coach Skip Johnson relieved Catalano in the second inning, six different OU arms entered the game. Reid Hensley collected the win, while Mercurius got the save.
OU improved to 28-12 overall with the win, while Oral Roberts dropped to 23-15. The Sooners are 7-3 in midweek games this season, and they clinched the season sweep of the Golden Eagles on Tuesday.
Next, the Sooners will hit the road for a three-game series against Auburn. The Tigers, ranked No. 11 by D1Baseball, are 10-8 in SEC play and took two of three games against Florida over the weekend.
The series will open on Friday, and first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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NORMAN — After an up-and down week that saw Oklahoma drop the lone Bedlam match of the season, and then split two tight games with Arkansas before blowing out the Razorbacks on Sunday, the Sooners remained No. 1 in the NFCA/Go Rout coaches’ poll released Tuesday.
But there’s far from a consensus.
Oklahoma received 12 first-place votes — the same total they had last week — but five other teams received first-place votes.
Texas Tech remained No. 2 with four four-place votes and Alabama No. 3 with seven. Nebraska moved up two spots to No. 4 with four first-place votes, followed by Florida with two and UCLA with two.
Texas is No. 7, followed by Tennessee, Arkansas and Florida State.
Texas A&M, the Sooners’ opponent for the final regular-season weekend in two weeks, comes in at No. 11.
Other SEC teams include Georgia at No. 15, Mississippi State at No. 17 and LSU at No. 20.
OU hosts the Georgia Bulldogs in a three-game series beginning Friday.
Other Sooners’ opponents this season in the polls include No. 14 Duke, No. 18 Oklahoma State, No. 19 Arizona, No. 24 Arizona State and No. 25 Washington.
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Oklahoma also remained in the top spot in the D1Softball poll, with Alabama No. 2 there followed by Texas Tech, Nebraska at Texas.
The Sooners dropped a spot in the Softball America poll, with Nebraska elevating to No. 1 behind the two-way stardom of former OU standout Jordy Frahm (formerly Jordy Bahl).
Frahm is 13-4 with a 1.36 ERA and 157 strikeouts in 118 2/3 innings in the circle and hitting .440 with 16 home runs and 42 RBIs. Another former Sooners player, Hannah Coor, is among the Cornhuskers’ regulars as well.
The Sooners have 158 home runs, just three away from tying their own season record in the category, but UCLA has closed the gap in a major way, sitting just four behind Oklahoma.
OU freshman sensation Kendall Wells leads the nation with 34 home runs, three ahead of UCLA’s Megan Grant. Wells tied Jocelyn Alo‘s program record for home runs in a season with her home run in Sunday’s win.
The Sooners host Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 6 p.m. Tuesday in their final non-conference game of the season before opening the series against Georgia at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Love’s FIeld.
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Putnam City West High School will shift to virtual learning on Tuesday after an incident involving two students prompted an investigation by the district and Oklahoma City police, according to Putnam City Schools.
District officials said administrators were alerted near the end of the school day Monday to an altercation involving two students in the school’s arena area.
Officials said the students left campus, and the case was turned over to Putnam City Campus Police and the Oklahoma City Police Department for investigation.
District officials said no students or staff were harmed and there is no ongoing safety threat related to the incident.
What we know
Putnam City West sent the following email to all families and staff at the school:
All PCW students and staff will transition to virtual learning for Tuesday, April 21st.
Today, an isolated serious incident involving two students occurred on school grounds. Near the end of the school day, administrators were alerted to an altercation between two students in the arena area. The individuals involved quickly left campus, prompting an initial fact-finding response by school administrators before the matter was turned over to Putnam City Campus Police and the Oklahoma City Police Department for further investigation. Because this is an active investigation involving students, no further information will be released at this time.
We understand this information may be concerning to students, staff, and families. Please know we are committed to maintaining a safe, secure, and positive learning environment for all students. At Putnam City Schools, student and staff safety remains our highest priority. Therefore, out of an abundance of caution and to allow for a thorough investigation, all PCW students and staff will transition to virtual learning for Tuesday, April 21st. Students will need to check Google Classroom for updates from teachers.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support of PC West.
Putnam City Schools
All students and staff at Putnam City West will transition to virtual learning on Tuesday, April 21, while investigators continue their work, according to the district.
Students were told to check Google Classroom for instructions from teachers.
The district said it is withholding additional details because the case involves students and remains under investigation.
School officials have not said what triggered the incident or whether any arrests have been made.
This is a developing story. Updates will be added as more information becomes available.
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