The goal of a bill that Gov. Kevin Stitt recently signed into Oklahoma law is to help find kidnapping victims faster.In June 2007, 18-year-old Kelsey Smith, who had just graduated from high school, was shopping at a Target in Overland Park, Kansas. Her body would later be found in the woods after a man abducted her from the store.May 3, 2021, would have been Smith s 32nd birthday. On that day, Stitt signed the Kelsey Smith Act into law, becoming the 28th state to do so. What was meant for evil can be turned into good, said state Sen. Darrell Weaver, R-Moore.Weaver, who was one of the authors of the bill and spent three decades in law enforcement, said in Smith s case, it took police days to get the necessary warrant to ping her cell phone to try to find out where she was. Those days were precious. If you linger on for hours and days, it s oftentimes not a pleasant result, Weaver said.The Kelsey Smith Act will require cell phone companies to provide phone location information t
The state’s largest utility is going green this Earth Day. OG&E pledges to replace light-duty vehicles, known as LDVs, entirely with electric vehicles.LDVs include sedans and the half-ton pickups you see everywhere. OG&E intends to focus on electric vehicles and charging stations. The utility is also pledging to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60% by 2030. “Transportation in America is the largest source of CO2 emissions. We want to do our part, not only on Earth Day but every day,” said OG&E’s Gayle Maxwell. As for the increased number of charging stations, she said: The more we give access, the more we see the emissions reduced more and more.”
Okla. Dept. of Mental Health official says connecting mental health to mass shooting is problematic Share Updated: 1:40 PM CDT Apr 3, 2021 Share Updated: 1:40 PM CDT Apr 3, 2021
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Show Transcript HEALTH TO EXPLORE THIS. ATLANTA GEORGIA EIGHT PEOPLE WERE KILLED AFTER A MAN TARGETED ASIAN-AMERICAN OWNED SPAS BOULDER, COLORADO 10 PEOPLE WERE KILLED AFTER A MAN BEGAN SHOOTING AT A GROCERY STORE IN BOTH CASES. THE SUSPECTS WERE SAID TO HAVE SUFFERED FROM MENTAL ILLNESS, BUT JEFF DISMUKES WITH THE OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE SERVICES SAYS THIS IS OFTEN A DEFAULT AND A PROBLEMATIC ONE. YOU DON’T REALLY SEE THAT LINK BETWEEN MENTAL ILLNESS AND AND SEEING WITH MASS SHOOTINGS. HE SAYS IN MOST CASES THERE ARE MULTIPLE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO LEADING SOMEONE TO COMMIT A MASS SHOOTING AND PEOPLE DON’T OFTEN SNAP LIKE THIS. SO WHY DOES MENTAL ILLNESS BECOME A CATCH-ALL WE WANT ANSWERS WE WANT TO MAKE SENSE OUT OF TH
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This weekend you’ll have the opportunity to hear directly from a civil rights icon during Black History Month.It’s an opportunity that’s available to everyone, thanks to Oklahoma Christian University. Gary Jones, Oklahoma Christian’s assistant dean of students, takes us back to Selma, Alabama, 1965. Bloody Sunday. You find a photo where there is a young lady, kids on this bridge, and through some digging, I find Joanne Bland,” he said. Bland was just 11 years old at the time, beginning a lifelong journey of civil rights activism. Jones tracked her down for Oklahoma Christian’s “History Speaks” series. I wanted to find a story I felt like hadn t been told in a broad sense,” he said. A story about a life spent fighting for justice, for the right to vote, for equality. Jones said you can expect to hear some things that may surprise or even shock you. A lot of people are starting to pay attention for things the Black community has been saying for a long time,”