OKLAHOMA CITY – Over the past several months, Sen. Frank Simpson and Representatives Pat Ownbey and Tommy Hardin have been working with the Governor’s staff, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs (ODVA), and the War Veterans Commission to develop a plan to accommodate veterans at the state’s seven centers who choose to smoke.  The issue arose after Gov. Fallin banned smoking on all state property, including the state’s veterans centers, on February 6, 2012 with executive order 2012-01.

On April 13, 2012, the governor requested guidelines from the War Veterans Commission, the oversight commission for the ODVA, for implementation of her executive order.  No agreement was reached.
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This Friday, October 18, 2013, is the last day to apply for voter registration for voters in Tulsa County to be eligible to vote in the November 12, 2013, City of Tulsa General Election and the City of Tulsa and City of Sand Springs Special Elections, Patty Bryant, Secretary of the Tulsa County Election Board said.

Bryant said that persons who are United States citizens, residents of Oklahoma and at least 18 years old may apply to become registered voters.
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According to a new study from NerdWallet, Jenks and Collinsville are the Tulsa area towns best for raising a family in Oklahoma, but neither made the top five.

Key questions included: 1) Does the town have good public schools 2) Can young families afford to live there, and 3) Is the town growing and prosperous.

School performances were measured with ratings from GreatSchools.  Town affordability was measured from both median home values and ongoing monthly home costs, including mortgage payments, real estate taxes, insurance costs, utilities, fuel and other bills.  Growth and prosperity was assessed from income and growth trends over the last decade.

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Mayor Dewey Bartlett

Mayor Dewey Bartlett challenged mayoral candidate Kathy Taylor this morning to provide sources and facts about the untruthful claims in her latest barrage of negative advertising.

“There is a glaring lack of evidence to support the claims she makes in her latest round of negative ads,” said Bartlett. “Her claims are either flat-out untrue, or huge stretches of the truth. Kathy Taylor needs to hold herself accountable and provide sources in her negative ads if she wants Tulsans to believe anything she is saying.”
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