Tag Archives: Oklahoma

Earthquakes Shake Oklahoma; San Francisco

The last 24 hours have shown active seismic activity in the Midwest and on the West Coast.

A significant magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck Oklahoma Monday afternoon near the town of Cherokee, OK.  The shaking of the quake was reported outside the Sooner State in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Texas.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) also reported a second quake striking near Pawnee, OK about half an hour later with a magnitude of 3.2.  Then a few minutes after the Pawnee quake, a second quake struck in the area of the Cherokee quake that measured 3.7 on the Richter scale.

The USGS said all the quakes were around three miles deep.

Local officials said there were no injuries or significant damage from the quakes.

In San Francisco, a magnitude 4.0 quake struck the San Francisco area on Tuesday.

The USGS says the quake struck around 2:30 a.m. near Fremont, or 35 southeast of San Francisco.  The quake struck at a depth of 5 miles.

No injuries or significant property damage was reported in the Fremont quake.

Oklahoma Governor: The Ten Commandments Stay

Oklahoma governor Mary Fallin is standing up to her state’s Supreme Court and refusing to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments the court said violated their state Constitution.

The governor noted that Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court to reconsider the 7-2 decision which supported a challenge by the ACLU of Oklahoma.

The justices said the monument violated Article II, Section 5 of the state constitution:  “No public money or property shall ever be appropriated, applied, donated, or used, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, or system of religion, or for the use, benefit, or support of any priest, preacher, minister, or other religious teacher or dignitary, or sectarian institution as such.”

Legislators are pushing to allow a vote of the citizens to remove that passage from the state constitution.

“Oklahoma is a state where we respect the rule of law, and we will not ignore the state courts or their decisions,” Fallin said. “However, we are also a state with three co-equal branches of government.”

“Legislators and supporters of the monument intended it as a tribute to the importance of the Ten Commandments in our history and our system of laws,” Fallin added in a statement. “Celebrating the historical importance of religions and religious values is not a new idea. Our nation is steeped in references to God and the rights He bestows on all men and women.”

“None of these represent state endorsement of or support for any religion. They are celebrations or visual representations of our culture and events of historical importance,” she added.

Attorney General Pruitt noted that the monument is almost identical to one in Texas that the Supreme Court ruled constitutional.  The monument was erected by private donations, not with state funds.

Oklahoma Supreme Court Rules 10 Commandments Monument Must Be Removed

The Oklahoma Supreme Court wants the Ten Commandments removed from the state capitol grounds.

A monument with the Ten Commandments was placed on the capitol grounds in 2012 and was paid for by private funds.  The court ruled that the Ten Commandments “indirectly” benefits the Jewish and Christian faiths and thus violates the state constitution.

The court rejected the argument of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt that the monument was nearly identical to a monument in Texas that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled as constitutional.  The Oklahoma justices said it violated the state constitution.

“Quite simply, the Oklahoma Supreme Court got it wrong,” Pruitt told reporters after the meeting.  “The court completely ignored the profound historical impact of the Ten Commandments on the foundation of Western law. Furthermore, the court’s incorrect interpretation of Article 2, Section 5 contradicts previous rulings of the court. In response, my office will file a petition with the court for a rehearing in light of the broader implications of this ruling on other areas of state law. Additionally, we are requesting a stay of the enforcement of the court’s order until the court can consider the petition for rehearing. Finally, if Article 2, Section 5 is going to be construed in such a manner by the court, it will be necessary to repeal it.”

The monument has been the target of various groups who demanded they be allowed to place their own monument in the complex including a group of satanists.

Oklahoma Toddler Swept Away In Storm Related Flood

An Oklahoma toddler was swept out of the arms of his father by flood waters near Ardmore.

“The man and his 2-year-old son were trying to leave Ardmore as a flash flood swept through Wednesday night, likely from the swollen Hickory Creek,” said Hamblin. “The father was unable to hold onto the boy and he was swept away.”

The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management said that six inches of rain fell in the Ardmore area in 24 hours and that other parts of the state had more than 10 inches from the remnants of Tropical Depression Bill.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol shut down parts of Interstate 35 due to flood waters completely covering the highway.  States of emergency were declared in all 77 counties in the state.

Residents north of Dallas, Texas near Grapevile Lake are dealing with flooding even after the rain because of runoff causing rising lake levels.  The lake’s excess drains into Denton Creek and the flooding of that river will cause communities to be cut off because of impassable roads.

“We’ll take measures once we are 100% certain that it’s going there,” Chief Darrell Brown of the Grapevine Fire Department told CNN affiliate KDAF. “We believe it will be in the next 24 to 48 hours, so we are doing everything we can to ensure we give them ample notice to have a way out before we evacuate those apartments.”

The Trinity River is still above flood stage and officials are urging residents not to return to the area until the river returns to its banks.

“God’s Not Done With Me Yet!”

An Oklahoma Highway Patrol officer is giving praise to God after surviving a horrific accident in March.

Trooper Gary Sanders was in his cruiser when another driver slammed into his vehicle.  The impact was so strong that it sent Sanders’ cruiser into a vehicle he had just pulled over before the crash.

Trooper Sanders critical injuries included multiple broken bones and major internal injuries.  He experienced many surgeries and painful physical therapy.

“Looking at it, I should have died,” Sanders cried.

Now, with the support of his family and community and faith in God, he is already walking.

Sanders said it’s a miracle that he was alive.

“If you want to use the term miracle, yes. I just say God’s not finished with me yet,” Sanders told NewsChannel 4.

He is re-learning every day tasks like walking but he says he’s making great progress.

“I know I can get back there eventually. It’s just going to take time,” Trooper Sanders said. “I just got the will to survive. I’m not a quitter. Quit is not in my vocabulary.”

Deadly Storms Rage Through Texas and Oklahoma

Officials in Texas and Oklahoma say that at least 11 people are dead and over a dozen missing following a massive storm front that roared through the two states.

Record rainfall fell in many communities and flooding caused mass devastation.

Houston officials say that two people were found Tuesday and that they likely drowned in the massive flooding in the area.  Authorities were telling residents to not leave their homes.   Over 70,000 customers are without power in the Houston area.

The National Weather Service reported 11 inches of rain in six hours throughout southwest Houston.  Over 130 water rescues had to be conducted throughout the city.  The weather was so severe that the Houston Rockets NBA team told the people who came to their playoff game to stay inside the arena in their seats until the passing of the storm.

“We’ve seen flooding before, but not nearly to this extreme,” said Gage Mueller, a Houston resident for the past 40 years and Houston Rockets employee who stayed overnight at the Toyota Center because it wasn’t safe to go home. “It rains and it rains and it rains, and there’s really nowhere for the water to go. … It’s ridiculous.”

Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared disasters in 37 counties.

“You cannot candy coat it. It’s absolutely massive,” Abbott told reporters after he viewed the devastation in the region.

One of the storm’s victims was 18-year-old Alyssa Ramirez, president of the student council at Devine High School who was driving home from her senior prom.  She called 911, she called her father and then the flood waters rose too fast for her to be rescued.

The flooding was so strong that a vacation house next to the Blanco River was pushed off the foundation and rushed downriver into a bridge.  Only parts of the home have been found.  At least one person was killed by the flooding of the Blanco river.

A dam near Highway 71 broke causing the highway to be blocked.

Oklahoma Averaging Two Earthquakes A Day

The U.S. Geological Survey confirmed to CNBC that Oklahoma is seeing a massive increase in magnitude 3.0 or greater earthquakes over the last 7 years to the level that the state sees 2 quakes a day.

“We have a good record going all the way back to the 1970s of magnitude 3 or larger earthquakes. They increased throughout the central U.S. in 2009, but primarily in just a few states like southern Colorado, Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma,” says Bill Leith, senior science adviser for Earthquake and Geologic Hazards at USGS, told CNBC. “Oklahoma is the most striking case, where the number of earthquakes is now at record levels.”

The USGS said that from 2008 through April 8th, 2015, a total of 1,063 earthquakes of 3.0 magnitude or greater were officially recorded in Oklahoma.  This year there has been a total of 210 compared to just 91 over the same time in 2014.

Critics of the drilling process called fracking blame the quakes on the fracking process but quakes have been on the rise in Kansas, Texas, Arkansas, Colorado and Ohio according to the USGS which seems to counter the claims the Oklahoma quakes are related solely to fracking.

The quakes are causing another concern for the oil and gas industry above the people critical of the fracking process; storage of oil above ground.  Cushing, Oklahoma is the major hub of oil pipelines in America and over $3 billion in crude oil is stored above ground in that area.  A major quake that ruptures a tank could cause millions in damage to supplies and surrounding lands.

Teachers Barred Form Giving Free Bibles After AHA Threaten Suit

An Oklahoma public school has stopped giving free Bibles to students who request them after an anti-religion group threatened a lawsuit.

The virulent anti-religion group American Humanist Association (AHA) sent a complaint to Duncan Public Schools over the distribution of the Bibles.  The legal counsel for the schools replied to the humanist group that the Bible distribution would be stopped because of their complaint.

“All teachers and administrators in the district are being advised that they are not permitted to distribute Bibles or other religious materials to students in class or during class time,” wrote Scott W. Stone.

“Teachers and administrators in the district are being advised that they should not attempt to persuade students to take Bibles or other religious materials during class time.”

This is the second time the school has been threatened by the AHA.  A third-grade teacher drew the ire of the group when she offered Gideon bibles to her students if they wanted to take one.

Oklahoma Legislature Passes Dismemberment Abortion Bill

A day after Kansas’s governor signed a bill banning dismemberment abortions in the state, the Oklahoma senate passed a bill prohibiting the same procedure in their state.

The Senate passed the bill 37-4 and sent the bill to Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin.  Fallin, a Republican, has not said if she will sign the bill but she has signed previous anti-abortion measures.

The bill bans doctors from using forceps, clamps, scissors or similar devices to stop a baby’s heart and remove the fetus in pieces.  Statistics show that only 5 percent of abortions in Oklahoma in 2013 were performed with this procedure.

Senator Josh Brecheen described the procedure as “gruesome” and promoted the bill by graphically describing to his colleagues exactly how the baby is removed during the procedure.

Abortion promoters like Planned Parenthood attacked the bill, saying that inflammatory language was used to persuade legislators.  Pro-abortion advocates say the procedure is often safest for women who want to have an abortion.

Missouri and South Carolina are both considering similar bills.

Arkansas Lawmakers Vote For Ten Commandments Monument At Capitol

Arkansas lawmakers have passed a proposal to place a monument to the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the state capitol and Governor Asa Hutchinson is expected to sign the bill.

As we previously reported, State Senator Jason Rapert proposed the moument, which will be funded by private citizens.  The senator referenced other monuments in Texas and Oklahoma, which courts have found as Constitutional.

“The Secretary of State shall permit and arrange for the placement on the State Capitol grounds of a suitable monument commemorating the Ten Commandments,” SB 939 reads in part. “The Secretary of State shall arrange for the monument to be designed, constructed, and placed on the State Capitol grounds by private entities at no expense to the State of Arkansas.”

“The placement of the monument under this section shall not be construed to mean that the State of Arkansas favors any particular religion or denomination over others,” it continues.

The bill passed the Arkansas House 72-7 on Wednesday.

“The 10 Commandments monument is a visible reminder intended to keep us focused outside of ourselves, just as the founders looked outside of themselves for guidance,” Rep. Kim Hammer said, according to the Arkansas News.