KRMG Local News

Angry Skiatook parents start ball rolling on grand jury investigation into school district

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 06:29:24 -0600

SKIATOOK, Ok. - AM 740 and FM 102.3 News/Talk KRMG's Steve Berg reports parents fed up with a Skiatook spending scandal are demanding a grand jury investigation into the schools. A recent state audit found the district paid up to five times more than it needed to for supplies and equipment. If a judge approves of their request, the citizen's group will have a month-and-a-half to collect the required number of signatures.

Jenks, Bixby, Glenpool consider asking Tulsa County Sheriff's Office to take over their police departments

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:38:53 -0600

TULSA, Ok. - Officials in Jenks, Bixby and Glenpool are tossing around the idea of having the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office operate their police departments. Officials say the cities would pay the sheriff's office for their service on a contract basis, the same as they pay an outside company to manage their wastewater treatment plant. The city leaders say the plan would be for all of their police officers to work for the sheriff, which would be a cost-saving measure for each city.

Tulsa police union files lawsuit to make the city abide by arbitrator's decision

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:29:31 -0600

TULSA, Ok. - The Tulsa police union is suing the city over money the union alleges the city owes officers for the use of police cars. In 2008, the city decided to make officers pay to drive their police cars to their off-duty jobs. The city started taking $30 a month from the officers' paychecks and the police union believed that violated their contract. Last November, the arbitrator agreed and said the city should stop charging the officers, plus reimburse them. But that has not happened so the union is asking a judge to make a ruling.

Convenience store clerk robbed, Wagoner County house damaged by fire, possibly burglarized

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:14:33 -0600

TULSA, Ok. - A convenience store clerk was robbed during a trip to take out the trash early Friday. Tulsa police say three men armed with guns took the victim's wallet and a small amount of cash that it contained at the Super Stop store near 4449 North Cincinnati around 1:42 a.m. No one was injured and no one has been arrested. A suspicious fire damaged a house early this morning near 25000 E. 6th Street in Wagoner County. Oak Grove and Catoosa firefighters responded along with Wagoner County sheriff's deputies. The homeowner who was in Tulsa was called by a neighbor and told that his house was on fire. The fire damaged one bedroom in the house and there also was smoke damage throughout the house. The homeowner said a custom truck with a trailer and a car inside the trailer was missing from the property. Investigators said the fire may have been caused by someone trying to cover up a burglary.

Trial delayed for trooper accused of kicking woman

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 04:59:48 -0600

OKMULGEE, Okla. (AP) - The jury trial of an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper who is accused of kicking a handcuffed woman has been delayed.

Okmulgee County District Attorney Tom Giulioli says the trial for Barry Rowland was pushed back on Monday because of an overbooked docket. A status hearing on the case has been set for March 26.

Giulioli says Rowland has until then to consider a plea bargain offer made by prosecutors, or his case will be set for trial. He declined to discuss the offer.

Rowland is charged with misdemeanor assault and battery for allegedly kicking Dana Michelle Walls on Nov. 21, 2008, outside a Henryetta bar. He is on paid administrative leave.

Rowland's attorney, Gary James, didn't immediately return a call seeking comment Thursday.

An Okmulgee Woman is Abducted Near Her Home

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:46:26 -0600

(Okmulgee, OK) - An Okmulgee woman is abducted near her home and forced to drive her attacker to Broken Arrow. Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice says the victim walking to her car to go to work around 6:30 a.m. when the suspect forced her into her car. Prentice says the suspect put a rope around the woman's neck, a gun to her head and told her to drive to Broken Arrow. During the trip he also demanded money and the victim complied. Once in Broken Arrow he jumped out of the car. Prentice says the victim could not give them a description of the suspect and he asks anyone with information about the crime to call them at (918)756-3511

Arrow Trucks Auctioned Off

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:30:23 -0600

(Tulsa, OK) - It was another sad chapter Thursday in the ongoing demise of Tulsa's once-proud Arrow Trucking, as hundreds of tractors and trailers from the fizzled company's fleet were sold at auction.

The auction took place at the racetrack at the Tulsa County Fairgrounds and drew propsective bidders from all parts of the nation as well as the state.

Arrow Trucking is currently in the midst of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation.

Searching for Barriers Faced by Tulsa's Disabled

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:59:40 -0600

(Tulsa, Ok)--The City of Tulsa forms a committee to help with an update of the City's Americans with Disabilities Act Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan. This one-year process includes a citywide inventory of public facilities, programs and services to evaluate where modifications are needed for ADA compliance. The City also will implement changes to remove accessibility barriers identified through the evaluation. The City's steering committee and advisory committee will help guide this project to completion and implementation. Committee members include professionals, concerned citizen groups and disabled consumers who require access throughout the City to maintain their independence. The City of Tulsa completed its original ADA Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan in 1992. Since then, the city has experienced significant changes in population, physical size, streets, sidewalks and curb cuts, as well as added city facilities and programs.

Meth trash discovered behind Arkansas River levee in West Tulsa

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 06:56:27 -0600

TULSA, Ok. - AM 740 and FM 102.3 News/Talk KRMG's Richard Dowdell reports Tulsa County Deputies found a major dump site for meth trash. Tulsa County Sheriff's Sergeant Dave Roberts says it was behind an Arkansas River levee on the west side. "There was the remnants of a meth lab, but it was extremely large compared to the normal meth lab trash that we find," Roberts said. The trash included more than a hundred plastic bottles, hoses and fuel containers. Sergeant Roberts thinks the site's been used for a dump by meth cooks for months.

Million dollar winning powerball ticket sold in Owasso

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 06:32:34 -0600

TULSA, Ok. - AM 740 and FM 102.3 News/Talk KRMG's Nicole Burgin says you heard about the winning Powerball ticket sold at an Owasso QuikTrip earlier this week. Now you can hear about the winning Collinsville couple. David and Marta Thirion came forward to claim their $1-million prize. Marta says she plays the lottery weekly. The Thirion's are self-employed and say they will enjoy the winnings, but will continue to work.

Similar break-ins at Tulsa area sports facilities

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 05:49:20 -0600

TULSA, Ok. - Tulsa Police and Tulsa County Deputies are investigating two break-ins that both happened at about 4 a.m. today. Deputies responded to the Tulsa Thunder Soccer Club where someone broke into the storage trailer at 3625 South Elwood. The front glass door was broken out, but it's yet to be determined whether anything was taken. About the same time, Tulsa Police responded to an alarm at the football storage facility at Bishop Kelley High School near 41st and Hudson. Police don't believe anything was taken in that break-in.

Source of meningitis outbreak

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 05:13:39 -0600

TULSA, Ok. - AM 740 and FM 102.3 News/Talk KRMG's Steve Berg reports it's only natural to wonder where the outbreak started, but Dr. Robert Gray with OMNI Medical Group says it's impossible to find out, because so many people carry the bacteria, but are not affected. He says, "To make an analogy, it's kind of like a campfire. We don't know exactly what the fire spark is but we know exactly how to put the fire out." Dr. Gray says antibiotics and vaccines are the right approach. Sanitizing the school building itself looks reassuring, but he says it's pointless because the bacteria can't survive outside the body. He adds, the bacteria is much less contagious than a cold or flu virus.

Transfer of Ten Commandments monument scheduled

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:58:09 -0600

STIGLER, Okla. (AP) - A Ten Commandments monument has been moved from it location outside the Haskell County Courthouse in Stigler.

Muskogee Marble and Granite transferred the monument Wednesday morning to property in front of the American Legion building about 75 to 85 feet away. Janice Williams of the Stigler Chamber of Commerce says the granite structure was moved without incident and with little fanfare.

The monument was placed at the courthouse in 2004 - but a federal appeals court ruled it is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. The U.S. Supreme Court recently refused to hear an appeal of the appeals court ruling.

Senate panel OKs death penalty for child rapists

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:49:54 -0600

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma Legislature is pushing forward a bill to allow the death penalty for child rapists, despite a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that such a penalty is unconstitutional.

A Senate committee on Wednesday passed a bill already approved in the House that authorizes the death penalty for raping a child age 6 or younger. The offender must have a previous felony conviction that carries a prison sentence of 10 years or more.

Senate author Anthony Sykes says he hopes the law might be upheld since the court makeup has changed since its 2008 ruling that a similar law in Louisiana was unconstitutional.

In that 5-4 decision, the court ruled the death penalty is restricted to murder and crimes against the state, like espionage and treason.

Legal scholars say it's unlikely the Oklahoma law would be upheld.

The Finishing Touches are being put on OneOK Field

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:46:22 -0600

(Tulsa, OK) - OneOK Field is almost finished. One of the final touches being put on the exterior of Tulsa's new downtown ballpark are medallions that celebrate baseball history, the city's oil past and Greenwood where the new stadium sits. Drillers General Manager Mike Melega says the Art Deco medallions help tie the stadium to downtown. Melega says phones have been ringing off the hook and season ticket sales are way up. The stadium is so close to completion that Melega says they could probably play a game there tonight if they had to. The players that will call OneOK Field home are in spring training and haven't even seen it yet but Melega says he knows it will be the nicest ballpark they've ever played in in the minor leagues. They're even starting to stock the gift shop. The first pitch comes April 8^th against the Corpus Christi Hooks.