March 3, 2021 Issue, Page 3 of 10

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March 3, 2021 Voter Registration Deadline is March 12 MISDEMEANORS State of Okla vs Nikki L O'Dell Child not in school FELONIES Friday, March 12, is the last least 18 years old may apply to The County Election Board received a response within 30 State of Okla vs Michael G Mitchell Assault & battery. day to apply for voter registra become registered voters. responds in writing to every days should contact the County Kidnapping. tion in order to be eligible to Those who aren’t registered person who submits an applica- vote in the April 6 Erick and or need to change their regis- tion for voter registration. The Election Board office. Disrupting a 911 call Oklahoma Voter Registration Hammon School District Board tration may apply by filling out response is either a voter identi- State of Okla vs Linda F Ellington Shooting with the intent of Education General Election and mailing an Oklahoma Voter fication card listing the new vot- Application forms are available to kill and also Cities of Elk City, Erick Registration Application form er’s precinct number and polling at the County Election Board and Sayre Councilmember Gen- in time for it to be postmarked place location or a letter that office located at 306 E. Main St, State of Okla vs Charlie H Waggoner Burglary. Conspiracy. eral Election, Beckham County no later than midnight Friday, explains the reason or reasons Sayre, and at most post offices, Uttering a Election Board Secretary Sher- March 12. the application for voter regis- tag agencies and public libraries ron Manning said today. Manning said applications tration was not approved. Man- forged instrument. Possession of a forged instrument Manning said that persons postmarked after that time will ning said any person who has in the county. Applications also who are United States citizens, be accepted and processed, but submitted a voter registration are available at wwweelections. residents of Oklahoma, and at not until after April 6. application and who has not okgov. MARRIAGES € DIVORCES Supreme Court hints it may take MARRIAGE LICENSES Curtis Greenway, Elk City - Lauren Lovelace, Elk City case of state employees fired for DIVORCES Rebecca Lujan vs Richard Lujan military deployment Chanel Keslar vs Michael Williams Tara Copp, McClatchy pits during war operations provide Torres an alternate ad- Many states do not have Washington Bureau Tablets and in the Middle East and have ministrative position but that a set policy, but an increasing reported respiratory illnesses, Torres was ultimately placed number of state governments WASHINGTON — The U.S. cancers and other chronic on leave because of missed are watching lawsuits in Texas, Supreme Court has asked the illnesses. About 800,000 state work days. Florida and Virginia that claim USS. solicitor general to weigh employees across the United Video Calls Are “lam genuinely thankful to they have sovereign immunity, in on the case of a Texas state States are current or former God for the [Supreme Court's] said Brian Lawler, an attorney trooper who was fired from his members of the reserves or decision in moving onward with the Pilot Law Corp., one job after he came home from National Guard. with the case,” LeRoy Torres of the firms petitioning the Coming To a military deployment in Iraq ‘The court's action means emailed McClatchy in a state- US. Supreme Court on behalf too ill to patrol, in a lawsuit that it may be a few months ment. of Torres. that could determine whether before it is known whether the Torres had sued the state Ina Florida lawsuit, U.S. federal protections for service Supreme Court will hear the under the 1994 Uniformed Navy reservist James Hight- members apply to state em- case, Tutt said, The solicitor Services Employment and ower alleged he faced a hostile ployees. ‘The orders to the solici- tor general, which posted on general will now work with attorneys for Torres and the Texas attorney general's office Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) which prohibits federal and private sector work environment and was denied a promotion because of multiple deployments. Oklahoma the Supreme Court's website to gather information on the employers from retaliating A Florida court initially on Monday morning, “means they [justices] believe the case has national importance case, and then provide its review to the Supreme Court, which often relies on that against or firing National Guard members and reservists who take leave from their jobs ruled sovereign immunity shielded Florida from the USERRA lawsuit that High- Prisons. But at that affects the interest of the counsel to decide whether the due to military duty. tower filed. Hightower’s at- United States,” said Andrew Tutt, an attorney with Arnold & Porter, which was one of the case should be heard, Tutt said. When Torres returned His claim was quickly denied by a lower court, which said the state’s Department of torneys are asking the Florida court to consider if the lawsuit raises the larger legal question What Cost? firms petitioning the U.S. Su- home from Iraq, his respira- Public Safety cannot be sued of states rights versus federal preme Court to hear the case. tory condition had prevented by Torres or any other state powers on whether Florida can By Keaton Ross | Oklahoma Watch ‘The case of LeRoy Tor- him from serving on the employee under Texas’ claim apply sovereign immunity to res v. The Texas Department road as a state trooper, the of sovereign immunity. USERRA. of Public Safety involves a Texas attorney general's office Sovereign immunity “Lam hopeful this job ac- Prison communications companies Securus and GTL have 14-year Texas state trooper had said in its filing to the invokes a provision under the commodation case will assist been accused of charging inmates and their families unreason- who deployed to Balad, Iraq, Supreme Court. Torres now Constitution that empowers hundreds of other Citizen- able fees for video calls, text messages and e-books. in 2007 as an Army reservist. requires supplemental oxygen states to only face state or Warriors who have also faced Torres says he spent a year and said he requested, but was federal lawsuits in their courts job loss due to returning from Like many Oklahomans with an incarcerated family mem- there inhaling toxic air from not provided, an alternative if they consent to it. war with a deployment-related ber, Sharla Halencak hasn't seen her son Clinton in more than the base's massive open-air desk job, and was forced to A handful of states, such as injury or illness,” Torres said. a year. trash burning pits. resign in 2012. South Carolina and Tennessee, ©2021 McClatchy Wash- He was among more than ‘The Texas attorney gen- extend USERRA protections ington Bureau. Visit at mc- Halencak used to visit Clinton, who is serving a 12-year 200,000 other service mem- eral’s office had argued in its to service members in state clatchydc.com. Distributed by sentence for eluding a police officer, nearly every weekend. bers who served near burn court filings that the state did government jobs. Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Visits became more difficult when he was transferred from the Northeast Oklahoma Correctional Center in Vinita, an hour's NASA award to bring Earth and space drive from Halencak’s Tulsa home, to the Howard McLeod Cor- rectional Center in Atoka. She last saw him in late 2019. Due to COVID-19 concerns, the state Department of Correc- tions has canceled or heavily restricted family visitation since science to Native American communities mid-March. Halencak has since relied on prepaid phone calls. STILLWATER, Native American culture, it's impor- of mathematics education; engineering fields has a lot to and handwritten notes to stay in touch. American communities, sto- tant to include elders, the report this is the first time do with culture and commu- “T haven't been able to visualize my son,” she said. “So much rytelling and Earth and space community as a whole, culture Oklahoma has been home to nity,” Gardner-Vandy said. “By of what goes in there is unreported, and seeing them we actually curriculum are set to combine and language into education one of NASA's Science Activa- adding that Native American in one ambitious project made efforts.” tion programs. Neumann culture and language into our can visualize that they're being kept safe and if something else possible through a $3.3 mil- ‘The program, titled brings expertise in educa- curriculum, we're including is going on that we should know about.” lion National Aeronautics and “STEM Pathways for Native tional technology, especially in Native American communities As Oklahoma inmates wait to get the COVID-19 vaccine, Space Administration (NASA) Americans: Bridging Na- managing Google classrooms, in the conversation.” in-person visitation remains canceled indefinitely. But prisoners cooperative agreement with tive Knowledge of Earth and while Ivey specializes in creat- Rather than space be- Oklahoma State University Sky with Traditional STEM ing curriculum and mentoring ing the final frontier Native will soon gain access to technology that the public has used to College of Education and Hu- Programming through the teachers in teaching STEM. American students explore, stay connected during the pandemic. man Sciences. ‘Native Earth-Sky’ Program,” Meanwhile, Utley has led Gardner-Vandy hopes to use Securus Technologies, the communications provider for the Funding from NASA's will incorporate Native many teacher professional her passion for planetary sci- Science Activation program American stories related to development programs at ence asa catalyst to capture corrections department, has started installing WiFi and video will unite three of Oklahoma’s Earth and space science into OSU, and Gardner-Vandy is an students’ curiosity and expand visitation portals in prisons across the state. Securus spokesper- Native American communi- middle school STEM curricu- earth and planetary scientist. possibilities and frontiers in son Jade Trombotta said in an email that inmates will receive ties with OSU professors to lum, which will first be tested ‘The program will also col- science and engineering fields develop curriculum on Earth in a summer camp format laborate with OSU's Center for while also building on OSU's free tablets this spring and gain access to video calls by the fall. and space science, technology, Sovereign Nations as well as. A 20-minute video call will cost $5.95, about $2 more than a and then become available researchers at the University land-grant mission. engineering and math (STEM) online as an open educational of Alaska Fairbanks and the “When you start talk- 20-minute phone call. lessons, said Dr. Kat Gardner- resource. Smithsonian Institution. ing about what’s happening, ‘The tablets run a modified version of Android and can Vandy, principal investigator “In a traditional cur- OSU has had a strong say, on Mars or The Moon, of the program and assistant riculum, there is often a very history of working with NASA only access content approved by JPay, a subsidiary of Securus. everyone gets excited to learn professor of aviation and Westernized way of looking at through NSPACE (NASA Prison officials may monitor messages sent and received via the space in the School of Edu- science,” Gardner-Vandy said. STEM Pathway Activities — more,” Gardner-Vandy said. Consortium for Education), “As a land-grant institution, tablets. Video calling will only be available at portals installed in cational Foundations, Lead- “It might include the scientific ership and Aviation. While method and an experiment, a program distinct from the we are here to serve Oklaho- cell pods. many such curricula exist, but it won't incorporate Science Activation program. ma’s communities, and what Prisoner advocates say video calls and tablets can be effec- ‘Through 16 innovative NS- Gardner-Vandy believes this is storytelling and language. PACE activities for students better way to do that than by tive communication tools, but argue that high fees charged by one of the first formal Earth- Our Native Earth | Native Sky ranging from kindergarten collaborating with Oklahoma's Securus and competitor GTL financially exploit inmate family sky curriculum to highlight curriculum will incorporate all to graduate school, Dr. Susan Native American nations in Oklahoma’s diversity of Native these things. It will look more Stansberry, OSU professor of celebration of the Earth and members who disproportionately face economic hardships. American culture that will re- like STEM, language arts and educational technology, esti- space.” One-third of inmate families take on debt while supporting an sult in curriculum that meets social studies together.” mates NSPACE activities reach more than 337,000 students Additional resources incarcerated family member, according to a 2015 report by the Oklahoma state standards. Gardner-Vandy, along with “Our goal is to work and 82,000 educators across - NASA's Science Activa- Fines and Fees Justice Center co-investigators Dr. Kalianne the US. with individual nations and Neumann, assistant professor tion resources ‘The technology, though expensive to use, often isn’t reliable. collaborate with them,” said of educational technology; Dr. Now, Gardner-Vandy plans - Native Earth | Native to expand on that legacy. A 2017 National Institute of Corrections report on video visita- Gardner-Vandy, who is herself Toni Ivey, associate profes- “One of the main reasons Sky NASA resources - Native Earth | Native tion technology warned that many systems are poorly installed a member of the Choctaw Na- sor of science education; and Native Americans are so un- tion of Oklahoma. “In Native Dr. Juliana Utley, professor derrepresented in science and Sky OSU resources and plagued with bad video and audio quality.