Countyline

May 12 – 18, 2022 Thursday, May 12 SHAWNEE LIONS CLUB – 11:30 am, Santa Fe Cattle Co. Shawnee High School graduate, entrepreneur, published author, international keynote speaker, and award winning artist Richard Hight will be the speaker for this week.

Storm Season In Oklahoma

As we experienced last week across the Fifth Congressional District, storm season has officially arrived. I have been thinking of and praying for the people of Seminole and Pottawatomie Counties and throughout Oklahoma as they work to recover and rebuild from the destructive tornadoes.

Guilty When Working, Guilty When Not

It is Tuesday night…well, technically, it is early Wednesday morning, and here I am working on the final tweaks for this week’s paper, I keep telling myself I will eventually catch up, but that seems to be a pipe dream.

SENATE REPORT

Spring has arrived in Oklahoma and already shown its fury, causing damage throughout Pottawatomie and surrounding counties. Our prayers are with our neighbors in and around Seminole and Earlsboro where businesses, homes and other properties were destroyed, and power was lost.

Tecumseh Golden Age Center

May 8th was mother’s day. It was a day to honor our mothers. In my case, it was a day to remember my mother, Thearl (Myers) Stanley, who passed away at 90 years of age in May of 2010. She kept her hair fixed; her nails painted; her face made up; her Sunday best on; and rings on every finger.

Senate Notes

According to the Oklahoma Hospital Association, between 2011 and 2021, Oklahoma saw some 20 hospitals close their doors. Most of those were in rural parts of the state. When a small town loses their local hospital, it is devastating for the entire community.

Senate Review

I was saddened to hear the news that we’ve once again lost an important figure to our community, the Seminole Nation, and our state. Former Senator Kelly Haney was a beloved public servant, always putting the needs of others and the state first.

Protecting Free Speech

Free speech is the bedrock of our nation and essential to a functioning democracy. Under the First Amendment, free speech is guaranteed as an inalienable right of each and every American.

There’s A Mouse In My House, Don’t Panic

Don’t freak out; we have a mouse in the house. My first inclination is to scream Eek! while standing on a table holding up my skirt hem in a sexy pose, but I won’t. We live in the country. They sneak in. That’s the facts. It’s not as if I leave crumbs for them in hopes they’ll come a ‘calling.

CAPITOL NOTES

April 28 was the third-reading deadline for bills to advance from the opposite chamber. In total, the Senate ended up passing 242 House measures, while the House advanced 214 Senate measures.