Quotes of the Day

“Parents want to be supportive of teachers and what you’re asking is ‘Would you come over and watch our teachers and make sure they’re not cheating?’ They’re not supposed to read a book or do anything but watch a teacher give a test.”

– Eric Doss, director at Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences, explaining the difficulty in recruiting parent volunteers to serve as state-required test monitors. New, specific state guidelines mandating test group sizes for special needs students and English Language Learners has schools scrambling to recruit volunteers for the three and a half-week testing season. (Source)

“The results of this study show us that the face of hunger may be closer than we think. Many of our neighbors seeking food assistance have jobs, raise families and want to stand on their own two feet, just like the rest of us. Too often, they are forced to make difficult decisions in order to keep food on the table.”

– Rodney Bivens, executive director of the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, speaking about a new study by the food bank showing that 1 in 6 Oklahomans turn to food pantries and meal service programs to feed themselves and their families (Source)

“We do not believe it is reasonable for a 73-year-old insurance executive to be involved in a dangerous undercover sting operation. We do not believe it is reasonable for Bob Bates to be carrying a gun that was not issued by the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office. We do not believe it is reasonable — or responsible — for Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office to accept gifts from a wealthy citizen who wants to be a ‘pay to play’ cop.”

-Statement from the family of Eric Harris, who was killed when a Tulsa Sheriff’s Office donor serving as a ‘reserve deputy’ shot him in the back after pulling a gun instead of a Taser (Source)

“Many communities compete with each other and it comes from the Friday night high school sports. The three main cities here (Weatherford, Clinton and Elk City) all compete in the same high school class in football, basketball and baseball, so that was a barrier. Their competitive nature came through.”

-Larry Wright, who consults with rural economic development organizations in western Oklahoma, speaking about obstacles to encourage regional cooperation on growing the economy (Source)

“This is steady, dependable income. I don’t have to worry about feeding them, I don’t have to worry about breaking ice for them in the wintertime, I don’t have to worry about these windmills getting out on the road. It’s just a no worry deal. It’s been a very pleasant experience.”

– Bob Kerr, a rancher who leases land for five wind turbines in Caddo County, describing why he prefers wind farming to the traditional variety (Source)

“And actually there was one company that was looking at one of our cities in Oklahoma and they had all these different cities they were comparing, different states, and they actually said, ‘I chose not to come to Oklahoma because you rank poor in health, and if you have unhealthy workers, and unhealthy people, then my health insurance costs are gonna be higher, plus, people are gonna be taking off work ’cause they’re just not healthy and they won’t be as productive.”

-Governor Mary Fallin, who said her plan to reverse the state’s poor health statistics revolves around telling Oklahomans to take more personal responsibility (Source).

“Without a doubt, being raised by immigrant parents taught me about the importance of public service. Both my parents were born into poverty, and were only given the bare necessity to make a living: an education. My grandparents told my parents not to pay them back, but to pay it forward by using their education to change the world for the goodwill of others. That’s how my parents’ American Dream began, and how it continues to exist through me.”

– Oklahoma high school senior Gloria Tso, who was recently accepted at four Ivy League universities (Source)

“It’s a pretty significant drop but certainly not unexpected.”

– State Treasurer Ken Miller, speaking about news that March 2015 revenue collections from oil and gas production were 48 percent below those of March 2014, and at their lowest levels in 12 years (Source)

“Oklahoma’s hasty, non-science-driven process for selecting midazolam as the first drug in its three-drug protocol did not cohere with its solemn duty to ensure its punishments are lawful.”

-A brief filed with the US Supreme Court by OCU President Robert Henry and others that argues Oklahoma picked an inappropriate drug for lethal injection because officials were under political pressure (Source).

“Having a skilled workforce and having the workers that they need is definitely a bottom-line issue for companies. And it’s something that we’re facing in Oklahoma as far as we’re having a challenge finding the skilled workers that we need to fill the jobs that we have.”

– Oklahoma Educated Workforce Initiative Executive Director Jennifer Monies, responding to OEWI’s findings that Oklahoma schools are producing only half the workers needed for highly-skilled jobs in Oklahoma (Source)