Quotes of the Day

“In case you’ve lost track, the situation in Oklahoma prisons is not improving. Just in the last few months, a female case manager was brutally assaulted in her office, another was taken hostage with a knife to her throat, an inmate was murdered for the first time in the history of the James Crabtree Correctional Center, a national report was released showing the State’s all-female prison in McLoud has the highest rate of reported sexual assaults in the nation, two officers were critically injured in a traffic accident after their state vehicle broke down, and a nationwide survey was released finding Oklahoma’s officer-to-inmate ratio to be the worst in the nation, while officer pay is nearly worst.”

– Sean Wallace, Executive Director of Oklahoma Corrections Professionals (source: http://bit.ly/1pmIgOn).

80 percent of our wells are horizontal. It’s where the action is. I don’t think that government should incentivize anything that is going to happen without the incentive, and believe me, baby, horizontal drilling is going to happen without the incentive.

-Former Oklahoma City Mayor Kirk Humphries (Source: http://bit.ly/1r8b6zq), speaking about Oklahoma’s tax break for horizontal drilling that is costing $252 million this year.

“The juvenile justice education programs that serve hundreds of thousands of students are characterized by low expectations, inadequate supports to address student needs, and ineffective instruction and technology. Students come out of the juvenile justice system in worse shape than when they entered, struggling to return to school or get their lives back on track.”

-Southern Education Foundation Vice President Steve Suitts, author of a recent report that found that students in the juvenile justice system receive substandard educations (source: http://bit.ly/1h8Pfk4).

“We should remember that Oklahoma’s federal match is decreasing due to an increase in the state’s per capita income. The federal government is subsidizing us less because our state’s relative prosperity can provide the resources to take care of our own. That we are not taking care of our own isn’t because we can’t afford it; it’s because we are choosing not to.”

-OK Policy Executive Director David Blatt, on the prospect that Oklahoma lawmakers will cut SoonerCare funding when the program needs a $90 million funding increase just continue existing services, due to reduced federal matching funds and higher costs and enrollment (Source: http://bit.ly/1pa0KS8)

These revenue issues are the creation of government, not the economy. Off-the-top apportionments, corporate income tax declines, tax credits and other tax and budgeting choices that in some cases date back decades are the reason this situation exists.”

-Oklahoma Secretary of Finance Preston Doerflinger, speaking about March revenues for Oklahoma coming in $41 million below estimates and the possibility of mandatory budget cuts for all state agencies this year (Source: http://bit.ly/1qIHatx)

Our roads are in terrible shape. A bridge that connects two communities is closed for months, and the experts say other pieces of critical infrastructure are in bad shape. Our state mental health agency only has enough money to help the most desperate people, while thousands go without care. Our teachers aren’t paid at the regional average, despite lip service about how important they are to our children. Even our state Capitol, with its gorgeous new dome, is crumbling and festering. With all these needs, Gov. Mary Fallin’s plan to cut taxes seems ill-timed at best, and unwisely focused on ideology over practicality.

-The Journal Record Editorial Board (Source: http://bit.ly/1qDzOaM)

“One voice is a but a whisper, but many is a roar. We are encouraging self-advocates, family members and those who support people with developmental disabilities to band together for the cause. We are encouraging people to call and invite their legislators to attend and speak at our rally.”

– Wanda Felty, coordinator of the Developmental Disabilities Services Waiting List, which has nearly 7,000 disabled Oklahomans seeking services from the Department of Human Services. Some have been waiting as long as eight years (source: http://bit.ly/1igSeLP).

“I would be shocked if she didn’t pass this test. But, she burst into tears and is stressed because she heard of the retention. If she has any trouble, it’s going to be from testing anxiety.

-An Oklahoma mother speaking to Tulsa World editor Ginnie Graham about a high-stakes language arts tests that third graders must pass to advance to the fourth grade (Source: http://bit.ly/Qd35ff)

“The increase in travel time has created an undue financial burden for the residents and small business owners in both counties and communities. … The major decline in revenue has led to businesses moving or closing their doors permanently in order to avoid further indebtedness.”

– Governor Mary Fallin, in a letter asking for federally subsidized loan assistance for businesses that have been damaged by the closure of the bridge that links Lexington and Purcell. The bridge has been shut down for repairs since Jan. 31 after numerous cracks were found (Source: http://bit.ly/Q96agk)

“We don’t know what it’s doing to our roadways and, specifically, we don’t know what it’s doing to our bridges. In the last week, Oklahoma —— not the United States, but Oklahoma —— has experienced 11 percent of all earthquakes in the world.”

– Oklahoma Department of Transportation Director Mike Patterson (Source: http://bit.ly/1oLWubf)