The Edmond Sun

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August 3, 2009

8-4 News in brief

EDMOND — Local representative receives conservative score

State Rep. Jason Murphey, R-Guthrie, has learned that he will receive a rating of 100 percent from Oklahoma’s longest running conservative publication for his work during the 2009 legislative session.

The 100 percent rating was given to Murphey and one other Oklahoma representative by The Oklahoma Constitution Newspaper. Each year since 1979, The Oklahoma Constitution has graded Oklahoma legislators and published a Conservative Index by which the constituents of the legislator can gauge how conservative or liberal their legislator votes.

Each year bills nominated for use on the Conservative Index are submitted to the Oklahoma Conservative PAC. The membership of OCPAC takes input from both lawmakers and residents and uses that input to vote on the top ten issues by which the lawmakers are graded.

The 10 issues and the rankings of the lawmakers are published in the Conservative Index. The index grades lawmakers on both their session score and their cumulative lifetime score in order to keep track of the voting habits of lawmakers during their entire time in office.

Murphey was graded on 10 issues including his votes against issuing more government debt and against liberalizing Oklahoma’s unemployment benefits to accept federal stimulus money. Murphey was given points for his votes for declaring English to be Oklahoma’s official language and for overturning a gubernatorial veto on a key right-to-life issue.

“When I campaigned for office I ran on a platform of representing conservative values. I believe this ranking shows that I am keeping my word,” Murphey said.

Murphey remains the only Oklahoma Legislator to maintain a lifetime score of 100 percent, having scored a 100 percent on the index in both 2007 and 2008.



Volunteers sought to sweep shoreline on Saturday

Edmond’s Arcadia Lake will host its 12th annual Lake Sweep on Saturday. Volunteers are needed to “sweep” the lake’s shorelines and parks of unsightly litter and debris to create an enjoyable environment for lake visitors.

The Lake Sweep event is a perfect volunteer project for groups, families or individuals. Volunteers in past years include boy scouts, girl scouts, church youth groups as well as individuals and families.

Those willing to lend a hand will meet at 9 a.m. at Spring Creek Park. Spring Creek Park is about 2.5 miles east of I-35 on 15th Street.

Volunteers will receive a T-shirt while supplies last, a hot dog lunch, and free access into Arcadia Lake for the remainder of the day. Volunteers should bring sunscreen, insect repellent, their own gloves, sturdy shoes and long pants.

Trash bags and assignments are given at the registration table. The clean-up event will conclude at noon. If necessary Aug. 15, has been set up as a rain out date.

For more information about Lake Sweep or other events at Arcadia Lake, call the park office at 216-7471.

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