EDMOND —
The political will for funding the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is better than ever, said state Rep. Randy Grau, R-Edmond.
No longer is the debate about whether Oklahoma needs a facility to be built in Edmond. Senate Bill 1337 in 2010 agreed to place the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in close proximity to the UCO Forensic Science Institute and the OSBI crime lab.
Grau recently accompanied a group of freshman legislators on a tour of the current facility. Without funds for the move, the ME’s office has remained on the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center campus at 901 N. Stonewall in Oklahoma City.
“Now we just have to determine the funding mechanism,” Grau said.
Speaker of the House T.W. Shannon added momentum for funding the $42 million ME’s office in Edmond recently when he said all options for funding should be on the table.
The ME’s office lost its accreditation with the National Association of Medical Examiners in 2009 and has fired two chief medical examiners in two years. The association issued a report noting the deficiencies result from an inadequate staff due to a lack of funding. Also, the agency’s equipment and facilities are obsolete, the association’s report stated.
“We can get re-accredited and put the issue behind us and move on to the other capital improvements that we need to address,” Grau said.
A long-term plan and funding source should be developed to preserve state-owned assets that need repair or replacement, Grau said.
“We don’t have a long-term plan like ODOT does for roads and bridges,” Grau said.
The Capitol itself needs an estimated $135 million to $150 million in repairs, according to the governor’s office. Corporation Commissioner Patrice Douglas has pointed out that the Jim Thorpe building where she offices is in disrepair. Every year, the heating and cooling system breaks down.
Legislators will convene at noon today for Organization Day, according to the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Organization Day is a constitutionally required day for the Oklahoma House to meet, certify the members of recently elected 54th Oklahoma Legislature and then nominate and vote on a new House Speaker and Speaker Pro-Tem for the upcoming legislative session that begins in February.
jcoburn@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 114
Local News
Legislators look to fund M.E.'s office, other state assets
- Local News
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OG&E works to replace Edmond power poles
“Oh my God, it’s the tornado,” Betsy Herring thought as she and her husband, Lee, took shelter in their laundry room as Sunday’s tornado roared toward their Forest Oaks home in Edmond.
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Equine center aids Orr Family Farm horses
Connie Yearwood, a third-year veterinary student at Oklahoma State University, had been job shadowing at Equine Medical Association in Edmond when the call came to help rescue horses that were injured during Monday’s tornado in Moore and Oklahoma City.
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Lincoln County Emergency Management calls for help
Carney is a city of about 649 residents and following the recent tornado outbreak 20 homes were destroyed there and an additional 18 homes in the county were leveled.
Wednesday, a press release from Lincoln County, along with Wellston Emergency Management Office and the City of Carney, stated that at this time the needs have changed for the city. -
Oklahoma National Guard coordinates tornado relief support
Oklahoma National Guard members, who work side-by-side with local responders to aid in recovery efforts during domestic operations such as the May 20 tornado that tore through Oklahoma City and Moore, are given their tasks through the Guard's Joint Operations Center.
The JOC, located in the Guard's Joint Force Headquarters in Oklahoma City, is primarily responsible for the collection, dissemination and tracking of information to increase the situational awareness for leadership as well as the National Guard Bureau, said Lt. Col. Hiram Tabler, the director of military support for Oklahoma's Joint Force Headquarters. -
UPDATE: Businesses, groups offer free relief to tornado victims
Listed is information on free services offered to victims of the recent tornadoes.
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House approves $45M aid package for tornado victims
As rain poured this morning on disaster relief workers in the Moore and Oklahoma City areas, the Oklahoma House of Representatives unanimously approved a $45 million aid package to provide relief to those impacted by Monday’s EF-5 tornado.
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TIMELAPSE: Take a tour through the damage in Moore
Take a driving tour of the damage in Moore caused by Monday's tornado.
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Moore mayor wants tornado shelters in new homes
Moore Mayor Glenn Lewis wants tornado shelters in all new homes in his city, where an EF-5 tornado damaged or destroyed more than 12,500 homes Monday afternoon. A proposed ordinance would require a shelter inside or outside each new residence.
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Rescue workers, tornado victims find respite in college dorms
Monday’s tornado put an estimated 20,000 people out of their houses, which were damaged or destroyed. Some of those victims — and the rescue workers who’ve come to help them — are staying a few miles south, in dormitories at the University of Oklahoma.
More than 300 individuals and families left homeless by the storm are staying at OU, where the university is providing beds, hot water and meals, often delivered by a familiar face. The university also housed 287 first-responders from Texas, Nebraska, Kansas and Tennessee. -
Mom delivered baby as tornado struck
Shayla Taylor’s second child was moments from birth as an EF-5 tornado bore down on Moore Medical Center on Monday afternoon.
Her labor was too far along to move her to safety with the rest of those in the hospital, her nurses decided. So as her husband, Jerome, and their 4-year-old son, Shaiden, went downstairs with the others, she and four nurses stayed upstairs and braced for the worst. - More Local News Headlines
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