Local News
12-24 Oklahoma City news in brief
OKLAHOMA CITY — Homes evacuated during OKC bomb search
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma City police spent hours Tuesday searching the home of a man arrested the night before on an explosives charge.
Police Capt. Steve McCool said Steven Andrew Jordal, 24, was arrested Monday evening with a small explosive device after police received a tip about him. Jordal faces an accusation that he manufactured an explosive device with the intent to sell it.
Several houses near his residence in northwest Oklahoma City were evacuated as officers looked for explosives. Police used a remote-controlled robot to help in the search.
McCool said the search would continue through the evening. He did not disclose whether any explosives were found.
“Any time you arrest an individual who likes to dabble in making explosive devices, it’s a good thing for the police department then to go to where they live,” he said.
Neighbors said Jordal had just recently returned to Oklahoma City from a military stint in Iraq.
“I know he just got back from Iraq,” neighbor Jonathan Oneal said. “This is pretty crazy. There’s somebody down there with bombs in our neighborhood.”
Order upheld for man convicted of Tinker threat
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a nearly half-million dollar restitution order against an Oklahoma City man convicted of telephoning a bomb threat to Tinker Air Force base.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver agreed with a lower court that the restitution order for $475,631 was fair.
Neil Jason Wilfong, 37, pleaded guilty last year to a charge connected to a bomb threat he phoned in to Tinker in 2006. He was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to pay restitution, most of which was for lost employee work hours caused by the evacuation.
Wilfong telephoned his mother at Tinker Air Force Base on Dec. 15, 2006, and when he was told she was unavailable, he replied, “Well, there’s a bomb in the building,” according to court papers. Workers in Building 3001, which holds large portions of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center operations, were evacuated as a precaution. The building was checked, no dangerous devices were found and employees were allowed to return to the building after a few hours.
Wilfong appealed both his restitution order and his sentence, both of which were upheld in the 10th Circuit ruling.
In his appeal, Wilfong argued that he could not be required to pay restitution for the value of the lost employee work time resulting from his phony bomb threat, but the court disagreed.
“When Mr. Wilfong issued his bomb threat and Building 3001 was evacuated, Tinker Air Force Base lost the value of this ‘property’ just as surely as a printing plant would lose the value of its property if an arsonist struck a match to its paper supply,” the court wrote. “Value was destroyed. The property could not be returned.”
Wilfong also challenged his 48-month prison sentence, which was longer than the recommended sentencing guidelines range of 24-30 months. But the appeals court upheld the sentence, arguing that Wilfong waived his argument due to “inadequate briefing.”
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$20M concert hall opens in Edmond
Sitting in one of Armstrong Auditorium’s plush seats, looking at the concert stage you can easily imagine Luciano Pavarotti singing “Nessun Dorma.”
It won’t be long before patrons will be listening to actual world-class artists performing on the stage. -
Republican women open HQ
Republican gubernatorial candidate Mary Fallin asked undecided voters to carefully consider where each candidate stands on issues concerning Oklahoma.
The 5th District congresswoman was one of many dignitaries attending the Edmond Republican Women Headquarters grand opening Thursday morning at 3409 Broadway Extension, suite 600. -
Police stress holiday anti-alcohol efforts
Labor Day weekend is a time for rest, parades, picnics, parties and day trips — and alcohol.
Police urge motorists to drive safely, and if they drink too much alcohol and get a little tipsy, an auto travel club offers a ride home and a tow — at no charge. -
Oklahoma City University reading series gets ‘Rebirthed’
OKLAHOMA CITY — A reading series at Oklahoma City University this fall will focus on the influence of the Civil War era.
The Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma book discussion series called “Rebirth of a Nation: Nationalism and the Civil War” begins Sept. 14 with “Two Roads to Sumter,” a comparative biography about Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis written by William and Bruce Catton. All discussion sessions are free to the public. The book discussions begin at 7 p.m. in Walker Center room 151. -
Monday Study Club to hold year’s first meeting
Mothers of students in sixth grade through college are invited to join The Monday Study Club. A local fixture since 1946, club meetings offer moms an opportunity to hear speakers and to exchange information on topics of interest to parents of teenagers and young adults.
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9-3 This Week: what to do, what to see
3 Friday
Science Museum Oklahoma will host an extreme sports expo from 6-10 p.m. Sept. 3. The event will feature the dome movie “Extreme” and a close look at the science behind several extreme sports. To register for this event or more information on this and other exhibits at Science Museum Oklahoma guests can call 602-6664, or visit www.sciencemuseumok.org for more information. -
Offshore oil rig explodes in Gulf of Mexico
ATLANTA — Another offshore oil facility caught fire in the Gulf of Mexico Thursday morning, sending 13 workers into the water to be rescued by boat, and sending enough petroleum into the water to create a mile-long-by-100-foot-wide sheen, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
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Offshore platform explodes in Gulf of Mexico
An offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico exploded on Thursday, but the company that owned it said it mainly produced natural gas and reported no slick after an initial flyover.
The U.S. Coast Guard reported a sheen on the water about 100 feet wide and perhaps a mile long near the rig, which is west of BP’s blown-out well but operates in much shallower water than the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon. -
Coburn calls for transparency
Americans are filled with anxiety and fear as they consider their future with a $13.3 trillion debt set to become $20 trillion during the next nine years, U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn said. Well-intentioned legislation through the years has abandoned the fundamentals of a limited federal government set forth by the U.S. Constitution, said Coburn, R-Muskogee.
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Police: Raids effective
Recent raids at two apartment complexes were effective, but they are not the end to gang and drug issues in Edmond, police said.
During a two-day stretch last week, Edmond led a multi-agency operation that netted a total of 18 arrests and drugs at the Rolling Green and ChapelRidge apartment complexes. - More Local News Headlines
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