May is a month of celebrating high school graduations and senior award ceremonies. Proud parents and students come together to celebrate their high school achievements and tears are shed as the realiz...

Hard-working Americans don’t need the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) to confirm what they have been experiencing for months: pain. Even at face value, however, the CPI remains above eight percent, ...

This week, the Governor signed a bill that I carried in the House to better address the mental health needs of our students. This makes three of my bills this session that have made it through both le...

Every year in May a colleague and I take about a dozen students on some type of weeklong outdoor experience. In the past we have done backpacking or canoeing, but this year we camped at different hist...

115 Years Ago: Checotah Enquirer • May 22, 1908 Dr. Vance Is President Last week Dr. B. J. Vance of Checotah was elected President of the Oklahoma State Medical Association for the ensuing year. The h...

In the House, we continue accepting or rejecting Senate amendments to our House bills. Some authors who rejected Senate amendments requested conference committees to work on a potential compromise fo...

How selfish or selfless have Americans become in this present world? Recently I have found myself pondering this very thought. Many times I know my own family has struggled making it from paycheck to ...

As National Police Week is here, we recognize the brave men and women of our law enforcement and pay special tribute to officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty. I am immensely grateful ...

To the Editor: After reading and re-reading James Finck’s latest piece (“Religious Intolerance 2022”), I agree with his statement that Mormons are an easy sect of Christianity to attack, especially by...

Please join me in recognizing May as National Foster Care Awareness Month. As a father of six, three of which came into our lives through the blessing of adoption, this is an issue that is deeply clos...

One of the committees I serve on is the House Appropriations & Budget Subcommittee on Human Services, and we’ve done extensive work this week to address mental health across the state. In addition, w...

I am a firm believer that you never stop learning during your lifespan. Each stage of our lives and even different opportunities and events that happen are all part of life lessons that we can either ...

The mask of mental health is maddening to say the least. Why do so many seem to struggle with mental health issues today? My sweet friend just lost her oldest child this past week to a moment of weakn...

It’s always wonderful to welcome our high schoolers to their State Capitol. This week, I had another great student from House District 15 participate in the House Page Program. Blakelee Pugh is a seni...

Three years ago, I wrote an article about religious intolerance. My premise was that America had actually never been that religiously tolerant, that today religion, Christianity in particular, was the...

Dear Editor, I want to send out a huge THANK YOU to Sheriff Kevin Ledbetter, Monica Smith, officers and staff of the McIntosh County Sheriff ’s office, friends and the community for my amazing retirem...

The Pittsburg County Sheriff ’s Office wants to question a Quinton man about the April 28 shooting death of Terry Vernard in Oak Ridge east of Longtown. Devin James Hatfield, 30, is being sought for q...

The Department of Veterans Affairs’ move to close the Jack C. Montgomery VA Medical Center in Muskogee is an unacceptable blow to our veterans who risked their lives to defend our freedoms. It’s a der...

Oklahomans joined together in remembering the victims of the Oklahoma City bombing and the loved ones left behind on that horrible day 27 years ago. As we mourn the worst act of homegrown terrorism in...

The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) holds its Fall Forum, our annual policy conference, allowing advocates to gather and discuss policies to improve the state for our youngest residents. ...