Growing up a country girl on Tiger Mountain in Pierce, OK has pretty much been my whole childhood. Though I was born in Oklahoma City and we lived in Yukon until I was four years old, I never really l...

The week before Biden’s Inauguration, it was announced that his planned arrival to D.C. would no longer happen by train. This was significant for Biden because rail travel has been an important part o...

Over the past four and one-half years that I have been the chief executive officer of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA), I have heard tragic stories regarding child abuse and neglect. I...

Prior to the start of session every year, state agency leaders present their budget proposals to legislators for consideration. Legislators use this opportunity to examine the agency’s current fiscal ...

Our founding fathers wrote in the Declaration of Independence all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights: the Right to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of...

Thursday, Jan. 21, was the bill filing deadline for the 58th Legislature. Lawmakers have filed all of their bills that will be considered in the upcoming legislative session, which begins Feb. 1. Many...

Losing our Mom was quite a heartbreak for our family. We feel blessed to know she was so loved and respected by her lifelong community by your kind comments, flowers and plants, cards and prayers. She...

Small town living has many ups and downs, but one of the most positive aspects is growing much closer to those who live around you compared to city living. This is especially true when you grow up in...

Young and naive, first marriage, nine months pregnant, aching back, soiled uniform, sore feet, tips on the table, but it paid off. Nine months of pregnancy brought me my first child, my baby girl, my ...

Dear Editor, January is National Stalking Awareness Month. It is also National Slavery & Human Trafficking Prevention Month. According to the National Center for Victims of Crime, “Stalking is a patte...

After an entire year of being deemed “an essential worker” where I continued to work with the public, in the public, and for the public, I unfortunately caught the COVID-19 virus at the end of 2020. T...

In the weeks leading up to the legislative session, the spotlight is on budget hearings, so this week, I’d like to focus on the appropriations process, including the work of the appropriations subcomm...

With the approaching deadline to file bills on Thursday, Jan. 21, I’ve been finalizing language for my legislation and have begun filing some of my new bills. This year, I’m filing legislation to addr...

To the Editor: The study of human behavior is quite fascinating. When people say “they broke the mold when they made him,” they’re wrong. If you live long enough you’ll see that there are many, many m...

Last week’s attack on the U.S. Capitol was a horrific, dark day for our country. While we saw the worst in some, we also saw the best in others. Law enforcement officers, especially those with the U.S...

On Wednesday, January 6, a joint session of Congress convened to count the electoral college votes and I contested the votes from several states. The reason I contested the results was not a political...

I have said many times, the most important job we as legislators have is to write and pass a balanced budget because ultimately the outcome of that work impacts every single person in our state. Becau...

On Tuesday, Jan. 5, lawmakers gathered for our constitutionally-required Organizational Day to approve rules and elect leadership for the upcoming legislative session. House Speaker Charles McCall of...

As many of us embark upon a new year, we also have to let go of the previous year and all that came with it - the questions, the disappointments, the heartaches. The letting go is probably one of the ...

2020 has certainty been a year of years. I do not need to recount the events of this year; we all know them too well. It is just strange to think that it was less than a year ago since we impeached th...