r/oklahoma

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I am making a timeline of every day of the year and I am struggling to find stuff I was wondering if there was someone who had some facts for me.

We just moved here and are starting the building process. We got some family land in Shawnee and I was wondering if anyone had any good recommendations on banks to get a construction loan from, or any advice about this whole process. We have a builder we really like but any info you're willing to share would be great.

We moved to Shawnee from a Phoenix suburb and I need help finding a good Mexican food spot. I just had unseasoned barbacoa and carnitas and I'm getting homesick. Why is there ground beef on the menus out here? Is there an authentic spot somewhere out here? I'll drive to Tulsa if I have to.

New development in the Brent Swadley case.

Swadley's attorneys allege prosecutors obtained or reviewed attorney-client phone calls recorded while Swadley was in the Oklahoma County Detention Center.

The AG's office denies intentionally reviewing privileged communications, saying any attorney-client calls were identified and segregated. The Oklahoma County Detention Center also says it has procedures in place to protect privileged legal calls.

This comes after prosecutors previously relied on recordings of Swadley's non-privileged jail calls while arguing he should remain in custody pending sentencing.

Our story includes the court filings, responses from the AG's Office and the jail, and explains what's at issue legally:

https://okcfox.com/news/local/swadley-defense-accuses-oklahoma-ag-and-jail-of-recording-attorney-client-calls

Curious what others think: if privileged attorney-client calls are inadvertently recorded in a jail setting, what safeguards should be in place to ensure prosecutors never receive or review them?

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library delivers free, age-appropriate books monthly to families with children ages 0-5.

The program is administered by the Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness or OPSR, which works to expand access to early childhood care, education and support for Oklahoma families.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is currently available in 74 Oklahoma counties, leaving only Logan, Pawnee and Noble Counties without access.

Dolly Parton launched the Imagination Library in 1995 in Tennessee in honor of her father, who was not able to read or write. Now, the program is available in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and the Republic of Ireland.

In 2020, the Oklahoma state legislature passed Senate Bill 1803 to provide 50% of the funding for the program. The other 50% is funded by local partners.

Erin Bell, director of early literacy for OPSR, said in 2022 there were around 4,000 children enrolled in the program. Today, over 100,000 children across the state are enrolled.

Bell said each book includes a letter from Parton and individualized tips for the next time parents read the book to the child. It might say to ask a child to point out everything in the book that’s red, or, next time families are in the car, point out objects children have seen in their books.

“It not only provides them with a low-barrier way to have books in the home, but it also gives parents a way to really just foster that love of reading and foster those early literacy skills in a very natural way,” Bell said.

Bell said as she travels the state to work with local community partners, she hears stories of how the Imagination Library program has impacted families. She said many children don’t know Parton as a famous singer, they feel a personal connection to her as a consistent figure in their lives.

Bell remembered an earlier comment from a parent this year that they were not able to afford high-quality books and that the program helped them establish a reading routine with their children.

“A parent said that the program had really blessed them because they were not able to afford high-quality books, and through this program they were able to make sure that their child had wonderful books to read at home, and that they’d started a reading routine because of the program,” Bell said.

OPSR partners with nonprofits in each county to provide about $1.30 per child each month and facilitate fundraising and publicizing the program.

Bell said a community partner must be a 501(c)(3) organization, have sufficient funding to cover a few years, and commit to being the face of the program for the community.

OPSR will be able to offer start-up assistance for partners through additional funds from the legislature, Bell said.

Bell said oftentimes these partners play an integral role in enrollment, since many are trusted members of their communities.

“Local program partners really are the lifeblood of the program,” Bell said. “For example, in Madill, Oklahoma, they don’t know me because I’m here in Oklahoma City, but they know their financial secretary at their school, … and they trust her.

“They really make sure that the program really comes alive for the kids.”

A study by the Dollywood Foundation found that children enrolled in the program in the U.S. were nine times more likely to initiate shared book reading than children not enrolled. It also found children were 11 times more likely to be interested in reading and three times more likely to demonstrate concepts about print compared to children not enrolled.

According to Bell, some states that have had the program for a while are seeing improvements among kids enrolled in it. She said those outcomes indicated enrollment in the program may lead to higher education and early literacy outcomes in Oklahoma.

“Those are school readiness indicators, … 15 minutes a day will make a huge impact on that child’s ability to read later,” Bell said. “We do see that in states that have had (the program) for a long time, there have been some significant improvements with the kids who are enrolled in the program.”

Bell emphasized how important community partnerships are to the success of the program in Oklahoma, like rural electric cooperatives, which ensure their counties have funding.

She also highlighted the legislature's commitment, which has consistently funded the program since 2020. She said other states, like Missouri, are losing their programs because state lawmakers aren’t providing sufficient funding.

Bell said OPSR partners with the state Department of Education, and it also serves as the state early childhood advisory council.

“It also takes that commitment from the state Capitol, from the legislators who understand how important it is,” Bell said. “Our leaders are really committed to this.”

The organization’s goal is to reach 65% of enrollment for all eligible children across 77 counties, Bell said. With the recent growth in the program, enrollment is at about 41% among eligible children across all but three counties.

Eligible families can enroll in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library online, and interested community partners can either complete an application or contact OPSR.

Any advice on Oklahoma home insurance? Looking for affordability but customer ratings matter to me too. Not worth anything if they dont pay out when stuff goes down. I've heard farm bureau and state farm arent bad. Advice appreciated. I had Mercury before and i wasnt a big fan. They would raise the rates any time a storm came through. It got to ridiculous amounts.

EDIT: quote from all state came back nice. Any good/experiences with all state?

A judge has ordered the Oklahoma County Detention Center to provide surveillance video to Brent Swadley's attorney by 5 p.m. today.

The video is from the incident where Swadley says 20% his middle finger was severed while he was in the jail awaiting sentencing. His attorney previously told me whether they pursue legal action against the jail depends largely on what the footage shows, especially the timeline of him getting stuck in the door and getting help.

One thing I found interesting while reporting this: our newsroom also requested the video through Oklahoma's Open Records Act, and the jail denied that request. Right now I'd guess our best chances of publicly seeing that video are through Swadley's attorney. (If he decides to share it)

I'm curious what people think about that. Should this type of jail surveillance video become public after an incident like this, or is it reasonable for the jail to withhold it?

So long story short, my husbands plant he has been at for the last decade and a half is shutting down. We are given the option to transfer to another one of the companies plants. He is reserves so we have to be semi near an AFB as well. Ardmore OK has the plant and then a few hours away is a AFB. But I found another post here that now has me freaking out. I knew we needed to be on the North side near Plainview and Lone Grove. But now am worried even that is not good enough. We need to be within 30 minutes to an hour of Ardmore. I need honest recommendations. We will be coming from a semi decent city (which I am from a small town) but we would like to have a publixs or something similar nearby. We like the country with a short commute to the city.

I am trying to figure out if we pick Ardmore or go to North Carolina (which I know about because of my husbands plants HQ is there, so we have traveled there alot). I have a week to decide and that does NOT give me the time I need to accurately research Oklahoma, so I am having to skip a few steps and come to reddit. Thanks in advance for all the opinions. I appreciate it!

P.S. We are from the south, so culture shock should hopefully not be an issue? Like we have tractors roaming around and I grew up on a farm. So I know some of that aspect I think.