Democrats

FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT NO. 72

SENECA SCOTT, 535 (52.25%)
CHRISTIE BREEDLOVE, 489 (47.75%)

Republican

FOR STATE SENATOR, DISTRICT NO. 35

CASON CARTER, 2,881 (49.86%)
GARY STANISLAWSKI, 2,897 (50.14%)

Republican

FOR STATE SENATOR, DISTRICT NO. 45

STEVE RUSSELL, 2,747 (66.89%)
KYLE D. LOVELESS, 1,360 (33.11%)

Republican

FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT NO. 57

HAROLD WRIGHT, 902 (50.22%)
LYLE MILLER, 894 (49.78%)

Republican

FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT NO. 59

MIKE SANDERS, 1,458 (54.04%)
CHRIS CAMERON, 1,240 (45.96%)

An update on the former Custer County Sheriff Mike Burgess trial from NewsOK.com:

Former Custer County Sheriff Mike Burgess was ordered Wednesday to stand trial on 35 felony counts after two days of lurid preliminary hearing testimony about alleged sexual abuses involving female inmates and drug court participants.

More...

If you want to talk about this, join the conversation in our forum.

I went ahead and added the Democratic and Republican conventions to our calendar. As soon as our Olympic fever runs its course, its time to once again to focus on politics.

www.demconvention.com -- The Democratic National Convention is set to being on August 25 - 28 in Denver, CO.

www.gopconvention.com -- The Republican National Convention is set to being on September 1 - 4 in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, MN.

I found two sources for convention news on Twitter: @gopconvention08 (official) and @DenverDNC (by Rocky Mountain News). I'm sure all the news feeds such as @CNN, @msnbc_politics and @NYTimesPolitics will be posting convention updates also.

Elk City starts school this week, Clinton the week after. Now's the time for the mad rush of getting those last moment school supplies. Don't forget Elk City people, the new uniform dress code is now in place. (more info)

On Thursday the main line providing natural gas for Elk City was cut.

Here's the AP wire story from News9.com:

Oklahoma Natural Gas says a high-pressure pipeline that is the sole source of natural gas to Elk City was severed today.

ONG spokesman Don Sherry says two people doing fiber-optics work were hurt, but he didn't know the extent of their injuries. Sherry says they were treated at an area hospital and released.

Sherry says the line that was severed is six inches in diameter. He says there are about 5,700 meters or customers in the west-central Oklahoma town of more than 10,000 residents.

Sherry says crews will work throughout the night and officials are bringing in additional employees from around the state to make repairs. They expect service to be restored tomorrow.

He says crews will have to go to each residence where there is a gas meter and physically shut them off. After repairs to the pipe are made, employees will have to go back to those residences, test the pressure and then turn the meters back on.

Sherry says ONG has had outages before, but he couldn't recall an incident in recent history in which this many people had been affected.

If you have any questions about your gas, contact Oklahoma Natural Gas. I was told ONG people will be making the rounds today (Friday) to check on everyone's service, and to relight pilot lights.

On February 17, 2009, television stations across the United States will be switching over to 100% digital broadcasting. If you’re using an analog TV with an antenna to receive over the air programming you will need to purchase a TV converter box. If you connect with cable, satellite, or have a television with a digital tuner then you are set for the digital switch over. If you wish to keep using your analog TV sets after February 17, 2009 you can take advantage of the TV Converter Box Coupon Program between January 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009. Consumers can apply for up to two $40 coupons per household for a TV converter box. Visit www.dtv2009.gov for more information about TV Converter Box Program.

The new Oklahoma license plate design has been selected. Get ready to get your new plate next year.



More from OK.gov:

A new license plate for the state of Oklahoma has been selected!

On the Oklahoma Tax Commission's Web site (www.tax.ok.gov) the new plate design is displayed and will replace all Oklahoma regulation license plates beginning January 2, 2009. The new plate features the Sacred Rain Arrow sculpture by Oklahoma artist Allan Houser (1914-1994).

Note: Special license plates that have designs unique to that plate type will not be affected by this redesign.

For Oklahoma motorists who want to retain their existing plate number, the 2008 License Plate Number Retention Program has been established. If your vehicle is currently registered in the State of Oklahoma, you have the option to retain your current plate number on the new plate being released in 2009.

Oklahomans who do not participate in the Plate Retention Program will receive the new plate at the time of initial registration or renewal of a current plate in calendar year 2009 at no additional cost.

The License Plate Retention Program is a limited time offer. You only have until November 1, 2008 to request your plate number retention. Once your retention request has been received along with payment, your new plate will be manufactured and mailed to you after January 1, 2009.

The cost of duplicating your existing plate number in the new plate design is $17.00. This includes the $15.00 retention fee plus a $2.00 mailing fee. These fees are in addition to any registration fees due at the time of the vehicle renewal.

The new plate may be displayed only on the vehicle that currently displays the license plate number being requested. It is intended as a replacement for that former plate and only for that vehicle. For the new plate to be mailed out in January, the vehicle must be currently registered. This means the vehicle must already have been registered for 2009 and display the 2009 registration decal.

Retention Program Options

If you are interested in retaining your current plate number, you have two options:

• File for Plate Retention online and pay by electronic check.
• Download the Form 710-Z: License Plate Retention Request Form, pay by check, money order or credit card and mail to address shown on form.

Please Note: The complete retention request (using one of the methods above) must be completed and paid ($17.00) by November 1, 2008. Requests received after such date or lacking required information/payment will not be honored.

Here are the local results from the April 29, 2008 Oklahoma primary election
(Results from NewsOK.com and Oklahoma Elections Board)

• Beckham County
  • Sheriff
    • Democrats
      • Mike Collins, 49, D, Sayre 1,227 (48.8%)
      • elected - (i) Scott Jay, 43, D, Elk City 1,287 (51.2%)
  • County Clerk
    • Democrats
      • Leasacq Hartman, 48, Sayre 1,057 (42.3%)
      • elected - (i) Ginger Pope, 52, Sayre, 1,442 (57.7%)
  • Court Clerk
    • Democrats
      • elected - Donna Howell, 43, Sayre 1,352 (54.1%)
      • (i) Mary Jane Prather, 52, Sayre 1,149 (45.9%)
  • District 2 Commissioner
    • Democrats
      • elected - (i) Carl Simon, 69, Elk City 468 (58.8%)
      • Donald R. Orthcqed ORTH, 54, Elk City 328 41.231(41.2%)
• Custer County
  • State Representative, District No. 57
    • Democrats
      • Jared Deck, 1,494 (48.92%)
      • Perry Adams, 1,560 (51.08%)
    • Republicans
      • Lyle Miller, 591 (25.84%)
      • Harold Wright, 991 (43.33%)
      • Lynn Norman, 298 (13.03%)
      • Warren Goldmann, 407 (17.80%)
• Greer County
  • Sheriff
    • Democrats
      • Steve McMahan, 28, Mangum, 385 (41.5%)
      • elected - Devin Huckabay, 40, Mangum, 543 (58.5%)
• Washita County
  • Court Clerk
    • Democrats
      • elected - Carol Corbett, 56, Cordell, 960 (63.3%)
      • Susan Balzer, 39, Cordell, 556 (36.7%)
  • District 2 Commissioner
    • Democrats
      • in Aug. 26 runoff - (i) Gene Etris, 67, Cordell, 423 (58.3%)
      • Tim White, 55, Cordell, 302 (41.7%)
• Statewide
  • U.S. Senator
    • Democrats
      • Andrew Rice, 113,780 (59.65%)
      • Jim Rogers, 76,973 (40.35%)
    • Republicans
      • Jim Inhofe, 116,349 (84.18%)
      • Evelyn L. Rogers, 10,768 (7.79%)
      • Dennis Lopez, 3,799 (2.75%)
      • Ted Ryals, 7,305 (5.29%)
  • Corporation Commissioner (Short Term)
    • Republicans
      • Rob Johnson, 65,937 (48.96%)
      • Dana Murphy, 68,742 (51.04%)