The contest pits Sheriff John Whetsel, a Democrat who is running for his fifth consecutive term, against 20-year law-enforcement veteran and U.S. Marshal Service special deputy Darrell Sorrels. While Whetsel has a definite edge in fundraising — totaling around $333,000 against Sorrels’ $28,000, as of this writing — Sorrels is a Republican in one of […]
Oklahoma County
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Naming names
Credit: Brad Gregg District Judge Bill Graves has thus far denied two transgender individuals’ requests to change their names to something denoting feminine identities, despite Graves’ colleagues regularly granting such requests, according to a recent story in The Oklahoman. Graves’ refusal isn’t a surprise for anyone who remembers his 24 years as a state representative […]
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Hail the jail
Sheriff John Whetsel said the jail has been working to win accreditation from the ACA for several years. He said the Sept. 10 announcement was the culmination of years of work by jail staff, jail officials and county elected officials. The ACA accreditation makes the county jail the second facility in the state — Tulsa […]
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Shining a light on crime
Happily, Oklahoma County was ahead of this trend, and a new law will make our efforts even more effective and cost-efficient. In spring 2010, I joined with judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys to create a new program called SHINE. It stands for Start Helping Impacted Neighborhoods Everywhere, and it created a structure for low-level, nonviolent […]
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For Tim Rhodes
I practiced law for over 30 years, primarily in Oklahoma County, observing the operations of the court clerk’s office and Oklahoma County government. I feel it’s important for you to give Tim Rhodes your consideration and hopefully your vote on Tuesday for many reasons. As a Republican, you no doubt favor limited government, but you […]
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Runoff rumble
Charles Key After nearly 16 years in office, Oklahoma County Court Clerk Patricia Presley chose not to run for re-election. No Democrats filed for the seat. In the crowded Republican primary, no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, which means the runoff winner will take office in January. Presley hired Tim Rhodes […]
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Secret paroles?
“We were thinking this can’t be right,” Sharp recalled. “What was going on behind the scenes to even get her a chance to talk to the parole board? We thought [at the time of the 2008 trial] that we had eight years before we had to relive this, and all of a sudden, we had […]
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Keeping CASA
Shannon Cornman Nevertheless, the Court Appointed Special Advocates organization, which helps abused and neglected children, in March received $50,000 in supplemental dollars from the county budget board. Of the eight-member panel, Oklahoma County Commissioner Brian Maughan cast the sole vote against the funding. “I am a strong supporter of CASA,” said Maughan. He paused and […]
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Valley rally
Valley Brook, located just north of Crossroads Mall, is surrounded on all sides by Oklahoma City. According to 2009 census numbers, the population is 789. The controversy started when resident Richard Ford (pictured presenting to the council) noticed a change in his city utility rates: an increase of $10 on his trash service bill and […]