Associated Press

Oklahoma wheat shaping up for bumper harvest

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma winter wheat farmers are starting to harvest, and agriculture officials say good weather has made for a much stronger crop this year.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts that Oklahoma will harvest 154.8 million bushels over 4.3 million acres. Oklahoma on average produces 110 million bushels per year.

The harvest began several weeks earlier than usual, with the mild spring providing ideal conditions for wheat to grow and ripen.

CHANUTE, Kan. (AP) — The National Transportation Safety Board says four people died when a small plane crashed in southeastern Kansas. All the people on board the plane had ties to Tulsa's Oral Roberts University.

NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson  says five people were aboard the twin-engine Cessna 401 when it went down around 4:30 p.m. Friday northwest of Chanute. Knudson says the eight-seat plane caught fire after the crash. It had apparently taken off earlier in the afternoon from the Jones-Riverside Airport in  Tulsa.

Fire that killed Okla. woman, adult son accidental

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) — Investigators have concluded that a fire that killed a Boynton woman and her son was accidental.

Fifty-seven-year-old Clarence Crane and his 82-year-old mother, Mary Jane Love, died in the blaze early Wednesday.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Officials haven't determined what caused a group of Tulsa elementary school students to get sick during a visit at the Tulsa County jail.

Fifty-four students and five adults from Bell Elementary School were on a tour at the facility Thursday when the students began complaining of headaches and nausea. Officials say 30 students fell ill.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes spokeswoman says officials are disappointed with a federal judge's decision to keep the tribe's accounts at a bank frozen until an internal leadership dispute is resolved.

Lisa Liebl told The Oklahoman for a story in Friday's edition that tribal employees are working a reduced 32-hour work week because about $6.4 million in funds were frozen at Clinton-based First Bank and Trust Company.

WOODWARD, Okla. (AP) — A center set up to help victims of last month's tornado in Woodward is closing.

The U.S. Small Business Administration says its Disaster Outreach Center will shut down Wednesday.

The agency opened the center to help residents and business owners who were affected by the April 15 storm apply for assistance. The storm killed six people and damaged 224 homes and businesses.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A bill to allow Oklahomans who receive a concealed carry permit to openly carry holstered firearms is heading to Gov. Mary Fallin.

The Senate voted 33-10 on Thursday to approve the bill over the objections of some Democrats who say it could pose problems for law enforcement officers. The bill now heads to Gov. Mary Fallin, who has indicated her support of an open carry law. If she signs it, the bill will become effective Nov. 1.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Two small earthquakes have been detected in central Oklahoma.

The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude 2.9 quake rumbled just before 2 a.m. Friday near Dibble, about 25 miles south of Oklahoma City. A magnitude 2.7 quake gave Lincoln County a mild shake at about 10:30 p.m. Thursday.

The Lincoln County quake was near Sparks, where a magnitude 3.9 quake shook the largely rural area about 50 miles east of Oklahoma City at about 4:15 p.m. Thursday.

No damage has been reported from the earthquakes.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has come to Elmo's rescue.

Fallin on Thursday signed a bill that allows the state's public television network to continue to exist.

The bill reauthorizing the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority, or OETA, narrowly passed the House amid opposition from a growing number of conservatives in the Legislature who argue the network is not a core function of state government.

POCOLA, Okla. (AP) — What's there to do for a bear in downtown Pocola? Plenty, apparently.

Residents in the LeFlore County town spotted the bear Wednesday morning as it went from shop to shop, occasionally stopping to admire its own reflection in storefront windows.

Residents say the bear made stops at a Sonic restaurant, a tanning salon and a chiropractor's office before scampering across a highway and into the woods.

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife suspects the bear was scouting out trash bins in search of a free meal.

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