This week I was named Legislator of the Year by the Oklahoma Rifle Association. I am honored to have been chosen for this award as I believe our citizens’ Second Amendment rights are very valuable and worth protecting.
Also this week, I got to meet with FFA students from Depew who were at the Capitol to discuss wind energy. It was great to hear their questions and ideas.
Kalen Harrison, a junior at Canadian High School, paged for me in my Capitol office this week. Kalen is the daughter of Stacie and Dustin Wadsworth. She’s in band and has gone to state nine years in a row, earning a superior rating for solo. Her plans after high school are to attend Southwestern Oklahoma State University to study health science and become a physician’s assistant. I wish her the very best.
It’s always great to have high school students come to learn about the legislative process. Pages get to sit in on House floor sessions and committee meetings. They hold their own mock legislative session, writing their own bills and learning to question and debate. It’s a great experience.
Back home in the district, the Haskell County Sheriff ’s Office and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) worked a double homicide and made two arrests.
In McIntosh County, the sheriff ’s office and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol were involved in a standoff and shooting in a rural part of the county. All law enforcement involved are safe, but the suspect is deceased.
In both instances, I personally reached out to the agency heads at all of the departments involved and offered resources and assistance if needed. My prayers are with all of the families and the officers involved. These situations are not only hard for the families but for law enforcement as well.
I’m continuing to meet every Friday with officials concerning Haskell County water. We’re working to find solutions for residents.
This was an incredibly busy week in the House of Representatives. House committees considered 264 bills this week.
One of those that passed was Senate Bill 599, which I’m carrying. This would make it so that any person convicted of a first offense of forcible anal or oral sodomy, rape, or rape by instrumentation of a child under the age of 14 would be eligible for punishment by death and life without the possibility of parole. Current statute says an offender has to be convicted a second time for this higher range of punishment. We must protect our kids.
Remember, if I can help you in my capacity as your representative, please do not hesitate to contact me at the Capitol. My office phone is (405) 557-7375, and my email is tim.turner@okhouse. gov.
Rep. Tim Turner, a Republican, represents House District 15 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. His district includes Haskell County and portions of McIntosh, Muskogee, Le Flore and Pittsburg counties.
