Oklahoma News Report

Graham Curtsinger of Verdigris is a six year old whiz kid. He hasn’t even started first grade and he already reads at the fifth grade level. He also has an impressive knowledge of geography. He can point out nearly every country on the planet and name its capitol. Plus, he has a passon for road maps. The combination has earned him a spot in the Davidson Young Scholars Program. It nurtures the interests and passions of exceptionally gifted children.

Since 2004, Supporters of of Families with Sickle Cell Diseases has helped patients and their families cope with the painful genetic blood disorder that causes red blood cells to be sickle shaped instead of round. The change in shape makes it harder for the blood to deliver oxygen to the body.

The group now has a new mission. It has become advocates for Oklahomans suffering from sickle cell. The change comes in the wake of the closing of Oklahoma Chapter of the Sickle Cell Disease Association. It shut down last November after losing nearly $200,000 in funding through the State Health Department. The funding was slashed because of the budget crisis.

Before it closed the Association provided $100 per patients to help pay for medications and other necessities and provided adult testing for the gene that causes sickle cell. Since 1991 all babies born in Oklahoma have been tested for the disorder at birth. If both parents carry the sickle cell gene their children have a one in four chance of being born with sickle cell so genetic testing to identify carriers is crucial.

Now the Supporters of Families with Sickle Cell Diseases is asking the state legislature for an interim study to explore the possiblity of restoring state funding. It will find out Friday if the study is approved and when it will take place. In the meantime, the group is holding fundraisers to try to once again provide patients across Oklahoma with financial help. Contact Supporters of Families with Sickle Cell Diseases at 918-619-6174 for event dates and information or access it directly by friending them on Facebook.

Starting July first some streets will be a bit darker in Muskogee. As a cost cutting measure the city will turn off some street lights to save an anticipated twenty percent of what it had been spending on street lights.