Oklahoma News Report

We headed out to Muskogee to see how the jail is saving money and serving better quality, tastier food.

I chatted with inmates as they ate lunch. The told me before the jail switched to its new kitchen vendor the food was often bland or not very hot when it hit the table.

Jail Superintendent, Raymond Barnes told me the food was also more expensive. Inmates did the cooking but the jail had to have a dietician and other staff to supervise the work. To cut costs he says they asked catering companies to put in bids to provide the staff, kitchen equipment and cleaning supplies. CBM won the contract. It’s first in Oklahoma, although it has contracts with correctional facilities in several other states including Kansas and Arkansas. Since that contract went into effect last December the Muskogee jail has saved about $28,000 on the cost of feeding its inmates.

Inmate Leon Lish told me he really likes the quality of the new food. He says it has more seasoning to make it more flavorful.

Many Oklahoma colleges and universities are consolidating services for veterans, or adding special lounges where vets can gather, study, and get help accessing GI benefits.

Tonight on the Oklahoma News Reports we look at how three different campuses are making changes to make the transition from soldier to student smoother.

Wild bald Eagle chicks are about to hatch in Oklahoma. The Sutton Avian Research Center has placed cameras on a nest in Pawnee County to let people see how bald eagles raise their young.

Later this year they hope to fit one of the chicks with a transmitter that can be tracked by satellite to learn more about what happens to young bald eagles after they leave the nest.

To watch for yourself go to www.suttoncenter.org.

Some Skiatook parents will soon be collecting signatures on a petition seeking a grand jury probe of Skiatook Public Schools.

The parents are angry after a state audit revealed more than half a million dollars in wasteful spending by the District on janitorial supplies and security equipment. The audit shows the District paid up to 500% over retail for the supplies and equipment by purchasing them through an Oklahoma City middleman.

Parents first went to the Skiatook School Board seeking answers about how the wasteful spending was allowed to happen. When they didn’t get answers they sought a judge’s permission to circulate a petition to ask for a grand jury probe into the matter.

The parents plan a meeting Thursday night to hand out petitions to those who have volunteered to collect signatures. The parent have 45 days to collect 5,000 valid signatures on the petition. It asks the grand jury to investigate several allegations including fraud, public corruption, graft and kickbacks.