Oklahoma's Top Ten News Stories Of 2009

Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Dark clouds loomed on the economic horizon for Oklahoma at the start of 2009, and the fiscal picture only worsened as oil and natural gas prices remained low, tax collections plummeted and dwindling revenue punched a $729 million hole in the state's budget.

As a result, Oklahoma's budget shortfall and the impact of the recession on the state's economy was voted the No. 1 news story in 2009 by members of The Associated Press and the AP's Oklahoma staff.

Oklahoma's weather, which spawned an unusual February twister that killed eight people in Lone Grove and dumped record-breaking snowfall during a Christmas Eve blizzard, ranked as the No. 2 story. An outbreak of swine flu ranked third.

In 2008, soaring gasoline prices that reached nearly $4 a gallon were the year's top news story.

This year in November, state officials ordered budget cuts of 10% across state government after an eleventh consecutive month of revenue collections falling short of projections, and state Treasurer Scott Meacham said the budget decline was worse than during the oil bust of the 1980s.

"This is the deepest shortfall we've experienced in state government," Meacham said.

State agencies furloughed employees, shuttered treatment centers, eliminated travel and offered early retirements.

The recession also battered the state's employment picture, which began with a jump in unemployment rates in January 2009 from 3.8% to 4.7%.

The jobless rate continued to worsen, reaching 7.3% in October -- the highest since January 1988 -- and resulted in a record $575 million in unemployment claims paid through November.

"It's certainly a symptom of how bad things are out there that benefits have had to be extended like this," said John Carpenter, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission.

Here are 2009's top 10 stories as voted on by AP members and staff:

1. STATE BUDGET SHORTFALL/RECESSION

Even with massive budget cuts that already have been made across state government, Oklahoma will face a $530 million shortfall for the fiscal year that ends July 1, 2010.

And the outlook for the next fiscal year isn't any better. While gross production taxes on oil is expected to increase in the next fiscal year, revenue from income taxes, sales taxes and the gross production tax on natural gas all are expected to decline, leaving lawmakers with about $5.3 billion to spend, a drop of $1.3 billion from the current fiscal year.

2. WEATHER WOES

Oklahoma's unpredictable weather started early and hit hard with an unusual series of February twisters that tore through the state. Hardest hit was the town of Lone Grove in southern Oklahoma, where eight people died.

The harsh weather continued in the summer with several rounds of excessive heat, including temperatures of 115 degrees recorded in July in Freedom and Buffalo.

Weather also topped the news in December, when a record-setting blizzard hammered the state on Christmas Eve, trapping motorists, shutting down interstates and prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency.

3. SWINE FLU

The first confirmed case of swine flu in Oklahoma was reported on May 5 after a Pontotoc County woman began showing flulike symptoms after a trip to Mexico.

The nasty virus then took off in the Sooner State, sickening thousands and resulting in at least 40 deaths by year's end.

4. WILDFIRES

Gusty winds and tinder-dry grass and brush provided the perfect ingredients for a rash of wildfires that broke out in the state on April 9.

All told, more than 160 homes were destroyed statewide and 62 people were injured, two seriously.

Hardest hit was an area in eastern Oklahoma County, where a wildfire quickly grew to engulf about 70 homes in and around Midwest City.

Fire officials say the blaze was suspicious, but no arrests were ever made.

5. TURNPIKE ACCIDENT

Ten people died after a tractor-trailer slammed into a line of cars stopped by an earlier accident on June 26 along a northeastern Oklahoma turnpike near Miami.

The driver of the big rig, 76-year-old Donald Creed of Willard, Mo., had worked 10 hours straight delivering groceries in sweltering heat before the crash occurred but did not exceed federal daily driving limits.

Authorities reported there was no evidence he braked before slamming into the line of stopped cars. Creed faces 10 misdemeanor counts of negligent homicide.

6. PHARMACIST CHARGED

Confronted by two holdup men on May 19, Oklahoma City pharmacist Jerome Ersland pulled a gun, shot one of them in the head and chased the other away.

But prosecutors allege the 58-year-old Ersland went too far when, in a scene recorded by the drugstore's security camera, he went behind the counter, got another gun, and pumped five more bullets into a wounded 16-year-old boy as he lay unconscious on the floor.

Ersland was charged with first-degree murder in a case that stirred a furious debate over vigilante justice and self-defense.

7. GOP-CONTROLLED LEGISLATURE

Republicans captured the Oklahoma House in 2004 and, for the first time in history, the Senate in 2008, but 2009 marked the first legislative session convened with the GOP in charge of both chambers.

Even with a Democratic governor, the Legislature managed to push through GOP-backed changes to Oklahoma's civil justice system, commonly called tort reform.

8. ORAL ROBERTS DIES

Evangelist Oral Roberts, who rose from tent revivals to found a multimillion-dollar organization and a Tulsa university bearing his name, died on Dec. 15 in Newport Beach, Calif., of complications from pneumonia. He was 91.

For decades, Roberts deftly used television to become one of the nation's most recognized and influential preachers.

9. HENRY BELLMON DIES

Henry Louis Bellmon, who in 1963 became Oklahoma's first GOP governor since statehood and is known as the father of the state's modern Republican party, died in Oklahoma City on Sept. 29 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.

He was 88.

Bellmon served two nonconsecutive terms as governor, one that began in 1963 and another that started in 1987.

He also went on to win elections to the U.S. Senate in 1968 and again in 1974.

10. WAYMAN TISDALE DIES

Wayman Tisdale, a three-time All-American at Oklahoma who played 12 seasons in the NBA and later became a top jazz musician, died May 15 in Tulsa after a two-year-battle with cancer.

He was 44.

Tisdale played in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns. The 6-foot-9 forward, with a soft left-handed touch on the court and a wide smile off it, averaged 15.3 points for his career.

He was on the U.S. team that won the gold medal in the 1984 Olympics.

Just as Tisdale's death blurred the lines between general news and sports, athletics provided several other top news stories in 2009 -- beginning on Jan. 8, when the 12-1 Oklahoma Sooners and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Sam Bradford fell to Florida 24-14 in the BCS National Championship Game in Miami.

With Bradford returning for his junior season, hopes were high for the Sooners in 2009, but the record-setting quarterback injured his throwing shoulder in the first half of Oklahoma's season opener against Brigham Young and never really recovered.

His collegiate career ended when he reinjured the shoulder in the Cotton Bowl during the Red River Rivalry game against Texas.

Another top story in 2009 involving Oklahoma athletics came June 25, when junior center Blake Griffin was chosen as the No. 1 overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers -- the first-ever top pick from the Sooners and the first No. 1 pick from a current Big 12 Conference school since Danny Manning of Kansas in 1988.

In March, he led the Sooners to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament.

Oklahoma's women, led by All-America center Courtney Paris, reached the Final Four.