Last week on the House floor I had the honor of recognizing a group of young women and their coach from Oklahoma Baptist Collegiate Ministries (BCM) at Carl Albert State College in Poteau who recently won a state basketball championship.
I asked Coach Clay Phillips to give me a little bit of information about this team, and got the following:
Each year, all of the Oklahoma BCM’s send basketball teams to compete in a state tournament. This year, with only five players, Carl Albert State College’s Lady Vikings were crowned the champions. After defeating several larger schools such as Oklahoma State University and Northwestern Oklahoma State University, the Lady Vikings defeated Northeastern State University in the championship. In a finish much like Hickory sealing the win over Southbend Central in the classic movie “Hoosiers,” the Lady Vikings were down by one point with seconds left when Lindsey Waits (Leflore) drained a three-point shot to put them up by two and secure their victory. Other team members included Hannah Caldwell (Smithville), Reilli Whitehead (Cameron), Ashley Daney (Talihina), and Zoe Wharton (Gans).
BCM, formerly Baptist Student Union, has been in Oklahoma since 1921 and has a chapter at every public college and university in the state as well as several private institutions – 39 campuses total. BCM seeks to strategically reach students through evangelism, discipleship, student leadership development, recruiting, missions, and building relationships with campus staff, all while partnering with local churches. I’ll add that they train some talented basketball players as well.
I also want to mention the Class 2A state championship girls basketball game played Saturday in Oklahoma City. This was the first time in history that two teams from LeFlore County played against each other in the finals. These teams both have great players and great coaches but only one could win the championship and bring home the gold ball. The Pocola Lady Indians won the championship this year over the Howe Lady Lions who won last year. I have invited the Lady Indians to the Capitol to celebrate their win. They will be coming soon to be recognized for their accomplishments.
Last week was busy in the House as we approach our third-reading deadline when all House bills have to pass to the Senate to stay alive.
Several bills advanced that will please some people in my area.
House Bill 3637 would add timber and logging expenses as well as big game animals to the list of items that qualify for an agriculture sales tax exemption.
House Bill 3465 would require the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Commission to present any changes in their state park entry fee structure made after Nov. 1 of this year to the Legislature for approval. This affects Wister Lake. Those of us with state parks in our area were upset a few years ago when the Tourism Department decided to implement entry and parking fees at state parks to raise money for maintenance. This would make it so any future fee increases would have to run through the Legislature’s administrative rules process before they could be enacted.
Remember to tune into KPRV radio at 7:30 a.m. every Thursday to listen to my update.
- As always, if I can help you with anything, feel free to call my Capitol office at (405) 557-7413 or email me at rick.west@okhouse.gov.