State Briefs

Published: June 19, 2008

Oklahomans soon will be able to use their Pikepass to park at Tulsa International Airport.

The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority approved an agreement Wednesday with the Tulsa Airport Trust to authorize the use of the Pikepass for parking transactions at the airport. The deal is for five years.

Officials said it would be six to nine months before the Pikepass system is operational at the Tulsa airport.

The Turnpike Authority will receive 6 percent of each transaction for allowing the airport to use the Pikepass system for parking transactions.

A disaster recovery center set up to assist Picher citizens after last month's deadly tornado is changing its mission.

The Ottawa Disaster Recovery Center will close Saturday to make room for the federal Small Business Administration to open a disaster loan outreach center.

Beginning Monday, officials at the office will issue loan applications and answer questions about the SBA's disaster loan program.

The agency offers low-interest loans to homeowners and businesses to repair or replace property damaged in a disaster.

The SBA says the center willfocus on meeting the long-term needs of tornado victims.

The May 10 twister resulted in the deaths of seven people.

An Eakly teenager died Wednesday in a single-vehicle accident about three miles south of Eakly in Caddo County, authorities said.

Clemente Olversa, 17, died at the scene.

Olversa was driving a pickup at a high rate of speed on a county road, about 2½ miles south of State Highway 152 when the vehicle left the road, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

Olversa overcorrected and the pickup went back on the road before it began a broadslide. It rolled twice and landing in a field.

Olversa, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown nearly 70 feet.

Wildlife officials are awaiting the results of tests to determine what killed several hundred fish at a Lawton lake.

Fisheries biologist Larry Cofer says hundreds of carp, shad, crappie and catfish died at the Liberty Lake, and some of the living fish are showing signs of stress.

Cofer says the problem seems to be limited to fish, and there don't appear to be any contaminants that would pose a danger to humans.

From Staff and Wire Reports

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