“I have served my entire legislative tenure with Representative Piatt and I have seen first hand his capable leadership skills and bi-partisan nature.

“Representative Piatt being named as Floor Leader is a victory for not only the people he represents in the Ardmore area, but for all Oklahomans.

“I truly believe Rep. Piatt will display his statesmanlike demeanor as he serves as Floor Leader, just as he has throughout his career.

Twenty-four members of the Oklahoma State Senate, including nine freshmen, will be officially sworn in at noon on Thursday, November 16, 2006, in the Senate chamber of the State Capitol. The Honorable Joseph M. Watt, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, will administer the oath of office on the 99th anniversary of Oklahoma’s statehood.

With groundbreaking for a permanent memorial for the USS Oklahoma slated for next month in Hawaii, the fundraising effort is now in full swing. As he pledged last May, Gov. Brad Henry presented a check from the Centennial Commission for $100,000 for the memorial at a State Capitol ceremony on Tuesday. The USS Oklahoma had the second-highest casualty rate of any American ship in the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Saying it’s time to put the contentious partisan politics of the election season in the past, Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan announced Monday plans for a series of meetings with other state leaders to begin anew the work of moving Oklahoma forward.

“To govern effectively, we have to find common ground. The last two years have been marked by a bitter partisan divide and a number of hard fought campaigns only widened that gap,” Morgan said. “Our job now is to build bridges and come together to form a consensus to move Oklahoma forward.”

Senator Richard Lerblance knows all too well the devastating affects - physically, mentally and financially - that Alzheimer's can have on a family. His mother began showing symptoms of the disease in 1991 and has been totally incapacitated the past six years. For this reason, Lerblance wants to help bring awareness to this horrible disease and the fact that November is National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month.

Gov. Brad Henry signed into law Thursday Senate Bill 1919 which authorizes creation of the African-American Centennial Plaza on the grounds of the State Capitol as part of Oklahoma’s Centennial Celebration in 2007.

The governor was joined at the ceremonial signing by State Senator Constance N. Johnson, D-Oklahoma City, and Rep. Jabar Shumate, D-Tulsa, who co-authored the legislation.

State Senator Judy Eason McIntyre had always been careful to have an annual mammogram, and had always gotten a clean bill of health—until this past August. When she saw the cluster of white flecks on the mammogram image, she knew something was wrong. A couple of weeks later a biopsy confirmed it was cancer.

“Emotionally, I went from shock, fear, denial, a feeling of helplessness…I started really thinking funeral plans,” said Eason McIntyre.

State Sen. Susan Paddack is back from a week-long trip to the Middle East and Africa aimed at giving leaders from across the country an opportunity to experience first-hand what it is like for Americans serving in the military. The Joint Civilian Orientation Conference (JCOC), organized by the Department of Defense, enabled Paddack to meet with men and women serving in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. Tinker Air Force Base nominated Paddack to be one of only 45 participants nationwide.

A legislative initiative to ensure women have access to life-saving breast and cervical cancer treatment has helped thousands of Oklahomans. That’s according to State Sen. Debbe Leftwich, co-author of the legislation creating the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Program. Leftwich is also Co-chair of Oklahoma’s Cancer Caucus.

State Sen. Kenneth Corn said with current Department of Corrections (DOC) projections indicating Oklahoma will soon run out of room, he supports the construction of new prison space. Corn, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and Judiciary, called the situation critical.