March 19, 2019 Issue, Page 4 of 10

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Serving Western Oklahoma Since 1901 A new tool for Oklahoma govenors The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City The Republican-controlled Legislature wasted little time e\9 ND(ZOnS MEM EEL comics.com EMAIL: [email protected] approving one of the top items on Gov. Kevin Stitt’s wish list -- providing the governor with more authority over state agency directors. The question now is whether Stitt will feel he needs to use this clout any time soon. Stitt on Wednesday signed the five bills that allow the governor to choose who leads the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, the Department of Transportation, the Depart- ment of Mental Health and Substance Abuses Services, So-called ‘judicial reform’ the Department of Corrections and the Office of Juvenile Affairs. Each of the directors was approved by their respective will have negative effect on rural Oklahoma boards. These new bills leave the hiring and firing of the directors not to the boards but to the governor (with Senate confirmation). The legislation keeps the boards in place, but allows members to be removed at will. The governor also will be able to appoint a majority of Enid News & Eagle, Okla. counties. Earlier this session, Oklahoma. Eventually, the connected elite in Oklahoma the various boards’ members, and the House and Senate state Rep. David Perryman, Supreme Court members City and Tulsa. will be able to make board appointments as well. Earlier this month, Gov. D-Chickasha, warned of end- likely will all be from the Tul- Want proof? Look at the bill ‘The agencies impacted by this change are among the Kevin Stitt praised the Okla- ing up “with a bunch of urban sa or Oklahoma City metro language. They are propos- largest in state government. And, in our view, they’re all homa House of Representa- attorneys who don’t under- areas. The perspective ofthe ing that current District 2 in being led capably. Becky Pasternik-Ikard oversees the tives for passing House Bil stand rural Oklahoma” and county seat lawyer or a rural 2366. suggested the Supreme Court judge will be lost forever. rural southeastern Oklahoma Health Care Authority, which administers Medicaid in Described as advancement “would not reflect the people You probably won’t get become one ofthe at-large Oklahoma. Mike Patterson is head of transportation, Terri of the state of Oklahoma who people like recently retired seat on the court. White directs mental health, Joe Allbaugh is director of the legislation,” Stitt said Okla- actually have cases before Chief Justice Steven W. Why does that matter? DOC and Steven Buck runs the Office of Juvenile Affairs. homa Supreme Court districts them,” according to The Okla- Taylor from McAlester and Justice Patrick Wyrick is the Buck was also Stitt’s choice to become secretary for hu- were drawn in the 1960s and homan. former Justice Joseph M. current holder of District 2 man services and early childhood initiatives -- clearly, the have never been revisited Although our area law- Watt from Altus on the court, and he has been nominated governor is a fan. All five are passionate advocates for their to reflect the state’s current makers are still studying the let alone anyone from Enid. for a federal court position agencies and the people served by them. From the outside, population distribution. issue, we believe House Bill Future judicial appointments However, the proposed 2366 will ultimately have a will most likely be controlled -- so they expect that to be the there have been no obvious problems with the current “solution” weakens the negative impact on Garfield by the State Chamber of first rural seat that they can heads, but no one is guaranteed a top job now without mak- structure of rural Oklahoma County and, ultimately, rural Commerce and the politically go after. ing the head man happy. One impetus for these bills was the 2017-18 debacle at the Department of Health, where agency leaders claimed they faced a $30 million budget shortfall. The Legislature provided an emergency infusion -- only to learn the agency Vaccine study another had the necessary funds all along. The state’s multi-county grand jury criticized the Legislature for not digging deeply enough into budget requests, but also said the Health Department's board “failed to provide proper financial oversight.” Stitt subsequently campaigned on the need to give the governor more say in how government is run. These bills will do that. “With this legislation we are ensuring Okla- shot in the arm homa’s governments truly accountable to the people of The Oklahoman, Oklahoma who had a sibling with the Efforts at the Legislature but nonoverlapping nation- Oklahoma,” Stitt said. City disorder. Results of the study to strengthen Oklahoma’s wide cohort study of $37,303 Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, were published last week law have failed. Meantime, Danish children. Reassur- It may be wishful thinking, in the Annals of Internal the percentage of children ingly, the main results are added that now, “Oklahomans will know clearly where the but perhaps vaccine skeptics Medicine. entering kindergarten with similar between the 2 studies, buck stops: with the governor.” -- and there are a good num- Inan email to National the MMR vaccine has fallen which supports the inter- That goes for Republican and Democratic governors ber in Oklahoma -- will give Public Radio, the study's in the past decade from 97.3 alike, although in arguing against the proposals, Democrat- consideration to anew study lead author, epidemiologist percent to below 93 percent. nal and external validity of that again confirms there is ‘Anders Hviid ofthe Staten Health experts say about 95 both.” ic leaders said they constituted a power grab that would no link between these child- Serum Institute in Copen- percent coverage is needed to --”A main reason that par- hinder transparency and foster cronyism. It falls to Stitt to hood vaccines and autism. hagen, put it bluntly: “MMR prevent epidemics. ents avoid or are concerned show that won't be the case, by making wise and deliberate Researchers crunched data does not cause autism.” A few lines from this new about childhood vaccinations use of this new executive authority. taken from 657,461 children Yet that myth continues study are worth mentioning: has been the perceived link born in Denmark to Danish- to circulate, nearly a decade --"'We found no support for to autism. Our study adds born mothers between 1999 after the claim by British the hypothesis of increased to previous studies through and 2010. Of those, 6,517 doctor Andrew Wakefield risk for autism after MMR Have a letter to were diagnosed with autism was refuted. And, children vaccination in a nationwide significant additional statisti- over the next decade -- but continue to get sick because unselected population of cal power and by addressing the editor? Email researchers found there wasn’t an increased risk their parents choose not to get them vaccinated. In the Danish children; no support for the hypothesis of MMR hypotheses of susceptible subgroups and clustering of it to editor@ among those who received first two months of this year, the measles-mumps-rubella 206 measles cases were con- vaccination triggering autism in susceptible subgroups cases. ... our study does not support that MMR vaccina- ecdailynews.com vaccine when compared with firmed in the United States those who hadn’t gotten vac- that’s more than in all of characterized by environ- mental and familial factors; tion increases the risk for autism, triggers autism in cinated. 2017. and no support for a cluster- or stop by 206 W. In addition, research Oklahoma is among the ing of autism cases in specific susceptible children, or is associated with clustering of ers found no increased risk states where parents can cite time periods after MMR vac- Broadway, Elk City. among subgroups of kids who medical, religious or other might be unusually suscep- reasons in deciding not to get cination.” --?We previously ad- autism cases after vaccina- tion.” tible to autism, such as those their children vaccinated. dressed this issue in a similar Parents, please take note.