Local & Regional

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Infectious diseases that used to be unknown in Oklahoma are becoming more prevalent.

The Oklahoma Department of Health says the state has already recorded its first case of West Nile virus this year, a disease that sickened 84 people last year and killed eight.

The first case of the chikungunya virus was recorded in the state this year, and a Delaware County man who was the first Oklahoma victim of the Heartland virus was the second person in the nation to die from the disease.

LANGSTON, Okla. (AP) — City officials in Langston say noted historian and Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board member Currie Ballard has died.

Langston Mayor Alicia Sumlin said the 56-year-old Ballard died Friday, but did not have any other details.

Ballard was a native of Los Angeles who received a bachelor's degree from Langston University and served as the school's historian-in-residence from 1993 to 2006.

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — A representative of the Oklahoma Fellowship of Christian Athletes has filed a lawsuit against Sports Illustrated, saying he didn't pay benefits to players on the Oklahoma State football team as the magazine alleged he did.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Payne County District Court by plaintiff John Talley. In it, Talley says he was wrongly portrayed as an overzealous booster who improperly paid football players.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A lockdown has been lifted for two Oklahoma prison facilities after officials there searched the buildings for explosive material and then cleared the areas.

Officials say the bomb threats came in around 10 a.m. Friday directly to the switchboards at the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center and the Joseph Harp Correctional Center.

A similar threat was called in last week.

Department of Corrections spokesman Jerry Massie said Friday the area is secure.

Tulsa 9-1-1 call takers aren’t meeting standards so far this year.

The national standard is for 90 percent of calls to be answered within 10 seconds. In January, 87 percent of Tulsa 9-1-1 calls were answered within 10 seconds. Last month, 74 percent were.

Director Terry O’Malley told city councilors more people are calling the 9-1-1 center.

"We've gone from 52,000 in 2002 to 92,000," O'Malley said. "And you know how many calls we took in June?"

Call takers answered 118,718 calls in June.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — U.S. Rep. Tom Cole says federal officials want to expand the use of military facilities like Fort Sill to house an increasing number of children from Central America who are caught trying to enter the country illegally.

The Republican from Moore said in a statement Friday that the Department of Health and Human Services wants to increase its capacity for the number of children being held at temporary shelters and extend the use of facilities until 2015.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Infectious diseases that used to be unknown in Oklahoma are becoming more prevalent.

The Oklahoma Department of Health says the state has already recorded its first case of West Nile virus this year, a disease that sickened 84 people last year and killed eight.

The first case of the chikungunya virus was recorded in the state this year, and a Delaware County man who was the first Oklahoma victim of the Heartland virus was the second person in the nation to die from the disease.

PRUE, Okla. (AP) — Citing cuts in state funding, the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation says it is ending its lease for Walnut Creek State Park in northeastern Oklahoma.

The department says the park in Osage County costs more to maintain than it brings in in revenue. The agency says it will terminate its lease on Sept. 1 with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which owns the land.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A team of researchers from Oklahoma State University campuses in Tulsa and Stillwater have been awarded a $750,000 grant from NASA.

The grant announced by OSU on Thursday is for a project to develop a material that will protect astronauts from radiation during space missions.

The project is one of 15 selected for funding through the NASA Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.

The Coast Guard says its members rescued a 36-year-old man from an eastern Oklahoma lake when he began struggling in the water.

The Coast Guard says Lt. Clint Smith and Petty Officer 2nd Class Jose Blanco were touring the Arkansas River area Thursday when they heard a man yell for help near the Applegate Cove Marina of Kerr Lake.

Authorities say the man was fishing with a friend when his boat became disabled. The man jumped in the lake then struggled to stay above water.