The Tuesday edition of Oklahoma Memo is brought to you by Bigbie Insurance & Benefits. Learn more about our sponsor at the bottom of today’s newsletter.

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Yes, today is Election Day — across much of the United States — but not here in Oklahoma. There are, however, some special elections on Nov. 18. Just wanted to let you know in case you thought you were supposed to head to the polls today. 😊

Today’s lead story is an investigation from The Frontier into the closure of a waste disposal company near Enid. Then comes a conversation I had with Caitlin Beasley of Metriarch and Amanda Gaddy of Women In Recovery about a recently released report explaining why pregnant women are hesitant to get help when they’re addicted.

Last but not least, my buddy Jeremy and I talk about the Sooners and Cowboys, the Thunder’s 7-0 start, the Dodgers’ World Series championship — and we break down our favorite Halloween candy — all on this week’s edition of “Bedlam Buds.”

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By Kayla Branch, The Frontier
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For weeks, Renae Haymaker was talking to neighbors about the smell drifting from the open pits filled with oil and gas waste a few miles away.

Haymaker, the elementary principal at Hillsdale Christian School outside of Enid, said it smelled like a “buried body.” The smell would fill cars as families drove their kids to school down the main road, making noses burn, according to over 40 complaints sent to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission earlier this year. 

“We didn’t know what it was or if it would harm anyone,” Haymaker told The Frontier.

The pits belong to Nemaha Environmental Services, a local oilfield waste disposal company. The company treats mud, wastewater and other debris from oil and gas production.

One woman wrote to the state that she was vomiting and suffering from headaches. A local doctor wrote that he worried about the health of people living in the area. A town official asked the state to step in. A volunteer firefighter with the Hillsdale-Carrier Fire District said concerned residents had been calling 911.

Many of the complaints came after Nemaha accepted 7,500 barrels of material not covered by its state permits, mainly spent caustic wash from a refinery in Wisconsin, according to state records. The caustic wash was primarily sodium hydroxide, a common chemical but one that can pose serious health hazards like eye damage and skin burns, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Click here to finish the story.

Editor’s note: Links requiring subscriptions have an *.

By Ryan Welton, Oklahoma Memo
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A new women’s health report says Oklahoma is escalating criminal charges against pregnant women with substance use disorders — and advocates warn the trend is making outcomes worse, not better.

Caitlin Beasley of Metriarch said the organization is “a research and policy organization that focuses on women here in Oklahoma” and that the “Paths to Recovery” report grew out of rising concerns over infant and maternal mortality. The findings: increasing felony child-neglect charges against pregnant women suffering from addiction is discouraging them from seeking help for their addictions.

“I think probably the biggest conclusion that we came out of it with… is that we’re moving kind of in the wrong direction as far as our approach to this,” Beasley said, adding that many women now fear reaching out for treatment because it may lead to arrest instead of support.

Amanda Gaddy of Family & Children’s Services’ Women in Recovery program says the alternative works: “They're not going to get the treatment and the services they need when they're going to prison. They're going to come out the same way that they went in, and that is not going to be what's best for that family.”

The program keeps mothers with their children while providing addiction treatment and reunification support rather than incarceration.

The full report, including policy recommendations for lawmakers, is available at metriarchok.org.

Bedlam Buds breaks down Oklahoma’s road win at Tennessee — why the “middle eight” and a pivotal defensive score turned it into a “grit win” — and OSU’s progress despite a 38–21 loss at Kansas.

Ryan and Jeremy talk about the Dodgers’ late-game defensive masterpiece. They close with the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 7–0 surge from early overtime grit to a more regular season form — and a candy detour as the guys talk Halloween.

Subscribe on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts for weekly OU/OSU talk and sports takes.

Editor’s note: Links requiring subscriptions have an *.

A hand-curated list of the best journalism from across the state:

• Officials vote to provide $1 million per week to Oklahoma food banks until SNAP is funded (Oklahoma Voice)

• She started with a few sandwiches. Now a north Tulsa woman feeds dozens of people in need every week. (The Oklahoma Eagle)

• Tulsa-area families seeking alternative child care options due to government shutdown (Tulsa Flyer)

• Oklahoma high court questions need for TSET legislative changes (Oklahoma Voice)

• Two more sets of remains exhumed in Race Massacre burial search at Oaklawn (Tulsa World)*

• Nichols pushes for vote on city sales tax increase (Public Radio Tulsa)

• Organizers share 'a lot of enthusiasm' as signature gathering for open primaries kicks off (Public Radio Tulsa)

• Former Norman teacher sues Ryan Walters, Oklahoma State Board of Education members (KOSU)

• Evictions through the lens of a law enforcement officer (Oklahoma Watch)

• Tulsa police aim to bridge the gap between the department, Latino community (Tulsa Flyer)

• Weatherford police increase patrols after suspicious animal deaths (KOCO)

• Suspect dies after Midwest City police pursuit ends in crash (KOCO)

• OKC police search for motive behind deadly shooting of 15-year-old on Halloween (KOCO)

• Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board names new executive director (News 9)

• Your PSO bill has multiple small charges. Here’s how to read them. (Tulsa Flyer)

• 10K Tulsa kids get the chance to be CEO for the day. Soon, that number will grow. (Tulsa Flyer)

• Heartland payroll division sold, will stay in Bricktown, new hirings planned (The Oklahoman)*

• 30 years later: Connie Chung reunites with first responders in healing moment (News 9)

• OU’s first-ever chief AI officer shares vision for artificial intelligence’s role on campus (OU Daily)

• ConocoPhillips cutting support for student internships and research (Gaylord News)

• OU fan sails to Knoxville to cheer on Sooners (KFOR)

Sunny and warm.

🌡️ Tuesday's high in OKC 77°
🌡️ Tuesday’s high in Tulsa 75°

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