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Dozens of crashes reported; police urge motorists to slow down by: Staff Reports Monday, January 26, 2009 1/26/2009 4:37:16 PM Ambulance crews responded to dozens of crashes and police shut down all lanes of U.S. 169 from 11th Street to 21st Street. The highway was reopened late Monday afternoon after sand trucks were able to treat it, police said. Gov. Brad Henry has declared a state of emergency for all 77 counties. "Oklahomans know all too well that severe winter weather poses serious challenges to everything from roads and power lines to debris removal, and so it is important that...

By Staff Reports Published: 1/26/2009 8:44 AM Last Modified: 1/27/2009 9:48 AM Freezing drizzle and sleet created dangerous conditions across a wide swath of the state Monday, and at least two people died and many others were injured in traffic accidents. Slick roads led to temporary closures of scores of highways and roads, early closings of schools and businesses, and announcements of school and event cancellations for Tuesday. A Tulsa man was killed when his Chevrolet Trail Blazer slid into a Freightliner truck on the Will Rogers Turnpike in Ottawa County, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported. Renard J. Johnson Jr.,...

By RHETT MORGAN World Staff Writer Published: 1/29/2009 2:43 AM Last Modified: 1/29/2009 2:49 AM WESTVILLE — The gravity of this week's ice storm weighed on Mary Hopkins. Speaking through tears, the Westville resident recounted Wednesday how the storm had zapped her trailer's electricity, dropped a tree limb through the back glass of her 2001 Saturn and separated her from her beloved Chihuahuas. "It's terrible," Hopkins said from a seat in the Assembly of God, where the American Red Cross is operating a shelter. "No electricity, limbs everywhere. My car got messed up ... My little dogs are in the...

Thursday (01.29.09) I traveled up I-55 through Arkansas and Missouri on the heels of a rather nasty winter storm. From just north of Blytheville, AR to a bit north of Charleston, MO the storm dropped an unbelievable amount of ice. The results were devastating. Thousands of people without power and significant damage to homes, trees and power lines. Being the shutterbug that I am, I grabbed my digital camera to get images for my blog. But the batteries were dead. And since no one had power and all the stores were closed, I could not get any batteries. So, I...