Seth Marsicano
Multimedia Journalist
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Seth joined the 7News team in October 2022 as a videojournalist.
After graduating in 2019, he dove headfirst into teaching himself the ins and outs of filmmaking. His previous freelance experience translated to strong visual storytelling when sharing the local stories of Lawton, Fort Sill and beyond.
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“I think it’s just really important to give back,” Dunning said. “We as a small business are able to give back, and I think that’s important to our community.”
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Berry said the Fire Department struggles to retain and recruit employees because of low wages, and the ones they do have end up work multi-day long shifts.
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They said the jobs are typically based in engineering, and Johnson added when the idea of FISTA was floating around, they took it upon themselves to implement a two year engineering program to give students those STEM qualifications.
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Callahan Walsh a child advocate with the agency said during 2022, they received over 32 million reports of child exploitation.
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“You’ve got quite a few folks that have quite a bit of money invested in the area, and I think we’d all like to see the quality of that area improve and continue to improve to be a great place to recreate.”
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“My husband regularly works 48 and 72 hour shifts. We don’t see him a lot. I think the longest shift that someone has worked is120 hours,” said Lauren Atkinson, a wife of a firefighter who spoke at the podium. “These guys are tired, so I wanted to get up there and point out some of the terrible things associated with them not providing them the raises that they’re owed.”
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Their initial goal is to use artificial intelligence to break into state-level workforce development, improving services like SNAP benefits and job searching.
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As Central Plaza turns into a hybrid environment with businesses from FISTA coexisting with retail stores, Ratliff said it’s important FISTA has community initiatives, even though the majority of the Innovation Park is closed to the public.
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Whether it’s two in the morning or four in the afternoon, just as the soldiers never quit, neither will the they.
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Powell said Veterans have an obligation to show their support, but when the community steps up, Assistant Director of the Fort Sill National Cemetery Matthew Priest said nothing compares.
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The the vigil represents hope , Maxine added, and in the position she and her family are in, hope is the most important thing to have.
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“He never hurt anybody, or wanted to see anybody hurt in any way,” Maxine said. “That’s why nobody can understand what happened. Because he never bothered nobody. He did his work, took care of his family, and that was it.”
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Booker said council meetings shouldn’t run for eight hours and Warren added one way to save time is to be concise when talking.
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A new app will be created to provide rides on demand where people can schedule certain times to be picked up.
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Cook added being prior service himself, soldier input is of the utmost importance when developing new technology.
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Long said the US is in a race against China, and this is her way of serving her country.
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Brace stated the trust authority guidelines allow them certain advantages as opposed to operating as a regular LLC, like more grant opportunities, streamlined connections, and have a specialized board.
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According to Amy Hagerman, an associate professor at OSU’s Agriculture Economics Department, what we refer to as the Farm Bill is an umbrella term for the programs covered like disaster relief and SNAP benefits.
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“It’s a big problem for us from this standpoint. Presently, the Greer County Jail holds 36 prisoners,” said District 3 District Attorney David Thomas. “Today, 41% of those are people that are charged with making prison drops, or bringing contraband into the prison.”
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Randy Warren said a difficult part about hiring is you don’t always know what kind of candidate you’re going to get until they’re in the position, but that wasn’t the case with Ratliff.
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In a presentation Chief Williams said the fire department is behind 40% in staffing.
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“In this world of high tech innovation, we are, our city is not on the forefront of that. It’s not on anyone’s radar. So you’ve got to create an environment where people want to come here, they have a reason to do that,” said Brace. “We’ve created an environment where it’s advantageous for one reason or another, everyone is different, but we give them advantages for bringing their business here.”
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Morgan said along with privacy, there is a financial incentive if your tip leads to an arrest.
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LPD officials also said they were able to make an arrest thanks to multiple anonymous tips through Crime Stoppers of Southwest Oklahoma.
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His warrant was recalled October 17, and Carpenter is currently being held in the Comanche County Detention Center.
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According to Jason Mansel, the solid waste superintendent, the landfill has given over 400 additional fees this year to people bringing in unsecured loads to dump.
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Mayor Brown said Cache has been on the line of being classified as a “food desert” because of it’s proximity to Lawton, and it’s made it difficult trying to convince companies to move in.
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People shared their concerns on environmental safety, employment opportunities, and being reassured Westwin elements is going through the proper steps to operate.
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Council approved bids to be open immediately with the cost estimate being around $2.1 million.
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A contractor said he stopped taking jobs through the program all together because it’s not about the jobs being completed, but what the homeowners are asking that $35,000 to cover.
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Packs said besides the deductible the city has to pay for insurance, all other expenses are refundable by FEMA.
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The new director said he leaped at the opportunity when he saw the open position for the city, and took it as his chance to get involved with the community.
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“It takes all of us together to come to a conclusion, and I think that we’re all focused on hiring the best person that will be invested in our city.”
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Both Representatives said this caused a lot frustration in the house, and hope with a subject as big as tax policy, there is more communication put in by all parties.
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Even though FISTA is currently at 100% capacity for phase one, according to Dr. Ratliff, they are not going to slow down their growth which is why they’re expanding into the plaza.
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According to councilman Allan Hampton, the chair of the committee, this incentive program was never really meant to be decided on by city council.
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Officials with the C. Carter Crane Shelter and MIGHT said Lawton is the closest city with resources for the surrounding area, which acts as one reason for the rise in homelessness.
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“I was a little skeptical myself, and as the grant date was getting closer I thought, you know if I don’t apply for these things my neighbors will and they’ll get them, and everybody will wonder why I didn’t.”
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Bonds said Cross left some big shoes to fill, but with the support that was shown today, Cross left the department in a good place.
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Dusty Deevers was born and raised in Elgin where he works as a pastor and prior to that, ran the pharmacy in Elgin for five years.
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With the presented concepts, Ryan Landers, the general manager of LATS, said this project is going to bring much more than a nice building.
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Rodrick said a lot of problems the shelter has comes from the size of the building.
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Bush said he struggled a lot in school and wanted to fight for education after learning about the problems in Oklahoma’s school system.
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The Public Service Company of Oklahoma said they’re currently assessing exactly what happened and are looking for a permanent solution.
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“I’ve known this really not to just be a location to go ahead and have something good and clean to go ahead and eat at, but really a popular Lawton, iconic venue.”
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“We get people from all over the United States, all over the world, coming here Duncan, Oklahoma,” said Prosthetic Technician Seth Alexander. “It’s a really unique situation for people to be in. It’s a very difficult thing for most prosthetist to fit.”
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Whisenhunt said this incident expedited the process as the sewer lines in the area were already going to be replaced with construction of a neighboring line currently taking place, just a block away.
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According to council documents, the Mayor and council members expressed “concern that the salaries of City of Lawton employees are substantially lagging other cities or towns within Oklahoma of comparable size, population and city employees”.
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According to the Comanche county election board there are approximately 40,000 registered voters in Lawton. Out of those people, around 2,400 actually cast a ballot.
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While voters in Comanche County are deciding on city council elections, other areas will be deciding on propositions from Navajo and Waurika Public Schools.
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