Thursday, January 25, 2024
Gov. Greg Abbott defiant as federal government again demands border access in Eagle Pass Aarón Torres The Dallas Morning News
Courtesy of OSU News Karen Smith, who sought care for her two kangaroos, brought the pair to OSU’s Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.
Hops for Healing OSU vet med’s zoological medicine team treats two kangaroos Courtesy of OSU News
has brought her kangaroos to the VMTH for care. The first patient she brought to OSU was a male red kangaroo named Rip. His most recent health concern was a dislocated hip, which left him in the care of hospital faculty and staff for eight days. Not every animal that gets “We first took him to our local treated in Stillwater is from Oklavet who X-rayed him and referred us homa, or even North America. to OSU,” Smith said. Oklahoma State University’s Rip presented severely lame Veterinary Medical Teaching and, after radiographs were taken, Hospital zoological medicine team recently had the opportunity to learn they showed he had a coxofemoral luxation. and work with animals they don’t “When Rip came to us, we see every day. initially tried to replace the luxation Since April 2022, Karen Smith
manually with him under anesthesia, however, that was not possible,” said Dr. João Brandão, associate professor of zoological medicine and Debbie and Wayne Bell professor in veterinary clinical sciences. “Therefore, surgical repair was elected.” After recovering from surgery, Rip is back home and doing great, said zoological medicine intern Dr. Greta Doden. “The collaboration between all of the services: zoo medicine, surgery, anesthesia and ICU/critical care was the main reason for his success,” Doden said. See Kangaroos on 8
AUSTIN, Texas — Despite a second letter from the federal government demanding that Texas stop blocking federal agents from reaching the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Gov. Greg Abbott was not backing down Wednesday, insisting that the state will continue working to deter undocumented immigrants from crossing the border. Texas, Abbott insisted, has the right to defend itself from what he called recordsmashing levels of illegal immigration. “James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and the other visionaries who wrote the U.S. Constitution foresaw that States should not be left to the mercy of a lawless president who does nothing to stop external threats like cartels smuggling millions of illegal immigrants across the border,” Abbott wrote in a statement made public Wednesday. Abbott’s statement accused President Joe Biden’s administration of breaking “the compact” between the federal government and individual states by failing to enforce federal immigration
laws.
The ongoing friction between Texas and the federal government has intensified since the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday allowed Border Patrol agents to resume removing or cutting razor wire the state has installed along the Rio Grande to deter undocumented immigrants from crossing. On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, citing the Supreme Court ruling, sent a second letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton demanding that Texas Military Department soldiers and Department of Public Safety troopers give Border Patrol agents “full access to the Shelby Park area currently obstructed by Texas,” wrote Jonathan E. Meyer, the agency’s general counsel. Texas took control of the city-owned park and fenced it off Jan. 10, blocking Border Patrol agents from a popular crossing spot at the Rio Grande and the only nearby boat ramp from which to launch patrols. Meyer previously sent Paxton a ceaseand-desist letter saying the Biden administration would ask the Justice Department to intervene if the state did not stop blocking Border Patrol from the park by Jan. 17. See Border on 7
Winter weather brings slow start to spring semester Harli Gomez O’Colly Contributor
As classes commenced Wednesday, Jan. 17, a storm brewed at OSU. Wind, snow and ice overshadowed the start of the spring semester. Temperatures as low as 9 degrees Fahrenheit caused complications across campus. The cold front negatively impacted housing, which suffered multiple breakages. Max Kamplain, a freshman, said he experienced trouble upon his return to the dorms. “Our basement flooded, so we don’t have washing machines or dryers right now,” Kamplain said. “Wentz is not the best.” Damages from the freeze weren’t restricted to campus housing. Brett Lindstrom, a sophomore, faced a similar problem living off campus. “The only thing that has been bad this week was the pipes freezing in my house, so I didn’t have water for 3 days,” Lindstrom said. “That sucked.” Living on or off campus, students were unable to escape the troubles the cold front brought on. With pipes frozen or broken, students were left to search for amenities elsewhere. Outside of personal challenges, the cold weather presents a unique set of challenges to those with pets. Alexa Davis, a freshman, said caring for her horses in the snow has been a struggle
File Photo Freezing temperatures and winter weather greeted students as they returned for the spring semester.
this week. “I have to break ice every morning and night, at least twice a day if not more,” Davis said. “Food gives them energy, and you have to feed them a lot more, so it’s economically more challenging. I had to be out there a lot longer.” Being from California, Davis said she felt underprepared for the winter weather. Her horses sported five blankets each to keep the cold out. Davis wasn’t the only out-of-state student feeling this way. Sawyer Pratt, a freshman from Visalia, California, said she wasn’t prepared for the cold either. “The Central Valley doesn’t usually get cold like this,” Pratt said. “I’ve
just been trying to figure out the best way to layer to like actually be warm but not too warm. Especially going into classrooms where the heaters are on, you have to take off all the layers.” OSU canceled classes on Tuesday, Jan. 17. The cancellation gave students a chance to acclimate to the weather and remain indoors while temperatures plummeted below zero. However, not everyone was appreciative of the delay. Lucy Beckner, a freshman, said not starting on the scheduled first day made her feel weird. “It kind of made me feel a little disorganized, to be honest,” Beckner said. “The schedule was messed up, and it messed with my mind and made me
feel unorganized.” Whether struggling with housing malfunctions, caring for animals, staying bundled up or feeling disorganized by schedule changes, students can look forward to warmer weather in the coming weeks. Kaitlynn Northam, a sophomore, said she plans to enjoy the cold while it’s here. It won’t last forever. “It makes when the sun comes out that much more special,” Northam said. Parker Bradley, Marlie Armatta and Raynee Howell contributed to this story. news.ed@ocolly.com