Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 3695
According to Alva Police, a young man being arrested for domestic assault escaped custody, leading to a foot pursuit. He managed to elude officers but was located later and taken to jail. Court records show on Thursday, April 25, at 3:05 a.m. Alva Police Officer Jayce Cline was dispatched to the 900 block of Church Street for a physical domestic incident in progress. When the officer arrived he spoke with Matthew Hansel, noticing blood on Hansel’s hands and a blood smear on the front door of the residence. He asked what happened, and Hansel s...
The Alva Hospital Authority (AHA) has yet to take action on a management agreement for Share Convalescent Home. The agreement with Adam and Dayna Jordan of Beadles Nursing Home was on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting, but the Jordans haven’t finished looking over changes with their attorney. During the primary election on June 18, registered voters in Alva will be able cast their ballot on the proposal to convey the Share Convalescent Home property to the Alva Hospital Authority. Approval of this ballot measure is needed so the sale of the fac...
While Rep. Carl Newton laments his first bill that died in committee, Sen. Casey is celebrating passage last year of his "best bill," one he believes actually saves lives. The legislators spoke during the Alva Chamber Community Coffee Friday morning, April 19. Held at Northwest Technology Center and hosted by Public Service of Oklahoma (PSO), the meeting drew a larger than average crowd. It was the last community coffee for Chamber Executive Director Jodie Bradford-Stevison, who was working her...
Wow, northwest Oklahoma has a lot of talented people! Friday night, I attended the musical “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella” at Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva. I’ve been to musicals in New York City, Chicago and Las Vegas. This local production was just as impressive, and I enjoyed it more because I know some of the cast members. Seeing preliminary publicity for the production, my daughter Marisa expressed interest in driving over from Ponca City to attend. My high school...
A Lahoma man is facing charges of child sexual abuse in Alfalfa County. According to court documents, the incidents occurred in Goltry between May 1, 2022, and September 1, 2023. Court records show a woman told Alfalfa County Sheriff’s Deputy TJ Rockenbach that her minor daughter had been molested. Rockenbach contacted District Attorney’s Investigator Steve Tanio for assistance in the investigation. On March 22, Tanio conducted a video-recorded child forensic interview of the girl. She ind...
Two men have been charged in Alfalfa County after being stopped on prison property on April 13. According to court papers, about 7 a.m. at James Crabtree Correctional Center (JCCC) in Helena a man, later identified as Jacob King, was seen running up to the Unit 6 fence by the water tower and throwing a package over the fence. Two JCCC staff members observed a second subject, later identified as Jesse Beaty, hiding by the JCCC gun range. Both subjects were detained, and Helena Police Chief Jim...
After a search in the minimum security pod at James Crabtree Correctional Center in Helena, two inmates are facing felony charges in Alfalfa County. Court records show on Feb. 13 correctional officers (COs) searched bunks belonging to Julio Tobias and Rogelio Granados. The COs found a cellular phone, approximately 44 grams of crystalline substance and approximately 27 grams of green leafy substance in or around property belonging to the two inmates. ODOC Agent Grace tested the crystalline...
Rudy Briggs Jr. is the longest-serving sheriff in Woods County. Monday morning during the Woods County Commissioners meeting, Briggs announced his retirement, to take effect July 1, 2025. Having begun working as a deputy in 1995 and holding the office of undersheriff for two years, Briggs was appointed sheriff in 1998. In 2016, Briggs was inducted into the Oklahoma Sheriff Hall of Fame. In 2022, he was named Public Safety Professional of the Year at the Alva Chamber Citizens Choice Gala. Briggs...
Wow, northwest Oklahoma has a lot of talented people! Friday night, I attended the musical “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella” at Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva. I’ve been to musicals in New York City, Chicago and Las Vegas. This local production was just as impressive, and I enjoyed it more because I know some of the cast members. Seeing preliminary publicity for the production, my daughter Marisa expressed interest in driving over from Ponca City to attend. My high school...
Two people have been charged with felony child abuse following an investigation by the Alfalfa County Sheriff’s Office. The investigation began on March 25 when Burlington Schools reported to DHS the possible child abuse of an 8-year-old girl who said she had been spanked at home and it hurt to sit down. Court records show Deputy Caleb Roberts and a DHS case worker went to Driftwood (an unincorporated town) to make contact with the parent. They spoke to Jeremiah Miller who lives at the r...
The numbers tell the story. Eighteen men participated in a high school graduation equivalency ceremony Thursday morning after completing their GED testing. A total of 69 inmates have completed their high school equivalencies since Jan. 1, but a majority of them have been transferred. Of this year's graduates, 23.2 percent of those received an honors designation. Bill Johnson Correctional Center (BJCC) has served 276 students in their programs from April 1, 2023, to the present. In addition to th...
Sadie Bier was elected president of the Alva City Council Monday night. She will serve through next year. The office was vacant after Daniel Winters resigned last month. Bier’s principal duty will be to lead meetings when the mayor is absent. She seemed surprised when nominated by Greg Bowman and seconded by Troy Brooks. The election was unanimous. Mayor Kelly Parker is still looking for people to fill the Ward 1 and Ward 2 vacancies on the city council. Most of Monday’s three-hour meeting was spent on a sanitation presentation and public heari...
"I want to be clear. We are hearing information ... but City Council is not going to be making a decision today," said Mayor Kelly Parker when introducing a presentation by Waste Connections of Oklahoma. "I think our sanitation department does a fine job," he added. The city council is working together to make good decisions, said the mayor during Monday's regular meeting. About a dozen citizens attended in addition to city officials. Brittany Eagleston and Kyle Kornele of Waste Connections of...
Three people, including a three-year-old child, were injured when two vehicles collided at an intersection in Alfalfa County Monday. The child was transported by Alfalfa County EMS to the Cherokee Airport where she was flown by Survival Flight to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas. She was admitted in stable condition with head injuries. One driver, Brandy Taylor Harrison, 24, of Cherokee, was transported by Alfalfa County EMS to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita. She was admitted in...
Three people, including a three-year-old child, were injured when two vehicles collided at an intersection in Alfalfa County Monday. The child was transported by Alfalfa County EMS to the Cherokee Airport where she was flown by Survival Flight to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas. She was admitted in stable condition with head injuries. One driver, Brandy Taylor Harrison, 24, of Cherokee, was transported by Alfalfa County EMS to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita. She was admitted in stable condition for head and trunk injuries. The other...
Email is both efficient and frustrating. More and more, we rely on email at the newspaper office to send and receive information in advertising and news. Last week, our email host stopped working for several hours … on a Tuesday! I wondered at the time if the Monday eclipse had anything to do with it. Whatever the cause, email was down for four or five hours while we were working under a deadline to get the Newsgram finished for publication. We had to contact several people by phone to have them...
The Woods County Equalization Board met Tuesday morning to consider four requests for Freeport Exemptions. Oklahoma Freeport Exemptions are available for inventories held for less than nine months. They are calculated using purchases for Oklahoma inventory and sales from Oklahoma inventory. Chairman Joe Shirley opened the meeting with board members Chris Olson and Bob Seivert present. Also at the meeting were County Assessor Renetta Benson and County Clerk Shelley Reed. Benson said that Value Added Products had turned in paperwork showing they...
Felony charges have been filed in Woods County against three individuals in the April 11 double homicide at Freedom. Christopher Isaiah Cesar Padilla, age 23; Elijah Isaiah Mann, age 20; and Catelynne Olivia Gorre, age 17, all of Enid, each have been charged with four felony counts. Gorre appeared in court on Monday and was ordered to be transported to Garfield County Detention Center until April 18 when she will appear on a bond hearing in Woods County. Padilla and Mann were arraigned Tuesday. All three face two counts of murder in the first d...
This is National Library Week. The Alva Public Library is busy planning summer activities, so they’re keeping the celebration low key. Patrons are invited to register for a free book drawing. The Summer Reading Program theme this year is Adventure Begins at Your Library. Materials are being ordered, and Amy Ryerson is working on plans for adventures each week. The focus is on adventures in the community (no doubt related to books) such as art adventures and science adventures. The program will be held during the month of June. Library D...
Charles “Bill” Johnson Correctional Center (BJCC) located in Alva currently houses 448 trainees with 335 of them on the program side. The facility has 47 officers and 83 support staff members, said Warden Becky Guffy Tuesday. She was speaking to members of the BJCC Citizen Advisory Board who met for lunch and an update. BJCC just hired a new construction and maintenance administrator, Jeff Detgen, who started work on Monday. “We’re happy to have him on board,” Guffy said. She said BJCC gave up the warden’s assistant position so they could...
I generally don’t pay much attention when forecasts call for high wind gusts. My life doesn’t include many outdoor activities. Despite being indoors at the newspaper office Saturday, I did notice those high winds. The flag at the Moose Lodge was whipping around the flagpole and dust was flying from the gravel parking area across the street. The wind even blew our rubber entrance mat into the parking lot. The scanner was going off, too. I heard about a fire to the west of Alva along Highway 14....
Two sealed bid openings were held during the Woods County Commissioners meeting on Monday. Chairman Randy McMurphy opened the meeting with commissioners David Hamil and John Smiley present. County Clerk Shelley Reed also attended. Only one bid was received for the Rural Water District #2 water meter project. Core and Main bid $31,601.01. The commissioners voted to accept the bid. Funding is being provided through a REAP grant. Jennifer Shafer opened two bids for the Sheriff’s Department door system project. Nextech bid $18,985.52 while T...
Several races have developed in county and state filings that closed Friday, April 5. Woods County has two candidates for sheriff and three for County Commissioners District 2. Alfalfa County incumbents for court clerk and County Commissioner District 2 also drew opponents. Alfalfa County Incumbent Tammi Waggoner Miller of Cherokee will be running against Lisa Diacon of Cherokee for Court Clerk. District 2 County Commissioner Michael Roach of Cherokee is opposed by Elias Stonehocker of Carmen. Gary Mast of Cherokee is the only candidate filing...
Two people from Cherokee have been arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle. A few days later, the two were arrested on burglary charges. On March 26, Cherokee Police Officer Reith Claflin received information on a possible stolen vehicle out of Jefferson, Oklahoma, located at 1523 Walnut in Grant County. The information provided was for a white 2009 Chevy single cab, long bed. Officer Claflin contacted Medford City Hall to obtain a phone number for Jason Shockey who had land in Jefferson with vehicles matching the 2009 Chevy in question....
A search warrant resulted in drug charges being filed against a Cherokee resident. Shawn Dale Sauls, 45, of Cherokee, has been charged with possession of controlled dangerous substance (methamphetamine) with intent to distribute, a felony. This crime is punishable by imprisonment for up to seven years and/or a fine of up to $100,000. Sauls has also been charged with two misdemeanors: knowingly receiving or concealing stolen property and possession of controlled dangerous substance (marijuana). After receiving information from several...
