Sorted by date Results 76 - 100 of 3695
A Cherokee man’s night went from bad to worse after a wreck in July of 2023. Evidence from that event then led to a felony charge filed April 2, 2024, in Alfalfa County. Court records show on July 31, 2023, at about 8:30 p.m. Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Kris Franta was dispatched to Greer Road and County Road 550 for a single vehicle rollover accident. Upon arrival he observed a tan Chevrolet pickup, registered to Trista Taylor, had exited the north side of Greer Road traveling approximately 200 feet in the northbound ditch before s...
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....
Filing began Wednesday for county offices, and at least two Woods County positions will require voting. So far there are two candidates for county sheriff. Keith Dale, current undersheriff, filed as an Independent. Randy McCullough, recently retired OHP trooper, filed as a Republican. Since the men are from different political parties, the winner won’t be decided until the Nov. 5 General Election. Two candidates have filed for county commissioner in District 2. They are Bret R. Nixon and S...
The Alva Arena Authority met Tuesday noon as they plan for the construction of the main arena building including an exhibit hall and administration offices. Chairman Gregg Glass opened the meeting with trustees Dr. Janet Cunningham, Todd Holder, Mike Hood, Darrell Kline and Daren Slater present. Also attending were Sonja Williams, assistant secretary; Jalynn Fausnaugh, second assistant secretary; and Haley Ragan, Northwest Technology agriculture and small business development coordinator. Also present through online video were Priefert General...
Members of the Alva Board of Education held a special meeting Wednesday afternoon to approve a new superintendent. After a short executive session, board members returned to open meeting, inviting the waiting school administrators, office staff and press into the room. Jeremy Brashears was unanimously approved as the new superintendent beginning on July 1. Brashears is currently the superintendent at Beaver Public Schools. The Search Several months ago, current superintendent Tim Argo announced his resignation, effective June 30, allowing the...
The Woods County Commissioners made short work of their agenda Monday, accepting a donation, signing off on a grant project and junking a wrecked vehicle. Chairman Randy McMurphy opened the meeting with Commissioners John Smiley and David Hamil present. County Clerk Shelley Reed also attended. The commissioners voted to approve a resolution accepting a donation of $1,000 from the Public Service Company of Oklahoma for the purpose of up-fitting the new Sheriff’s Department trucks. McMurphy said the plan is to purchase floor mats for the three n...
The Alva Board of Education enjoyed hearing from two speakers during their regular meeting Monday. Board President Jane McDermott opened the meeting with board members Karen Koehn, Paul Barton, Shane Hansen and Kevin Pingelton in attendance. Superintendent Tim Argo introduced Alva High School student Harper Houston who has been elected state vice president of OASC (Oklahoma Association of Student Councils). She is the first Alva student ever to be elected to an OASC state office. She was...
I’ll just tell you upfront that this is a last-minute column. Our officer manager has been out due to an injury for about six weeks now. Then in the middle of the afternoon Tuesday, we had a power outage. OG&E quickly worked to restore power, but we had to get our computers up and running. Some of them decided it was a good time to do updates. Tuesday has been a frustrating day. So, I decided to share some information I’ve been accumulating from the Federal Trade Commission. Here’s a repor...
The Woods County Commissioners made short work of their agenda Monday, accepting a donation, signing off on a grant project and junking a wrecked vehicle. Chairman Randy McMurphy opened the meeting with Commissioners John Smiley and David Hamil present. County Clerk Shelley Reed also attended. The commissioners voted to approve a resolution accepting a donation of $1,000 from the Public Service Company of Oklahoma for the purpose of up-fitting the new Sheriff’s Department trucks. McMurphy s...
The Alva Board of Education enjoyed hearing from two speakers during their regular meeting Monday. Board President Jane McDermott opened the meeting with board members Karen Koehn, Paul Barton, Shane Hansen and Kevin Pingelton in attendance. Superintendent Tim Argo introduced Alva High School student Harper Houston who has been elected state vice president of OASC (Oklahoma Association of Student Councils). She is the first Alva student ever to be elected to an OASC state office. She was...
By Marione MartinI’ll just tell you upfront that this is a last-minute column. Our officer manager has been out due to an injury for about six weeks now. Then in the middle of the afternoon Tuesday, we had a power outage. OG&E quickly worked to restore power, but we had to get our computers up and running. Some of them decided it was a good time to do updates. Tuesday has been a frustrating day. So, I decided to share some information I’ve been accumulating from the Federal Trade Com...
A special meeting of the Alva Utility Authority was held Wednesday following the special city council meeting. Mayor Kelly Parker said the meeting was to declare as surplus and authorize the sale of 3,937 City of Alva water meters, authorizing the city business manager and/or the mayor to sign paperwork for the sale. City Business Manager Stephen Ford said three people had expressed interest in buying the meters, which were replaced by the new remote-read meters installed recently. The city hoped they might get $10,000 for the used working...
“We’re in really good shape year to date,” said Dr. Bo Hannaford, chairman of the Alva Hospital Authority. He made the comment after Chief Financial Officer Angelica Brady reported on Share Medical Center finances during the regular meeting on Tuesday. Hannaford thanked Brady for some new graphs that had been requested by the finance committee. “If you really look at the reports, you’ll see a lot of positive things,” he said. One of those is the favorable comparison of current year-to-date data compared to last year and even back to 2019 pre...
Would there be a lot of questions or objections? One never knows if an agenda item for the Alva City Council will pass easily or draw questions and criticism. The city council held a special session Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. to consider transferring Share Convalescent Home property from the city to the Alva Hospital Authority (AHA) and giving the AHA the right to sell the property. The sale would be subject to specific conditions. When the AHA began working toward the sale of Share Convalescent to the owners of Beadles Nursing Home, they hit a...
The City of Alva Tourism and Convention Development Committee scheduled a special meeting to give the Alva Police Department more time to figure out their budget for a fundraising event. The event was first discussed March 20, but questions about the event budget caused the committee to delay action. Chairman Melinda Barton opened the meeting with members Sadie Bier, Angelica Brady, Terri Parsons and Scott Kline present. City Business Manager Stephen Ford was also in attendance. In the absence of Chamber Executive Director Jodie Bradford-Stevis...
Charges have been filed against two people after a man discovered checks written on his bank account while he was in a nursing home. Court documents show Leland Reed first contacted the Alva Police Department to report a theft and forgery case involving two checks totaling $700. Although Reed was living with his daughter in Alva on April 25, 2023, when the report was made, his prior residence had been in Dacoma when the checks were written. The case was turned over to Woods County Deputy Sheriff David Cummings. Reed completed an affidavit of...
When emergency personnel arrived at the home of a woman reported as having trouble breathing, they found her on the floor in a back bedroom. She said she had been lying there four weeks, but her husband said it was only two weeks, according to court affidavits. The police officer responding said the house had “an abundance of items stacked from floor to ceiling, only leaving a small path, barely wide enough for one person to walk through the residence.” On Feb. 28, Waynoka EMS responded to a page for the residence on Main Street. Per dep...
There wasn’t much on the agenda for the Woods County Commissioners’ meeting Monday. However, the commissioners had to sign lots of documents. Chairman Randy McMurphy opened the meeting with Commissioners David Hamil and John Smiley present. County Clerk Shelley Reed also attended. Donnie Head of Circuit Engineering District #8 presented a report on bridge inspections in District 3. He said there was a bunch of channel work but nothing major. The commissioners approved his report and the inv...
The AARP magazine that arrived in the mail this morning had a front cover headline extolling the joys of living alone from a GenX viewpoint. One of the advantages I’ve found, as a member of the Boomer Generation, is sole control of the TV remote. Since my late husband didn’t have much free time to watch TV, I always gave him first option to the remote. This resulted in my watching football games and news shows more frequently than when I’m on my own. Now I find myself with limited time for T...
A proposal to buy a new ambulance through a lease purchase contract raised numerous questions among Alva City Council members Monday night. Mayor Kelly Parker read the agenda listing for discussion and action to approve the modified lease/purchase agreement with NBC Bank for a Type II ambulance with a total purchase price of $176,700 and an annual lease purchase payment of $30,484.04. City Business Manager Stephen Ford said, “I got three quotes. Alva State came in at 5.56 percent interest. Banc Central was 6.5, and NBC bank came in at 4.95. So...
Probably the most startling news from Monday’s Alva City Council meeting is the resignation of two councilmembers. Taylor Dowling told the council this would be his last meeting. He has been working for the Department of Defense and had the opportunity for a promotion. This promotion required him to move to Texas. Dowling was about three years into his term in the Ward 2 Office 1 seat. Then Daniel Winters announced this would also be his last meeting. He said lots of changes in his life meant he no longer had time to attend meetings and serve t...
After many months of research and deliberation, the Alva Cemetery Board made a recommendation to the city council Monday to provide green burial at the Alva Municipal Cemetery. Cemetery Board Chairman Lennie Reed was available to answer questions along with board member Arden Chaffee. Councilmembers first voted to approve Block 22 of the cemetery as a green burial only block. It is located in the far northwest corner of cemetery property. Green burial involves burial in biodegradable materials in an unmarked field to allow for natural...
The Alva Tourism and Convention Development Committee met Wednesday to consider two requests for funding from tourism tax. Chairman Melinda Barton opened the meeting with members Scott Kline, Angelica Brady and Sadie Bier present. Terri Parsons was absent. Cars, Concerts and BBQ Patrick Hawley appeared on behalf of the Alva Police Department for the third annual Cars, Concerts and BBQ Contests. The two-day event is scheduled for May 3-4. Hawley said they had 15 BBQ competitors last year, but they need 20 this year to be sanctioned by the...
A Helena citizen called police after a man came to his door seeking use of a phone or a charger. Court records show Ryan Norton called March 11 to say the “drug runner” from the previous day had been hiding in a red Jeep four-door at the city park in the parking lot that was just east of Norton’s residence. He said the man came to his house to borrow a phone or charger. Norton said the man then ran over to the Trammel residence. Mr. Trammel called Helena Police Chief Jim Dykes while he was t...
The Woods County Excise Board held a short special meeting Wednesday morning. Chairman Joe Shirley opened the meeting with members Chris Olson and Bob Seivert present. County Clerk Shelley Reed also attended. Board members approved the following monthly appropriations for the county: District #1 Highway Cash $120,983.64; District #2 Highway Cash $119,580.89; District #3 Highway Cash $120,592.17; CBRI Fund-105 - D#1$13,307.33; CBRI Fund-105 - D#2 $13,307.34; CBRI Fund-105 - D#3 $13,307.35;...
