Articles from the May 7, 2020 edition


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  • Luscious green wheat blowing in the wind in Newsgram reading area

    Yvonne Miller|May 7, 2020

    Drive down the highway in northwest Oklahoma and south central Kansas and you'll see fields of pretty green wheat blowing in the wind with potential to be a good crop. Now if Mother Nature will cooperate, 2020 could see at least an average- or above-average-yielding crop. The country is due some good news after the COVID-19 nightmare that is still ongoing. A few area elevator operators commented about the fields in their area. Charlotte Murrow is the general manager of Alva's Farmer's...

  • Getting back to normal at Share Medical Center

    Marione Martin|May 7, 2020

    Urgent Care is moving back into their regular space at Share Medical Center in Alva, according to Share CEO Kandice Allen. She told the Alva Hospital Authority (AHA) Tuesday evening that Urgent Care would start seeing patients in their regular quarters on April 29. Urgent Care will still operate on an appointment only basis, and no one may accompany patients over age 18 unless the patient needs assistance. Patients will enter through the front door of the hospital instead of waiting in their car...

  • Three key questions hover over the Oklahoma Capitol

    Tres Savage Oklahoma Watch|May 7, 2020

    The answers to three key questions about the ongoing 2020 legislative session will shape what happens over the next month at an Oklahoma State Capitol currently closed to the public because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In less than five weeks, state lawmakers must pass a Fiscal Year 2021 state budget and adjourn sine die – a Latin term designating no established date for return. As legislative leaders plod forward with uncertain plans and unprecedented actions, the three key questions needing to b...

  • Freedom birthdays

    May 7, 2020

    Happy Birthday To May 7: Wayne Wares, Stephanie Bradt, Dennis Smith May 9: Kenneth Scates, Jana Stein May 17: Bryan Kurz May 18: Albert Williams May 19: Roger Daughhetee, Andy Daughhetee May 20: Gary Gerloff May 21: BJ Baker May 22: Reagan Eden, Holli Wares May 23: Johnnie Sue Olson May 24: Cody atson, Talhia Darr, Zearl Harris, Lance Gasset May 25: Kyle Wares, Linda Eden Benzel, Dever Elle Newby May 27: Bonita Stewart May 28: Jamin Shreeve, April Rankin May 29: Rowena Nickelson, Lane Nixon May 30: Kristin Harper May 31: Tamela...

  • Freedom anniversaries

    May 7, 2020

    Happy Anniversary To May 12: Mr. & Mrs. Loran Morris, Mr. & Mrs. Chad Grimes May 15; Mr. & Mrs. Lewis Darr, Mr. & Mrs. Ron Bliss, Mr. & Mrs. Devin Ferguson May 17: Michael Horntvedt & Katie Blunk, Mr. & Mrs. Ron Culver, Mr. & Mrs. Steve Pierce May 21: Mr. & Mrs. Travis Bradt, Mr. & Mrs. Don Murray May 23: Mr. & Mrs. Rod Ferguson, Mr. & Mrs. Harold D. Hepner May 25: Mr. & Mrs. Hal Ferguson, Mr. & Mrs. Kameron Hensley May 27: Mr. & Mrs. Brian Murray (Note: Send corrections, additions to: [email protected] or call 800-3...

  • Free meal service for Freedom students

    May 7, 2020

    Beginning this week, Freedom Public Schools is providing meals for anyone ages 0-19. The meal service began on May 4. Meals will be delivered two day each week, on Mondays and Wednesdays. On Mondays, two breakfasts and two lunches per child may be picked up. On Wednesdays, three breakfasts and three lunches per child will be provided. Pick up times for both Monday and Wednesday are from 11 a.m. to noon. Please notify Superintendent Bryant Weber no later than Sunday evening if you plan to get meals for the week. His phone number is...

  • Situation update: COVID-19

    May 7, 2020

    According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH), Oklahoma County has the highest number of confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 at 868 followed by Tulsa with 653. In northwest Oklahoma, Garfield County has 21 confirmed positive cases with eight recovered and one death. Woods County has three positive cases with two recovered. In counties adjoining Woods, Major County has four, Alfalfa County one, Woodward County one and Harper County one. As of this advisory on May 6 at 7 a.m., there are 4,201 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19...

  • Freedom senior graduation is May 16

    Marione Martin|May 7, 2020

    Normally the Freedom Public Schools hold a combined graduation ceremony for the kindergarten, eighth grade and senior students. But nothing is normal this year. Graduations are being postponed, held virtually or held under different rules. Freedom Public Schools will hold senior graduation on Saturday, May 16, at 7 p.m. Senior Baccalaureate will begin at 6:30 p.m. The eighth grade and kindergarten graduations will be held virtually. Senior ceremonies will be held in the Freedom Auditorium with each senior being allowed to have ten guests....

  • Coronavirus crisis exacts toll on people with disabilities

    Lindsay Whitehurst|May 7, 2020

    SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Even before the coronavirus hit, cystic fibrosis meant a cold could put Jacob Hansen in the hospital for weeks. He relies on hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes to stay healthy because he also has cerebral palsy and can't easily wash his hands from his wheelchair, but these days shelves are often bare. For millions of disabled people and their families, the coronavirus crisis has piled on new difficulties and ramped up those that already existed. Many are immunocompromised and therefore more vulnerable to infection, b...

  • House votes to impose new restrictions on absentee voting

    Sean Murphy|May 7, 2020

    OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Just days after the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled absentee ballots in Oklahoma don't need to be notarized, the House on Wednesday passed a bill imposing new restrictions on voters who cast ballots by mail. Under the bill, for the duration of the COVID-19 state of emergency, voters who wish to submit absentee ballots by mail will need to include a photocopy of their voter registration card or photo identification. Once the emergency declaration is over, absentee voters would then be required to have their ballots notarized b...

  • Oklahoma State RB Hubbard named top Canadian NCAA player

    May 7, 2020

    STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma State running back Chuba Hubbard has won the Cornish Trophy, presented annually to the top Canadian player in NCAA football. The announcement was made via YouTube on Wednesday. Hubbard was the AP Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting, the third-best finish for a Canadian player. His season total of 2,094 rushing yards was third in Big 12 Conference history. It was the second-best single-season total in school history, trailing only Barry Sanders' 1988 Heisman s...

  • Oklahoma coronavirus cases top 4,200, deaths surpass 250

    Ken Miller|May 7, 2020

    OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma remains on pace to continue reopening business amid the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Kevin Stitt said Wednesday. Stitt said the rates of new virus infections, deaths and hospitalizations is declining and, in accordance with White House guidelines, allows the state to continue reopening its economy. The state health department reported more than 4,200 confirmed cases of the virus and at least 253 deaths on Wednesday, but Stitt said the number of people testing positive for the virus has fallen from more than 10% a...

  • Oklahoma's medical pot industry sees record sales in April

    May 7, 2020

    OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma residents bought a record amount of medical marijuana in April, as dispensaries sold enough of it to raise tax collections by more than 25%, according to the state Tax Commission. The commission's figures show that dispensaries paid nearly $9.8 million in taxes last month, surpassing the previous record of $7.8 million set in March, The Oklahoman reported. It's the highest month-to-month gain since last summer. People across the state spent about $61.4 million on medical marijuana in April, or nearly $217 per l...

  • Oklahoma, Arkansas sked 2 hoops games in Tulsa, start in '20

    Associated Press|May 7, 2020

    Oklahoma and Arkansas have agreed to play two basketball games at the BOK Center in Tulsa. The schools made the announcement in news releases on Wednesday. The first two matchups are scheduled for Dec. 12, 2020, and Dec. 11, 2021. Arkansas said there could be additional games in December of 2022 and 2023. The BOK Center is 125 miles from the Oklahoma campus and 116 miles from the Arkansas campus. Seating will be divided at midcourt to create a unique atmosphere. Arkansas owns a 16-12 lead in the series, but the Sooners have won seven of the...

  • Kansas still mulling inmate releases despite prison outbreak

    JOHN HANNA and HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH|May 7, 2020

    TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Laura Kelly said Wednesday that she's still considering releasing some Kansas inmates early because of the coronavirus pandemic even though an outbreak of hundreds of cases has one prison under quarantine. Kelly confirmed last week during an Associated Press interview that the Department of Corrections moved six inmates from state to house arrest before being forced to stop early releases because of an outbreak at the Lansing Correctional Facility outside Kansas City. As of Wednesday, 609 inmates and 88 staff members t...

  • Kansas teacher charged with having sex with student

    May 7, 2020

    OSKALOOSA, Kan. (AP) — A northeast Kansas high school science teacher is facing allegations that he had sexual relationship with a student. Anthony Kuckelman, of Lawrence, was charged Tuesday with three felony counts of unlawful sexual relations, WIBW-TV reported. The charges allege Kuckelman had the relationship with a student at McLouth High School between December 2017 and May 2019. McLouth Superintendent Steve Lilly said the district learned of the investigation Monday and Kuckelman has been suspended from all duties and activities. K...

  • Kansas man banned from providing COVID-19 related services

    May 7, 2020

    TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A man already banned from providing autopsy services in Kansas has been ordered to stop offering any services related to the coronavirus pandemic. Shawn Parcells, of Leawood, and affiliated companies are prohibited from offering any services related to the human body, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced Tuesday. Parcells, a self-taught pathology assistant with no formal education, was offering to perform swabs for COVID-19 testing and to examine people who died to see if they tested positive, Schmidt said. The S...

  • Farmer who donated mask to New York honored with degree

    May 7, 2020

    TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A degree has been bestowed upon a retired Kansas farmer who shipped one of his five N-95 masks to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo despite worries amid the coronavirus outbreak for his wife who has one lung. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and Kansas State University President Richard Myers awarded the bachelor's degree Tuesday to Dennis Ruhnke, of Troy, Kansas. Ruhnke was just two credits away from earning his degree in 1971 when he left school after the death of his father so he could help take care of his mother and the family farm. Ke...

  • US infection rate rising outside New York as states open up

    NICKY FORSTER and CARLA K. JOHNSON|May 7, 2020

    Take the New York metropolitan area's progress against the coronavirus out of the equation and the numbers show the rest of the U.S. is moving in the wrong direction, with the known infection rate rising even as states move to lift their lockdowns, an Associated Press analysis found Tuesday. New confirmed infections per day in the U.S. exceed 20,000, and deaths per day are well over 1,000, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University. And public health officials warn that the failure to flatten the curve and drive down the infection rate...

  • Kansas reports 213 new coronavirus cases, one more death

    Heather Hollingsworth|May 7, 2020

    MISSION, Kan. (AP) — The number of inmates infected with the coronavirus at Kansas' largest prison has grown to more than 550 amid widespread testing at the facility, with most showing no symptoms. The Kansas Department of Corrections plans to finish testing all the more than 1,700 inmates at the state's largest prison in Lansing this week. As the test results trickle in, Leavenworth County, where the prison is located, reported a 13.8% increase in positive cases Monday. Most are tied to the prison, where 551 inmates and 88 staff members are i...

  • Mermaids returning to Montana tiki bar as it reopens

    May 7, 2020

    GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — For patrons at a Montana tiki bar that has a back wall of a window into a motel swimming pool, it's typical to see mermaids in the water five nights a week. So as the owner of the O'Haire Motor Inn and the Sip 'n Dip Lounge in Great Falls began preparing to reopen the bar after eights weeks of coronavirus-related restrictions, she wanted things to be as close to normal as possible — and that included the underwater entertainment. Sandra Thares said she emailed regulators for guidance on whether mermaid shows could resu...

  • UK's 'Captain Tom' inspires campaign by 97-year-old Russian

    May 7, 2020

    ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — Inspired by 99-year-old Briton Tom Moore's multi-million pound charity walk, a Russian fellow World War II veteran has launched her own effort to gather contributions for the families of doctors and nurses who have died of COVID-19. Zinaida Korneva, 97, isn't walking laps in her garden as Moore did in the days up to his 100th birthday last month. Instead, she's launched a website with videos telling of her trials as a Red Army soldier in the Stalingrad region. In one of the videos she credits Moore, who served i...

  • 5 things to know today - that aren't about the virus

    Associated Press|May 7, 2020

    Your daily look at nonvirus stories in the news: 1. SUPREME COURT TAKES UP OBAMACARE CASE The justices seem concerned about the sweep of Trump administration rules that would allow more employers who cite a religious or moral objection to opt out of providing no-cost birth control to women. 2. NETANYAHU GETS GO-AHEAD Israel's Supreme Court has ruled that the prime minister may form a new government while under indictment. 3. PAYMENTS TO BRETT FAVRE SCRUTINIZED A Mississippi audit says a nonprofit group used more than $1 million in welfare...

  • University of Arkansas overwhelmed with calls about hornet

    May 7, 2020

    LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The agricultural division at University of Arkansas has been overwhelmed with phone calls about whether the world's largest hornet has landed in the state, an expert said. Jon Zawislak, an apiary expert and entomologist at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said extension agents have been inundated with phone calls about the giant insect for four days. Beekeepers have expressed concern about the potential impact the insect could have on their livelihoods or hobbies, Zawislak noted. The 2-inch ins...

  • Official: US must move ahead with nuclear weapons work

    Susan Montoya Bryan|May 7, 2020

    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A top nuclear security official says the U.S. must move ahead with plans to ramp up production of key components for the nation's nuclear arsenal despite the challenges presented by the coronavirus. Federal officials have set a deadline of 2030 for increased production of the plutonium cores used in nuclear weapons. The work will be split between Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. At stake are jobs and billions of federal dollars to upgrade buildings or c...

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