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Although the number of active Covid-19 cases in Woods County continues to climb, Freedom has no active cases, according to the August 18 report from the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH). Woods County now has 62 active cases, up 15 from a week ago. Coronavirus cases continue to increase across Oklahoma with 23,380 active cases reported Wednesday, an increase of 2,787 from last week. Of Oklahoma's 77 counties, 71 are at the "orange" risk level with six designated "yellow." In Woods... Full story
FREEDOM, Okla. – Parents clearing paths for their children isn't uncommon. However, what makes this story special is that Dr. Katie Blunk says the path her mother Rose Blunk cleared for her – and the land – was thick with cedars. Many Oklahomans can close their eyes envision that scene or look through their windshield and see it. Blunk's ties to conservation run generations deep and are bound with strong praise for her grandparents and parents, and her husband. Still, she focuses in on the a... Full story
In a packed and heated gathering, the Freedom Board of Trustees – consisting of Kama Luddington and Matt Nixon – met Wednesday, Aug. 11, to consider a lengthy agenda. About 20 Freedom residents attended the meeting to voice concerns over some of the agenda items in language that often became angry. Former Mayor Shad Brackin, who resigned from the board last month saying that he could not work with the current board, spoke first. Reading from prepared remarks, he said, “although I resigned from this board, I still care a great deal about Freed... Full story
EMPORIA, Kan. (AP) — Four people from Kansas and one from Oklahoma have been arrested in the 2017 death of an Emporia man. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said the suspects were arrested early Wednesday in locations in Emporia and Tulsa, Oklahoma. They are suspects in the Sept. 6, 2017, death of 19-year-old Jesus Avila-Galvin Jr., whose body was found in a burning car east of Emporia. The KBI did not say what motivated the killing or what led investigators to the suspects. The suspects are Jordy Cornejo-Campoverde, 21; Armando Nunez, 20; A...
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Just 61 of about 30,000 Oklahoma City public school students have opted out of a newly adopted mask requirement, a district spokeswoman said Wednesday, while Santa Fe South charter school reported no opt-outs among its approximately 3,600 students. Both districts announced masking policies last week with opt-out options for reasons such as medical or religious restrictions. Oklahoma City district spokesperson Crystal Raymond said district officials declined to speculate on why fewer than 1% of students have chosen to opt o...
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Police are investigating a death in the parking lot of a grocery store in Lawrence. Police spokesman Patrick Compton said officers were called to a Dillons store early Wednesday and found the victim. Robert Earl Davis, 54, of Lawrence, was arrested at the scene and booked into the Douglas County Jail on suspicion of second-degree murder and cruelty to animals, The Lawrence Journal-World reported. Police did not release any other information. Davis was released from prison in 2012 after being convicted of aggravated a...
CHICAGO (AP) — Coming off the Tokyo Olympics, the U.S. women's national team will play a series of four matches in September and October. The team will play Paraguay in Cleveland on Sept. 16 and again on Sept. 21 in Cincinnati. They'll also play South Korea on Oct. 21 in Kansas City, Kansas, and on Oct. 26 in St. Paul, Minnesota. The match in St. Paul will be Carli Lloyd's final game with the national team. The 39-year-old forward announced plans to retire earlier this week after a 16-year career that includes a pair of World Cup titles and t...
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A 2-year-old girl who was in a car stolen from a Kansas City, Missouri, gas station has been found safe, police said. Police said the girl was in the back of the car when it was stolen around 5:40 p.m. Tuesday from a gas station across from Central Park. The girl was found nearly two hours later in Kansas City, Kansas, after a woman called police to say a young child was in her backyard, police said. Police said the girl was unharmed, and officers in Kansas City, Missouri, drove the mother to her child. The stolen car w...
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Some Jackson County executives are considering using $136 million in COVID-19 relief funds to help fund renovations at the county courthouse. County Manager Troy Schulte told legislators Monday that money from the American Rescue Plan could fund the first phase of a $255.4 million renovation of the courthouse in downtown Kansas City, KCUR reported. The law requires that projects funded by the money be related to the impact of COVID-19. Schulte told the Legislature's Public Works Committee the renovation would allow m...
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — The sheriff and a local school board in Kansas' most populous county have set COVID-19 policies conflicting with county rules on testing and masks. Johnson County in the Kansas City area is requiring unvaccinated employees to undergo weekly testing starting next week, but the sheriff's department is exempt. Sheriff Calvin Hayden is not requiring his nearly 600 employees to abide by the requirement. "The sheriff felt our employees know the best for themselves and the best for their families and felt that employees can make t...
SALINA, Kan. (AP) — Crews have recovered the body of an Abilene man who fell into the Smoky Hill River just east of Salina, and authorities have ruled his death as accidental. The accident happened around 6:30 p.m. Monday, when a witness reported seeing a man peering over, then tumbling over, the rail of a bridge spanning the river, the Saline County Sheriff's Office said. A search for the man was called off Monday night and resumed Tuesday morning, when the body was found about a quarter-mile downstream from the bridge. Authorities i...
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police are investigating after the body of a man was discovered in a Wichita alley. Officers were called around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday to the area in southeast Wichita after a person walking through the alley behind a business spotted the body, police said. The victim appeared to be a man in his late 20s or early 30s, although police Lt. Krys Henderson said it appeared the body "had been there longer than a day." Investigators said the victim had suffered some type of trauma to his body. A person was taken into custody, p...
Happy Birthday To Aug. 19: Rod Bradt Aug. 20: Tabitha Bradt, Judy DeVine, Adam Powers, Justice Bradt Aug. 21: Jim Shreeve, Paige Hughes, Bralee Eagen Aug. 22: Kristy Armantrout, Gary Walker, Jake Hughes Aug. 23: Don Lenhart, Jessica Elmore, Trent Bliss, Rachael Nickel, Danielle Page, Austin Rankin, Matt Tune Aug. 24: Tony Hope, Randus London, Logan Holt Aug. 25: Dana turner, Trent Murrow, Sheri McCurry, Les Lee Bradt, Kalei Nixon, Dylan Smith Aug. 27: Raegan Lea Tune, Nita Benson, Sherri Woodard, Bart Boham Aug. 28: Liberty Eller, Pebbles...
Happy Anniversary To Aug. 19: Mr. & Mrs. Leo Tolle Aug. 22: Mr. & Mrs. Randy Reed Aug. 23: Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Rader Aug. 24: Mr. & Mrs. Sonny Wagner, Mr. & Mrs. Bob Benn Aug. 26: Mr. & Mrs. Stuart Page Aug. 28: Mr. & Mrs. Robert Province Aug. 30: Mr. & Mrs. Kelly Mitchell (Note: Send corrections, additions to: [email protected] or call 580-327-2200)...
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – The Freedom Chamber of Commerce is one of 43 community structures in Oklahoma that have been chosen to participate in Paint Oklahoma Beautiful. This Keep Oklahoma Beautiful (KOB) program is designed to encourage volunteers to seek out community structures and renovate them with the creative use of resources. Paint Oklahoma Beautiful is a program founded on the collaboration between H-I-S Paint and Keep Oklahoma Beautiful. KOB, with the help of sponsors, provides the paint and a stipend for supplies; selected c... Full story
On Sunday, Aug. 15, the order of services at the Freedom United Methodist Church was: Announcements: We are on Facebook, live at 11 a.m. Our Facebook page is Freedom United Methodist Church. There will be no Sunday school/Bible study class on Sunday, Aug. 22. Invocation by Pastor Todd Finley Call to Worship – Psalm 29 led by Debra Brown Opening Hymn – “Tell Me the Story of Jesus” led by Debra Brown Affirmation of Faith Gloria Patri Hymn of Justifying Grace “Go, Tell It On the Mountain” Offertory Prayer Presenting our Tithes and Gifts – Ushers A...
Thursday and Friday, Aug. 19-20: School offices closed Monday, Aug. 23: First day of school for students Friday, Sept. 3: High school football at Pawnee, 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 6: Labor Day, no school Thursday-Saturday, Sept. 9-11: Woods County Fair, Livestock Show, Alva (FFA) Friday, Sept. 17: High school football vs. Woodland at Mooreland, 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18: Robotics kickoff Friday, Sept. 24: High school football vs. Thomas at Mooreland, 7 p.m....
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police are investigating after the body of a man was discovered in a Wichita alley. Officers were called around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday to the area in southeast Wichita after a person walking through the alley behind a business spotted the body, police said. The victim appeared to be a man in his late 20s or early 30s, although police Lt. Krys Henderson said it appeared the body "had been there longer than a day." Investigators said the victim had suffered some type of trauma to his body. A person was taken into custody, p...
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has received dozens of soccer jerseys and game balls during his eight-year pontificate but he got a new football-themed toy on Wednesday: his very own foosball table. Francis played a round on the table that was presented to him at the end of his general audience by representatives of a Tuscany-based table football association, Sport Toscana Calcio Balilla in Altopascio. The mayor of Altopascio, Sara D'Ambrosio, wrote on Facebook that the table was designed to be inclusive and work well for people with p...
BELFAST, Maine (AP) — The sudden appearance of a giant rubber duck in a Maine harbor is a whimsical whodunit that's defied sleuths so far. The yellow waterfowl emblazoned with the word "joy" appeared in Belfast Harbor over the weekend, and it's a mystery who put it there. Harbor Master Katherine Given told the Bangor Daily News that the 25-foot-tall (7 1/2 meter) duck doesn't pose a navigational hazard, so there's no rush to shoo it away. "Everybody loves it," Given said. "I have no idea who owns it, but it kind of fits Belfast. A lot of p...
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Helaina Alati was browsing the spice aisle of an Australian supermarket when she came face-to-face with a huge snake. The head of the 3-meter-long (10-foot-long) non-venomous diamond python emerged through a space in a shelf above the spice jars in the Sydney store. "I was in the spice aisle just looking for something to put on my chicken that night so I didn't initially see it because it was curled up way back behind the little jars of spices," Alati said Wednesday. "I kind of turned to my right and it poked its head...
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced that his administration will require that nursing home staff be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition for those facilities to continue receiving federal Medicare and Medicaid funding. Biden unveiled the new policy Wednesday afternoon in a White House address as the administration continues to look for ways to use mandates to encourage vaccine holdouts to get shots. "If you visit, live or work in a nursing home, you should not be at a high risk for contracting COVID from unvaccina...
LES CAYES, Haiti (AP) — Pressure for a coordinated response to Haiti's deadly weekend earthquake mounted Wednesday as more bodies were pulled from the rubble and the injured continued to arrive from remote areas in search of medical care. Aid was slowly trickling in to help the thousands who were left homeless. Angry crowds massed at collapsed buildings, demanding tarps to create temporary shelters that were needed more than ever after Tropical Storm Grace brought heavy rain on Monday and Tuesday, compounding the impoverished Caribbean n...
GRIZZLY FLATS, Calif. (AP) — Wind-driven wildfires raged Wednesday through drought-stricken forests in the mountains of Northern California after incinerating hundreds of homes and forcing thousands of people to flee to safety. A reversal of wind direction was expected to test some previously quiet fire containment lines, but also push flames back in other areas, authorities said. The newest inferno, the Caldor Fire, continued to grow explosively in the Sierra Nevada southwest of Lake Tahoe, covering 84 square miles (217.5 square kilometers) a...
The federal government deliberately targeted Black Lives Matter protesters via heavy-handed criminal prosecutions in an attempt to disrupt and discourage the global movement that swept the nation last summer in the wake of the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, according to a new report released Wednesday by The Movement for Black Lives. Movement leaders and experts said the prosecution of protesters over the past year continues a century-long practice by the federal government, rooted in structural racism, to suppress Black social...
