Alva Review-Courier -

The pace picks up during the last quarter of the year in Alva. October began with the Northwestern Oklahoma State University Homecoming weekend. On the national scene, the presidential election rhetoric was heating up. Closer to home, voters pondered the implications of seven state questions. With Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, the last months of the year are always busy with activities.

October

Woodward's Grace Meinders was crowned Miss Cinderella on Sept. 30 at NWOSU. She was also the talent winner. This was year 65 for the Miss Cinderella contest.

The big NWOSU Homecoming Parade was held Saturday morning, Oct. 1, followed by food and entertainment on the downtown square. To cap it off, the Rangers won their football game against the ECU Tigers 42-26. Homecoming royalty honored at the game were Queen Cinthya Nevarez, King Shekhar Adhikari and Freshman Queen Jenna Castor.

Alva High School softball ended their season in the regionals against Perry.

Lynda Martin resigns as a member of the Alva Board of Education. Supt. Steve Parkhurst told the board the "new" gym, now 15 years old, will need repairs to the bleachers.

The Alva Chamber of Commerce held a new event, Octoberfest, on the downtown square on Oct. 8 with a large crowd attending.

Alva High School football homecoming was Oct. 15. Austin Shklar was crowned king, and Riley Beeler queen. Alva lost their homecoming game to Perry by a narrow margin of 27-24.

Brandon Sherman was appointed to the Alva City Council Ward 2 Seat 2. He replaced Joey Melton who resigned due to moving out of that ward.

The Talking Tombstones event was presented two evenings by the Cherokee Strip Museum. Local residents, dressed in period costumes, portrayed some of the well-known "residents" of the Alva Municipal Cemetery.

The Cherokee Strip Museum held a dinner to show off their recently completed meeting rooms. Part of the area serves as a display area, but those displays can be moved aside to make more space if needed.

During the second Alva City Council meeting in October, Mayor Kelly Parker announced the resignations of Wes Miller and Chad Fisher from council seats in Ward 3 and Ward 1 respectively.

State Rep. Jeff Hickman spoke to the Alva Rotary Club, giving a summary of the seven state questions on the Nov. 8 ballot.

The Ranger Rodeo was held Oct. 27-30 at the fairgrounds. NWOSU rodeo team members introduced local youngsters to rodeo skills like roping and riding on the Wednesday before the event.

The Heartland BEST 2016 Robotics contest was held Oct. 29 at the Pete and Ruth Leslie Fieldhouse with a large number of teams participating. It is hosted by science and math faculty at NWOSU.

The Miss Northwestern Pageant was held Oct. 30 with Kandi Hughart earning the crown. Duky Wyatt was named Outstanding Teen.

The annual Alva Spook Parade was held downtown after school on Monday, Oct. 31, with plenty of participants. Costumed youngsters then made the rounds of merchants to receive treats.

November

During November, Mary Hamilton was appointed to fill the Ward 3 Seat 2 vacancy on the Alva City Council left by the resignation of Wes Miller. During the second council meeting of the month, Danny Winters was appointed to fill the Ward 1 Seat 1 position left open by the resignation of Chad Fisher.

Bank It announced raising $4,455 for the Woods County Senior Citizens Center in Alva.

Terry Ryel was appointed to the Northwest Technology Center board, filling the position vacated by Dr. Carl Newton who won his bid for the state legislature.

Veteran's Day on Nov. 11 was celebrated by two events. American Legion Post 92 honored veterans at the Cherokee Strip Museum. The Alva Middle School held an assembly with songs and speeches to recognize veterans who then were treated to lunch.

The installation of a new boiler system at Share Medical Center required permission from the Alva City Council for a large LPG tank. Fire Marshal Bryan Miller told the council a backup source of power was required for the new system which operated on natural gas. That required installation of the 12,000 gallon tank. The council approved the installation.

Former Alva resident Dr. Mike Knedler was chosen to receive the Oklahoma Governor's Arts Award in a ceremony on Dec. 7.

Craig Shafer was appointed to the Woods County Fair Board by the county commissioners.

December

The ACT I Theatre presented "A Christmas Carol" on Dec. 8-10 to get everyone in the holiday mood.

On Dec. 5 the Alva Board of Education voted to approve Tim Argo as assistant superintendent for the rest of the school year. Rather than hire another principal for Argo's former position at Lincoln Elementary, the board agreed to naming Madison Williams as lead teacher. One of Argo's main duties will be to facilitate communication among the Alva school locations.

Karen Koehn was appointed to fill the vacancy on the Alva school board, replacing Lynda Martin who resigned.

Kim VanLandingham was critically injured in a collision near Medford on Dec. 2. She died of her injuries on Dec. 7.

Paul and Deb Corr announced their retirement from their insurance business. However, they said they'll continue to portray Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus.

NWOSU's Ranger Stadium played host to the Class B 2016 football championship Dec. 9. Laverne defeated Shattuck for the title.

During filing for school board positions in December, the incumbent Jane McDermott was the only one filing for her position on the Alva board.

The NWOSU fall commencement was held Dec. 11. The speaker was NWOSU grad Mark Norman who is the interim director of the Oklahoma Educational Television Network.

Alva High basketball standout Jaden Hobbs suffered a season-ending injury in practice as she began to play for Oklahoma State University.

Dr. Chuck Gasaway of Alva was honored as the Oklahoma Department of Corrections Volunteer of the Year in a state ceremony.

The Alva Rotary Club distributed a huge number of Toys for Tots which had been donated by organizations and individuals.

Doyle Wardrop resigned from the Woods County Economic Development Committee. The committee is seeking a new member, hopefully from the Freedom area.

Alva man Nathan Gaisford who required a kidney transplant early in his life now needs a new transplant. Friends and family are joining him in ongoing fund raising efforts to get the money needed before he can be considered.

The Alva Tourism Committee approved $10,000 instead of the $50,000 requested by the Alva Golf and Country Club for the replacement of their swimming pool. Committee members voiced concern that the pool did not meet the requirements of being a tourist draw for Alva.