Thank you Holdenville for allowing me to serve as your city councilman. It has been an honor and I will never forget your kindness.

Some years, and quite a few Coffeetime Columns ago, we wrote an article called Hellion Alert. It was about Andy recounting a true incident of eating lunch in a restaurant where a small, undisciplined child was wreaking havoc while the mother ignored it all.

In the living room of my childhood home there were two chairs, a couch and a television set. My mom always sat in the rocking chair. My dad’s territory was the Barkerlounger. My sister and I usually ended up on the couch or the floor if my folks were sitting in their designated places. I didn’t realize it at the time but we had assigned seating in our living room.

The Holdenville City Council approved a wage increase for the Holdenville Fire Department employees during the April 6 City Council meeting. This was in response to the most recent request from Fire Chief Shelton Foster during the March 2 meeting. At that time the Fire Department Committee members agreed to discuss this increase during their March 10 meeting.

John Janes has dedicated his career to the city, and his life to the community of Holdenville. John Janes and his late wife Cheryle are names everyone in town know and love. They raised two children who both graduated from Holdenville High School, Nick and Megan. Now John is currently helping spoil his two grandchildren, Jaelyn and Jace. John and Cheryle were involved in everything from serving in the local church to being troop leaders in Cub Scouts. But most of you probably know John best from being our Cemetery Sexton. John has buried more of our family members than we could possibly count. He has been faithful and compassionate in a position where his big heart and helping hand made people feel at ease during the most difficult times of their life. Last month John retired after 28 years of faithful service to the city. Join us in congratulating John on a job well done and wishing him a blessed and peaceful retirement.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – After two rounds at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, Oklahoma women’s golf senior Kaitlin Milligan made the cut and will compete in Saturday›s final round alongside the best amateurs in the world. The tournament opened with 82 golfers competing in the most elite field in women›s amateur history, and following Thursday›s round, the field was cut to 30. Those 30 will compete for one of the most coveted titles in amateur golf on Saturday afternoon.

I had the opportunity to visit with my classmate and lifelong friend Lou Jean Tampleton. She has always been one of the sweetest people I have ever known. We were trying to come up with the names of former classmates of hers in the second or third grade at Parkview. Lou told me that she had recently visited with another of our classmates, Esther Clark. The three of us all grew up in the Church of the Nazarene. In fact, Ester’s mom, Vera, was my Sunday School teacher for many years and she was such a precious lady. Vera’s husband, Gene, was a house mover and one of the finest Christian gentlemen I ever knew. Lou’s mom and dad were such wonderful folks and her dad, Everett Skinner, worked with my grandfather for the City of Holdenville for many years. My grandfather and dad both thought so highly of Everett. And everyone loved Lou’s mom, Marie. She was a piller of our church and countless people were touched by her thoughtfulness and kindness. What great memories……Speaking of our church, Audry Landers from Kansas City, Kansas, was our guest speaker last Sunday. She is a missionary for the Church of the Nazarene and the granddaughter of HHS graduate Earl Lavon Leewright. She was an incredible blessing. As she was speaking, I thought back to her great-grandparents. Earl and Lula Leewright. They also were two of the finest Christian people I ever knew. I kept thinking about how proud they would be of their great-granddaughter. The fourth generation of their family to dedicate their life to serving the Lord. Her greatgrandfather brought me some Armadillo stew that he had made, and I will never forget the day he brought it. My dad ate it and I….well, I smelled it and suddenly became NOT HUNGRY. I did try a spoonful just to say I tried it and as I swallowed it, I thought, NEVER AGAIN!......A friend recently recommended the movie “Resistance.” It is the true story of the famous mime Marcel Marceau, who used his theatrical skills to rescue imperiled Jewish orphans in WWII. Both Dayna and I highly recommend it. You can find it on Amazon Prime… .I just found out this past week that my good friend Ronald Guinn has some very serious health issues. Please keep him in your prayers…..Visited with Don Merriman Thursday. I always have appreciated all he does for so many folks and no matter what he is going through he will have a smile on his face……Saw Bessie Allen and daughter Denise. Bessie is 92 years old and doesn’t look anywhere near that age. She is still sharp as a tack and had just been to vote.

Creason Harjo Titan Randall Abigail and Sofia Bateman.

Adam Phillips, Madison Ellis, and Savanah Owens Ella Clifford Kayden Ingram Britian and Auden Silva.

Holdenville to host 1971 State Champions Holdenville High school will welcome back the 1971 Wolverine state championship baseball team on April 13. The Wolverines will gather for a 50th anniversary celebration and will be honored at the home baseball game that will be played on that date.