Holdenville powerlifter, Tyler Orr, had the third best performance in the 132 pound division at the state power lifting meet..

Great Day to be a Wolverine Every day is a great day to be a Holdenville Wolverine! But…… Some days are better than most. Last Friday a small group of Wolverines make the snowy trip to the state tournament games at the ‘Big House’ at the State Fair Arena to witness the honoring of the 1942 State Basketball Championship.

Fully funding the police has been made a top priority for the Holdenville City Council. With a unanimous vote in the last city council meeting, all Holdenville police officers received what amounts to a more than a $300 per month raise. The department has struggled in recent years to attract and keep a fully staffed department. While several good officers have come to work for the department, almost all have left in a very short time citing better job offers from surrounding departments and agencies as their reason for leaving. Councilman Lynn Lantz proposed to the council that by eliminating one officer position from the budget, making the Holdenville Police Department an eight man department rather than a nine man department, the salary from the ninth officer position could be distributed evenly among the remaining eight officer positions. That means the starting pay for a CLEET certified officer just increased $3500.00 per year from $29,500.00 to $33,000.00 making it one of the highest paid salaries for a starting officer in the area.

In a very moving moment at the Holdenville High School Band concert last week, Band Director Sam Crosby announced a last minute change in the opening song for the concert band that evening. The band was set to play a song entitled Moscow 1942. They practiced the piece for several weeks. That was before Putin and his Russian forces invaded the free country of Ukraine. Mr. Crosby felt it would be inappropriate to play the Russian piece during this time of war and decided to have the concert band play the Ukrainian National Anthem instead. The piece is entitled, “Shche ne vmerla Ukrainy i slava, i volia” (Ukrainian: Ще не вмерла України і слава, і воля) literally translated as ”Glory and Freedom of Ukraine has not yet Perished” also known by its official title of “State Anthem of Ukraine” (Державний Гімн України, Derzhavnyi Himn Ukrainy). The band had only one day to practice but it made for an incredible, unforgettable moment. Everyone in attendance stood to their feet and removed their hats for the entirety of the piece. Holdenville Schools and the people of Holdenville support and pray for the good people of Ukraine during this dangerous, uncertain time.

City of Holdenville Street Commissioner Jim Thetford reminds residents that the annual City-wide brush and limb pickup is underway. He encourages everyone to spend time during the next couple of weeks pruning trees and shrubs in preparation for spring, as well as clearing away dead limbs and branches that have fallen during the winter.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY MARCH 7 TH 1814: An army led by Napoleon I wins the Battle of Craonne. Napoleon’s Imperial French army attacked a combined force of 22,000 Russian and Prussian soldiers of the Six Coalition near Craonne in northern France.

I want to commend council members Lynn Lantz, Julie West and Ron Wiseman for their support in appointing a transition team that will work to make the change from Aldermanic to City Manager in the coming months. To wait until the last minute would be a disaster and we are thankful for their vision. These three have proven they are more interested in the future of Holdenville than they are in petty politics. My understanding is that almost one half of the city code will need to be re-written. Council members working for the best interest of this city and refusing to be intimidated by the handful of critics are what we need. The three mentioned stood by their convictions and we applaud them. Council members Lori Babb and Jeanna Gordon were unable to be there. Council members Orr and Wulf voted against the transition team.

Can COVID-19 Cause Shingles? Dear Savvy Senior, How effective is the shingles vaccine and what is the CDC recommendation for getting it? My older brother and sister, both in their fifties, got COVID a few months back followed by shingles. Do you know if there is a connection between these viruses, and would the shingles vaccine have protected them? Scared of Shingles Dear Scared, Great question! Many healthcare professionals across the country have been urging their older patients to get the shingles vaccine (in addition to the COVID-19 vaccinations) during the pandemic because getting COVID-19 can increase your chances of developing shingles.

Special guests of the Loving Holdenville event Dwight Ferguson and Bro. Earl Scroggins, Pastor of Faith FWB Leslie Streater helping with the Loving Holdenville event.

On March 5, 2022, the Faith Free Will Baptist Church, along with Arms of Compassion and Community Angels hosted the “LOVING HOLDENVILLE’ event to show the town of Holdenville that they are loved. The event offered pulled pork sandwiches and tenderloin, baked beans, nachos, chips and lots of cookies to approximately 200 people from the Holdenville area.