The Holdenville Lions Club has been busy in March and April 2023. March was busy with preparing to conduct the Steak Sandwich Fundraiser in April.

Reading my publishers “Country Comments” last week about how our current youth have this toxic aversion to work reminded me of my own misspent childhood. During this time, I would have probably accepted with glee a lot of Senator Bernie Sanders’ liberal thinking toward child labor. I found some of the work my grandpa found for me to do down on his Eastern Oklahoma farm very untimely and unwanted back in the “war years” of the early 1940s.

WEWOKA — After several months of investigation, a middle school principal in this town of 3,000 residents was charged Thursday with inappropriately touching two children. Wewoka Middle School principal Cody Coy Barlow, 33, faces two felony counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child under 16.

The Holdenville High School varsity track teams competed in the regional track meet last weekend and won 15 medals! Most importantly, a total of nine Wolverines punched their ticket to the state track meet. The Wolverine 4 x 100 boys’ and girls’ relay teams placed and earned the spot at the state track meet in Ardmore. In addition to the relays Brooklyn Nelms was runner-up in the 3200-meter run and will compete in that distance race at state.

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Holdenville has a new Interim City Manager, Larry S. Mitchell, who brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the role. Mitchell is a proven manager with extensive experience in public finance, strategic planning, intergovernmental relations, personnel management, economic development, contract negotiations, and capital project construction. He is an effective leader and decision-maker, with strong organizational and communication skills.

OKLAHOMA CITY– The Oklahoma Association of Elementary School Principals (OAESP) is pleased to announce Danielle Patterson, Principal at Ethel Reed Elementary School, Holdenville Public Schools, as the OAESP Oklahoma Principal of the Year. OAESP also named Darren Nelson, Principal at Westwood Elementary School, Stillwater Public Schools, as the OAESP Principal of Excellence.

The 14th annual Native American Convocation will take place on Sunday April 30, 2023 at the Holdenville High School auditorium from 6 pm - 7 pm with a reception to follow. We will be celebrating the accomplishments of the graduating class of 2023. This year there are thirteen Mvskoke Creek Nation members, six Seminole Nation members, three Choctaw Nation members, two Cherokee Nation members and one Chickasaw Nation member graduating. Everyone is invited to attend.