The world seemed to get closer to spinning out of its orbit in 2021. If you’d told me five years ago that men would be treated as women, criminals would not be prosecuted, and censorship would be widespread, I wouldn’t have believed you.

Oklahoma Judge Denies State’s Request to Stop National Guard COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate By Katabella Roberts December 29, 2021 An Oklahoma federal judge on Tuesday ruled against an attempt from the state to block the Department of Defense’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for National Guard members. U.S.

Sunday, December 19 , two Hughes County jail inmates attempted to hang themselves. Deputies responded quickly and both were taken to Holdenville General Hospital. One was treated and released back into custody of the Hughes County Sheriff’s office and the other inmate was sent to OU Medical Center and has also been released back into custody.

Oklahoma’s civil power is at risk, as a court order showed last week. The unraveling of state power in eastern Oklahoma is fascinating to watch—if you don’t happen to live there.

FELONY Elizabeth Nichole Groves—driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs Tiffany dawn Swayngim—harboring fugitive from justice MISDEMEANORS Joshua Ross— possession of controlled dangerous substance Heather Wood— possession of controlled dangerous substance MARRIAGE Jason Robert Miller, Muskogee and Lylah Leigh Sparks, Dustin DIVORCE Jennifer Lynn Williamson vs. Jeremy Rex Spradling CIVIL Midland Credit Management vs.

Sirens blared at the annual Fall Festival as Hughes County EMS celebrated the newest ambulance addition to the fleet. Over a year since the Hughes County EMS Bond was renewed the agency presented to the public an ambulance that celebrates our county history. “The community has been so supportive of Hughes County EMS, and the EMS Bond, that we had to give back in our support” said Director Kristy Lashbrook. The truck is a 2020 Ford F350, and while smaller than the other ambulances, Kristy advised that there has been a nationwide shortage of ambulance chassis and they had to jump onto what was available. Board of Trustee President Tommy Taylor added, “We had to look at having a backup unit, due to supply issues on parts and even chassis, our ambulances are out of service for longer periods of time, due to maintenance. Having this unit will alleviate that kind of strain on the EMS System.” The ambulance features several safety improvements to benefit staff and patients, internal roll cage, crash tested restraint systems, roll over protection, and all metal construction. Paramedic Supervisor Pat Sherwood gave a glimpse into the truck’s new lighting system that’s on the cutting edge of technology, “It does what’s considered DVI – which is Dynamic Variable Intensity – so at nighttime it’ll recognize how much UV (ultraviolet) light is actually being emitted. And with that it’ll automatically dim the lights when we go into park or when we’re driving at night. The truck also features four-wheel drive, liquid spring suspension for a smoother ride, as well as an electric cot load feature that can hold up to 800 pounds.

Imani Le’Shawn Dindy received his Bachelor of Science degree from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater December 11, 2021. Imani is the son of Kimmie and Bennie Blackburn of Shawnee, OK, and Shawn Sanford of Holdenville, OK, and is the grandson of Beverly Sanford and the late Evangeline Dindy. He is the brother of Dyani and Dominic Blackburn. He is a member of the Holdenville High School graduating class of 2017, where he excelled in both academics and sports. He received the OSU Academic Scholarship in 2017 and went on to major in physics and minor in math at OSU. He maintained a high gpa and was on the Dean’s Honor Roll in both 2019 and 2021. He was the recipient of the 2020 Friends of the Observatory Scholarship in Physics at OSU and the Kenneth and Joyce Harwell Scholarship 2021-2022 from the OSU College of Arts & Sciences. He was also accepted into the OSU McNair Scholars Program, a very prestigious PHD preparatory program, on March 17, 2021. He went on to receive the Outstanding Undergraduate Research Assistant Award from the OSU Physics Department for 2021. Imani is also a member of the Seminole Nation. He plans to go on to graduate school to continue his education in astrophysics. We are all so very proud of Imani and his many successes, and we cannot wait to see what the future holds for him.

The Holdenville Municipal Airport runway is currently under construction. Funds to restore the runway were all from a 100% grant at no cost to the city. The Holdenville Municipal Airport is eligible for $150,000 of Non-Primary Entitlement (NPE) funds each year, under the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), administered by the FAA. These funds are held by the FAA, and issued in the form of a grant, upon receipt of a grant application for work eligible under the program. The funds can be rolled over and banked for three years, but if the oldest money is not under grant by the fourth year, it will expire. The program funds 90% of the eligible costs, and the City’s matching share is 10% (however, this was modified in Fiscal Year 2020 and Fiscal Year 2021, due to additional funds appropriated under the CARES Act and ARPA). This program provides an excellent opportunity for communities to continuously improve and maintain their airport, but it is critical that they budget their local match, in order to utilize the funds. Currently the City of Holdenville is slated to lose $150,000 in Fiscal Year 2022, if it does commit to a project, and soon. The city needs to budget $16,667 of FAA grant match money every year and be able to roll it forward in the years in which there is no project, in order to maximize the full potential for use of this funding.

The Holdenville airport closed to all air traffic 11-15- 2021. The beacon and radio transmitter were also turned off. Mr. Huffman sold the land to the City of Holdenville in 1946. Mr. Jim Browning was the airport manager. There were pilots flying and landing their airplanes at the airport. There used to be airmail service at the airport. The pilots that lived in Holdenville that had their airplanes hangar at the airport were Ray Alt, Cran Wilbanks, Gale Pryor, and Blackie Whittington. Other pilots from Wewoka that had their airplanes at the airport were J.W. Chaney, Archie Stout, Dr. Ogle and Gordon Anderson.