Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 91
Karen Koehn, Northwest Technology Center's guidance counselor, spoke to the graduates, friends, families, and others in attendance at Bill Johnson Correctional Center's high school equivalency program's graduation ceremony June 22. "Wow. Gentlemen. You're giving me goosebumps," Koehn said. "Wow. Fifty-four GEDs. Do you realize that you've accomplished something that 20 percent of the state of Oklahoma hasn't done? I've been teaching school for 38 years," she said. "In 38 years I've had a lot of...
Fifty-four young men participated in Bill Johnson Correctional Center's graduation ceremony on Friday, June 22, receiving their certificates of having completed their high school equivalent education. Warden Becky Guffy welcomed friends and family to BJCC, thanking them for being their to support their new graduate. From there, however, her speech differed from those she'd given in the past at similar events. "I normally do a 'Welcome to Bill Johnson' kind of thing and I have a couple quotes...
While requests for tourism tax dollars are increasing, the amount of money available is declining. The tourism tax comes from lodging rentals at hotels, motels and bed and breakfast facilities in Alva. The Alva Tourism Committee has seen a steady decline in funds in recent years. A budget analysis by the City of Alva shows actual tourism tax collected in fiscal year 2015-2016 was $226,898. The following year it dropped to $198,599. Although the current year doesn't end until June 30, projected...
There are ten Republican candidates on Tuesday's primary ballot who are competing for the governor's seat. Besides Mick Cornett, the list includes Christopher Barnett, Dan Fisher, Eric Foutch, Barry Gowdy, Gary A. Jones, Todd Lamb, Gary Richardson, Blake Cowboy Stephens and Kevin Stitt. Cornett, the former mayor of Oklahoma City and, before that, Oklahoma City television newscaster, dropped by the Alva Review-Courier Thursday afternoon willing to answer any fresh questions. He visited with Alva...
Northwestern Oklahoma State University faculty members Dr. Kylene Rehder and Raquel Razien recently received awards at the annual Board of Visitors Social Work Hall of Fame luncheon and ceremony. Rehder, an associate professor, director of the Social Work Program and chair of the Department of Social Work at Northwestern, has been named the 2018 Social Work Educator honoree. Razien, who has served as an adjunct instructor in social work at Northwestern-Woodward, has been named the 2018 Rural...
The youthful cast of ACT I Theatre's "Mary Poppins Jr." will charm area audiences as the curtain rises on the Broadway Junior production for three nights, June 28, 29 and 30 at 7:30 p.m. "Mary Poppins" is based on the stories of P.L. Travers and the full-length London stage adaptation that premiered in 2004 and transferred to Broadway in 2006. It was one of the all-time most popular Walt Disney films. Co-creator Cameron MacIntosh worked with Disney to write an engaging version of the musical...
Sue Hughes of Waynoka was the official timer in Alva at the first stop last Tuesday of the 2018 Women's Air Race Classic. She said, "All 56 planes made it to Alva. However, on the next stop to Beatrice, Nebraska, bad weather ensued and became problematic. "Several of the teams had to stay over a day or two in Beatrice waiting on the weather," she said. Hughes told us this when she was in Alva Saturday for the Wings Over the Prairie air show. Regarding the Women's Air Race Classic, "The weather...
Alva Mayor Kelly Parker welcomed the crowd of about 50 to the turf runway dedication. He said it had been a great week in Alva, and he was really excited to dedicate this turf runway. He praised those who call Alva "home" because their support for the Alva airport has helped create an attractive and vital community in northwest Oklahoma in which families and businesses can thrive. Parker's main point was a quote from Amelia Earhart. He read, "Some of us have great runways already built for us....
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Hours after being discharged from a mental health treatment facility, 38-year-old disabled veteran Lee Cole hiked into a wilderness area in southwest Colorado Springs with a backpack and the cellphone on which he planned to record his final message. Most of that roughly four-minute Facebook Live video, posted publicly the evening of April 23, shows a wobbly pan around a bramble-choked gully, with only a fleeting careen over Lee's expressionless face. Turn up the volume, though, and his pain is achingly clear. "...
PUEBLO, Colo. (AP) — Even before he was diagnosed with autism while in kindergarten, Luke Gebbink's life's journey wasn't without its hurdles. Before entering preschool, Gebbink lost the ability to speak and had to relearn how to piece phrases together. Words, however, never came easy as the young Gebbink — who also was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and anxiety disorder — struggled to come to grips with the fast-paced and confusing world he found himself navigating. "All through school, Luke had many challenges, emoti...
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A veteran in Oklahoma whose life and business were disrupted when his lawn equipment was stolen no longer needs to face acres of grass using a push mower. The Tulsa World reports Cody Nichols on Friday received $15,000 worth of new lawn-mowing equipment through the nonprofit group Soldier's Wish. The Tulsa-based organization works to meet the needs of military veterans. Nichols, who served in the Marines, operates Our Troops Services. The small business hires veterans for landscaping, fencing and construction jobs. The t...
LINDSAY, Okla. (AP) — Danny Daniels, an evangelical Christian in the rural Oklahoma town of Lindsay, is reliably conservative on just about every political issue. The 45-year-old church pastor is anti-abortion, voted for President Donald Trump and is a member of the National Rifle Association who owns an AR-15 rifle. He also came of age during the 1980s and believed in the anti-drug mantra that labeled marijuana as a dangerous gateway drug. But his view on marijuana changed as his pastoral work extended into hospice care and he saw patients a...
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Storms moving through Oklahoma and Arkansas brought high winds that downed trees and power lines, in addition to damaging some structures. National Weather Service meteorologists say they had several reports of 60 to 70 mph (97 to 113 kph) winds as the storms moved across Oklahoma on Friday evening and into Arkansas early Saturday morning. Meteorologist Randy Bowers says winds as high as 77 mph (123 kph) were recorded in Logan County, which is located north of Oklahoma City. National Weather Service has gotten r...
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma State athletic director Mike Holder has received a three-year contract extension, with his annual pay boosted to $950,000. The deal was approved Friday by the Oklahoma State University/A&M Board of Regents. The new agreement with the 69-year-old Holder, who has been athletic director since 2005, begins July 1 and runs through June 2021. Holder was making $640,000 this year at OSU, which won 49 Big 12 Conference championships in 11 sports and six NCAA championships under him. OSU President Burns Hargis credited H...
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A Kansas-based company is seeking proposals from private rail carriers to provide passenger service between Tulsa and Oklahoma City. The request for proposals by WATCO Companies of Pittsburg, Kansas, would create passenger rail service from downtown Tulsa through the cities of Sapulpa, Bristow, Stroud, Chandler and Midwest City into downtown Oklahoma City. Legislation adopted in 2011 created a task force to study ways to link northeastern Oklahoma with the existing Heartland Flyer passenger service between Oklahoma City a...
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City has provided about $1.2 million in incentives over the past five years to airlines that provide nonstop flights to new destinations. The Oklahoman reports airlines that provide new nonstop flights on unserved routes can receive up to $75,000 in marketing incentives. Nonstop flights to destinations targeted by the city can receive double that amount. Airlines can also get discounts on gate and ticket counter rentals. Airport spokeswoman Karen Carney says air service is important t...
SALINA, Kan. (AP) — Kris Kobach's top Republican rivals are trying to sound the right notes on illegal immigration to appeal to business and agriculture leaders without conceding too many conservative votes to a hardliner who's made tougher state policies a key theme in an increasingly contentious race. Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state, is trying to unseat Gov. Jeff Colyer in the state's Aug. 7 primary. He argued during a debate Saturday that Kansas is too lax in dealing with people living in the U.S. illegally, pushing initiatives such a...
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas legislative leader says a former federal prosecutor has assembled a team of attorneys to provide legal services to immigrant children separated from their parents and detained in group homes in Topeka. Wichita Democrat and Kansas House Minority Leader Jim Ward announced Saturday that Barry Grissom, former U.S. attorney for Kansas, assembled the team to serve immigrant children housed by The Villages on a 400-acre site with five group homes. The state Department for Children and Families did an inspection of the h...
JUNCTION CITY, Kan. (AP) — Hundreds of immigrant children detained at a facility at the U.S.-Mexico border were getting good food and medical care and appeared to be in good spirits, U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall said Saturday after touring the center he described as a "camp." But the Kansas Republican said he remains concerned about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement centers for processing immigrants attempting to cross border illegally and that his trip to the El Paso area confirmed his belief that Congress needs to pass legislation m...
NORTON, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas National Guard has been called upon to haul 26 pallets of bottled water to a northwestern Kansas town where toxic algae has compromised the water supply. The bottled water was donated by Harvesters, a community food network, in Kansas City, Missouri and Topeka, and will be delivered to Norton on Saturday afternoon. Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer declared a state of disaster emergency on Friday for the City of Norton due to harmful algae blooms in Sebelius Lake. The toxic algae is affecting the surface water intakes f...
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A new Kansas law goes into effect on July 1 that legally protects Good Samaritans who break into vehicles to save overheating children, animals and vulnerable adults. Several groups are planning to get together at 11 a.m. Monday in Spring Hill to talk about the law and show Kansans how to exercise that right. The event highlights the dangers of hot cars with planned demonstrations showing temperature rise in a car and how to break a car's window safety and easily. The bill signed into law earlier this year states it would p...
PETALUMA, Calif. (AP) — Dogs with hairless bodies and lolling tongues will flaunt their imperfections as they compete to win the 2018 World's Ugliest Dog contest in the San Francisco Bay Area. The event is taking place Saturday this year at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds in Petaluma, a departure from previous years when it was held on Friday. Organizers say they wanted more people to attend. This year's dogs include a blackhead-covered Chinese Crested-Dachshund mutt and a bulldog mix with excess wrinkly skin. The dogs walk down a red carpet a...
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The U.S. military said it moved 100 wooden coffins to the inter-Korean border to prepare for North Korea's returning of the remains of American soldiers who have been missing since the 1950-53 Korean War. U.S. Forces Korea spokesman Col. Chad Carroll also said Saturday that 158 metal transfer cases were sent to a U.S. air base near Seoul, South Korea's capital, and would be used to send the remains home. North Korea agreed to return U.S. war remains during the June 12 summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a...
BEIJING (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who has accused China of "intimidation and coercion" in the South China Sea, is visiting Beijing this week as the countries increasingly spar over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and Beijing's expanding military presence overseas. Mattis will be the first defense secretary in President Donald Trump's administration to visit China. His trip highlights the need for the U.S. and its chief rival in East Asia to engage each other despite increasingly stark differences and mutual suspicion. Mattis' m...
