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It’s easy to have preconceived notions about people, and not really see them. We do it all the time. In fact, our brains are wired to make quick assessments of people and situations for our safety. How someone is dressed as we walk past him on the street may determine whether we smile or cross over to the other side. We also do it with people we know very well. We assume that we know their thoughts and motives. And that means we miss out on the rich, ever-changing complexity of the people we encounter, both strangers and long-term friends. M...
Alva Church of God Sunday school begins at 9:30 a.m. and worship at 10:30 a.m. Alva Church of God is located at 517 Ninth St. in Alva, and can be found on the web at www.AlvaChurchOfGod.org. Alva Friends Church Sunday school begins at 9:30 a.m.; coffee and donut fellowship at 10:10 a.m.; worship at 10:30 a.m. Alva Friends Church is on the corner of College Avenue and Center Street. Avard Christian Church Sunday services are from 2-4 p.m. Avard Christian Church is 7 miles west of Alva on Highway 64 and 7 miles south on County Road 370, or 6...
The Miss Alva Pageant will be held on Sunday, Aug. 27, at 4 p.m. at the Alva High School auditorium. Come show your support for these five young ladies as they vie for the title of Miss Alva. Tickets available at the door. Contestant #1 Alaina Hurst Hurst is the daughter of Jim and Cherie Hurst and Mike and Kim Vanlandingham. She has four siblings, Devery and Chandler Vanlandingham and Abby and Gage Hurst. She is involved in several organizations and extracurricular activities including Grand Worthy Advisor (state vice president) of Oklahoma...
Today, after lunch, my wife said (semi-teasingly), “I know that if I tried, I could find a man who would really appreciate me!” Well, right off the bat you know I’m in the dog house, but so far it’s only hypothetical – “If I tried” is better than “meet my new friend, Nigel.” But I am a slow thinker and didn’t take time to weigh all of my options. It seemed like a straight-forward statement of fact. “If she tried, she could find a man to appreciate her.” So I agreed. “Yes, Dear – I know that’s true.” In my impaired state (I am a man) I t...
The Oklahoma 4-H Youth Development Program has introduced new age guidelines for the upcoming 4-H year. The new guidelines to join the Oklahoma 4-H program are: Youth may enroll in 4-H on Sept. 1 if they are 8 years old and in the third grade. For numerous years, youth would join 4-H when they turned 9 years old, but these new guidelines allow youth to potentially join when they are younger. If they turn 8 after Sept. 1 and are in third grade, they will not be eligible to enroll in 4-H until the next 4-H year, but they may participate as a...
Northwestern’s Student Government Association (SGA) will sponsor a week of fun events for students at the Alva campus on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, Aug. 21, 22, 24 and 25. SGA members have chosen the first day of classes to kick off the Alva campus Howdy Week excitement with Aloha Northwestern for all Northwestern students. At 5 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 21, on the Intramural Field will be a cookout, slip n’ slide, dunk tank, volleyball tournament, music and fun. Day two of Howdy Week will be Movie Night at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 22....
Summer is a time for family outings and no greater holiday for cookouts exists than Labor Day. Congress passed the Labor Day Act in 1894, commemorating the success of American labor by designating the first Monday in September. Considered the last holiday of summer, Labor Day is a good time to cook out, and that brings me to the subject of barbecue. While lots of folks refer to a grill as a barbecue, grilling and barbecue are entirely different! The former is hot and fast over flames while the...
Earlier this month, the Oklahoma Supreme Court decided the $1.50 per pack smoking cessation fee the Legislature passed in May was unconstitutional. Also known as the Smoking Cessation and Prevention Act of 2017, the measure was designed to lessen smoking-related health care costs and deter young people from beginning the deadly habit in the first place. The bill was projected to generate roughly $215 million annually, and that money would have been distributed primarily to three state agencies:...
Dear Editor, I want to say a huge thank you to the entire community of Alva. For the past two weeks, I was back home in Alva creating three short films and a Virtual Reality 360 film using 75 people from Alva in the cast and crew. Hundreds of people and businesses donated money, food, water, rooms, equipment, art supplies, filming locations and encouragement throughout the production. It was the most rewarding film shoot I have ever experienced and the 11 filmmakers I brought with me to Alva are all interested in bringing new film projects to...
Few reasonable people would deny that Americans love sports and the people who play them. We pay exorbitant amounts of money to athletes who entertain us – just one indication of the appreciation we have for their talents. When athletically inclined boys and girls are growing up, they often excel in two or more sports. But if they join professional ranks as adults, they usually concentrate on only one activity – leaving others behind. Among well-known athletes who fit into this category are Jac...
The Alva High School Ladybugs made a comeback in the third to take the lead, but a fourth-inning rally from Enid gave Alva the 2-5 loss. The Ladybugs got the early jump on Enid in the bottom of the second as they started the inning with Hannah O’Neil at the plate taking four straight balls for a walk. Laney Stewart followed that with a sacrifice bunt that positioned O’Neil on third, providing Enid its first big danger of the game. With one out, and a runner on third, Gretchen Kraft hit a ground out to third base to plate O’Neil across home...
Head women's golf coach Aaron Ford announced the addition of Jordan Taylor, a transfer from Seminole State College, to round out his 2017-18 roster. Taylor joins Wellington, Texas, native Ashley Watts as Ford's two newcomers for this year's squad. Taylor joins the Rangers golf program after a steady career at Seminole State College. She produced a low round of 80 for the Trojans and will be looking to continue her consistent play under coach Ford. Her successful prep career at Seminole High School in Seminole, Oklahoma, included leading her...
The Northwestern Oklahoma State men's cross-country team will enter their 2017 season ranked in sixth place in the Great American Conference Pre-season Coaches Poll. The Rangers received 11 votes, five more than seventh-place Arkansas-Monticello. East Central, winners of three straight conference championships, will enter the season as the pre-season favorite after receiving 25 total votes and five of the first-place votes. Harding received the other two first-place votes, followed by Oklahoma Baptist, Southern Arkansas, and then Southern...
The Northwestern Oklahoma State women's cross-country team will enter the season ranked 10th in the Great American Conference Pre-season Coaches Poll. The Rangers received 29 votes along with Ouachita Baptist, 16 more than Arkansas-Monticello. Newly accepted conference member Oklahoma Baptist enters the season as the favorite after receiving seven of the first-place votes. East Central and Harding received four and one first-place votes and will enter the year ranked second and third respectively. New head coach Jill Lancaster will welcome a...
A dark cloud of debt can overshadow the certification process for new teachers. Besides the cost of their degrees, students in the education department have costs for further certification exams, background checks, initial licensure and professional liability insurance, as well as being expected to join a professional organization. On top of all that, they are required to dress professionally. Professional clothing for female teachers includes slacks, modest skirts around the knee, modest dresse...
Jessica Kriegh of Alva was recognized with the Support Staff Member of the Year award at the Oklahoma Association of Career and Technology Educators (OkACTE) Summer Conference held earlier this month. Kriegh is the Business and Industry Services & Adult Career Development administrative assistant at Northwest Technology Center (NWTC) in Alva. In addition to recognition onstage at the OkACTE event, Kriegh will receive a $2,500 cash award, which is sponsored by Express Employment Professionals....
The mood was somber Monday evening as the Alva City Council addressed a proposed utility rate increase. After months of discussion and deliberation, after two public hearings to give citizens a chance to speak, the council approved the increased rates. The vote was split 7-1. The new rates take effect Aug. 31 and will increase incrementally for the next three years. July 1, 2020, will bring the last of the approved increases. However, the resolution sets up continued increases based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Wage Consumers...
HOUSTON (AP) — Harvey intensified into a hurricane Thursday and steered for the Texas coast with the potential for up to 3 feet of rain, 125 mph winds and 12-foot storm surges in what could be the fiercest hurricane to hit the United States in almost a dozen years. Forecasters labeled Harvey a "life-threatening storm" that posed a "grave risk." Millions of people braced for a prolonged battering that could swamp dozens of counties more than 100 miles inland. Landfall was predicted for late Friday or early Saturday between Port O'Connor and M...
The U.S. Navy on Thursday released names of one sailor who died and nine others who were missing after the USS John McCain collided with an oil tanker near Singapore. Divers recovered the remains of Electronics Technician 3rd Class Kenneth Aaron Smith, 22, who the Navy listed as being from New Jersey. His mother said Smith grew up in Novi, Michigan, and moved to Norfolk, Virginia, as a teenager with his father. The military says five sailors were injured and 10 were missing following Monday's collision. The Navy says missing soldiers were from...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fanning the flames of GOP discord, President Donald Trump accused Republican congressional leaders Thursday of botching efforts to avoid an unprecedented default on the national debt. "Could have been so easy-now a mess!" Trump tweeted. The president's sharp words underscored the perilous state of play as Congress heads into the fall without a clear plan to take care of its most important piece of business: If it does not increase the nation's $19.9 trillion borrowing limit, the government could be unable to pay its bills, j...
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced Thursday he won't seek to rescind any national monuments carved from the wilderness and oceans by past presidents. But he said he will press for some boundary changes and left open the possibility of allowing drilling, mining or other industries on the sites. Twenty-seven monuments were put under review in April by President Donald Trump, who has charged that the millions of acres designated for protection by President Barack Obama were part of a "massive federal land grab." If T...
