Ledger newsletter 11-29-2022
Ledger newsletter 11-29-2022
The Ledger newsletter for Tuesday
The Ledger daily newsletter is the best source of news, sports, obits and more in LeFlore County. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for only $5 per month of $50 a year. Questions? Text us (918) 649-4712.
Bible verse of the day 11-29-2022
The Bible verse of the day for Tuesday:
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.
Matthew 6:3
Heavener School menu 11-29-2022
The Heavener cafeteria menu for Tuesday:
Breakfast: breakfast pizza
Lunch: spaghetti
Today’s Daily Chatter newsletter
Audits scheduled for elections
Secretary of the State election Board Paul Ziriax announced that county election boards will conduct post-election tabulation audits of the November 8 General Election and August 28 Runoff Primary on Tuesday, November 29 and Wednesday, November 30.
Post-election audits are open to the public. For more information about the exact time and location of the post-election audits, contact the county election board.
The post-election audits will include a manual examination of ballots by the secretary of the county election board and/or other authorized election officials. Typically, this includes a manual review of an Election Day precinct or absentees for a randomly selected race. The State Election Board will publish the findings of the post-election audits on its website.
The state law governing post-election audits in Oklahoma was enacted by the State Legislature in 2019. (See 26 O.S. § 3-130.)
For press and media questions, contact Misha Mohr, State Election Board Public Information Officer, at mmohr@elections.ok.gov or (405) 522-6624.
Filing begins for board of education seats
Candidates for the board of education in 17 LeFlore County school districts will file declarations of candidacy starting Monday.
Sharon Steele, secretary of the LeFlore County Election Board, said declaration of candidacy forms must be completed and submitted to the county election board by 5 p.m. Dec. 7 when the filing period ends. Steele said voters that do contests of candidacy must be filed by Dec. 9 and may only be filed by another candidate for that office.
If more than two candidates file for the same vacant board of education position, a primary election will be held Feb. 14. If one candidate receives more than 50 percent of the votes, that candidate will be named the elected official. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the votes, the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes will vie for the position during the board of education general election April 4. If only two candidates file for the same vacant position, those two candidates’ names will appear on the general election ballot in April.
Declarations of candidacy will be accepted for the following offices:
Arkoma 1-91 office 3; Bokoshe I-26 office 3 (office 2 and 5 unexpired terms; Cameron I-17 office 3; Fanshawe C-39 office 1; Heavener I-3 office 3; Hodgen C-14 office 1; Howe I-67 office 3; LeFlore I-16 office 3; Monroe C-11 office 1; Panama I-20 office 3; Pocola I-7 office 3; Poteau I-29 office 3; Shady Point C-4 office 1; Spiro I-2 office 3; Talihina I-52 office 3; Whitesboro I-62 office 3 (office 1 unexpired term); Wister I-49 Office 3.
Lady Wolves’ feature of the week
Armstrong talks about wrestling program
Ledger blog 11-29-2022
By CRAIG HALL
Hello and welcome to the Ledger blog for Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022.
I am Craig Hall heavenerledger.com publisher and hair-challenged individual, thus the frequent use of a hat.
For those of you who keep track of things like this, it is the 333nd day of the year. There are only 32 days left in 2022.
If you care about local and county news, sports, obits and more, please subscribe to our daily newsletter at heavenerledger.substack.com, it is published every day with the best news coverage in LeFlore County. Plus, you can see our blast from the past and did you know features, along with my Little Ledger daily column, exclusively on the daily newsletter.
Please share this with anybody you think might be interested. If you don’t like it, let me know why, and I will try to do better tomorrow. Just for you, yes, you.
Today’s Bible verse: But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.
Matthew 6:3
In the Heavener School menu for today: Breakfast: Breakfast pizza
Lunch: spaghetti
Today’s really bad joke of the day: What's the No. 1 cause of divorce? Marriage!
Remember, I don’t write them, just read them for you. If you can do better, send in your own, email it to craig@heavenerledger.com and we will recognize you and your brilliance when we read it online.
And if you want to wish somebody a happy birthday, marriage, wedding anniversary or whatever, email me the information and we will recognize them on their special day.
Secretary of the State election Board Paul Ziriax announced that county election boards will conduct post-election tabulation audits of the November 8 General Election and August 28 Runoff Primary on Tuesday, November 29 and Wednesday, November 30.
Post-election audits are open to the public. For more information about the exact time and location of the post-election audits, contact the county election board.
Candidates for the board of education in 17 LeFlore County school districts will file declarations of candidacy starting Monday.
Sharon Steele, secretary of the LeFlore County Election Board, said declaration of candidacy forms must be completed and submitted to the county election board by 5 p.m. Dec. 7 when the filing period ends.
In today’s weather forecast, partly cloudy skies Tuesday in LeFlore County with a wind advisory in effect through noon.
Wind gusts up to 40 mph are possible.
The high will be 73 degrees with a low of 30 degrees.
Sunrise is 7:06 a.m. Sunset is 5:07 p.m.
On the calendar of events for today, Tuesday
Heavener community blood drive 2-6 p.m.
Memorial service for Robin Ray is 2 p.m. at Mallory-Martin Funeral Home Chapel in Spiro.
Poteau Evening Lions Club meet 6 p.m. CASC
High School basketball: Arkoma at Webbers Falls; Cave Springs at Bokoshe; Heavener girls at Poteau; Kinta at Panama; Wister at Talihina
Graveside service for Russell "Gus" Potter, 73 of Spiro, is 1 p.m. Thursday at The United States National Cemetery in Fort Smith, Arkansas with Reverend Shawn Caldwell officiating. Graveside services are under the direction of Mallory-Martin Funeral Home of Spiro.
He was born April 7, 1949 in Lindsay, California to Anna Jane (Parker) and Homer Harry Potter and passed away Nov. 26, 2022 in Muskogee.
In other top news for today, Chinese universities sent students home and police fanned out in Beijing and Shanghai to prevent more protests Tuesday after crowds angered by severe anti-virus restrictions called for leader Xi Jinping to resign in the biggest show of public dissent in decades.
The Supreme Court is taking up a dispute over a blocked Biden administration policy that would prioritize deportation of people in the country illegally who pose the greatest public safety risk.
Republican-led states sued and won a nationwide court order that is meant to limit immigration officers’ discretion in deciding whom to deport. The justices are hearing arguments in the case Tuesday.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reaffirmed the military alliance’s commitment to Ukraine on Tuesday, saying that the war-torn nation will one day become a member of the world’s largest security organization.
Stoltenberg’s remarks came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his NATO counterparts gathered in Romania to drum up urgently needed support for Ukraine aimed at ensuring that Moscow fails to defeat the country as it bombards energy infrastructure.
Republican officials in a rural Arizona county refused Monday to certify the 2022 election, a decision that was quickly challenged in court by the state’s top election official.
The refusal to certify by Cochise County in southeastern Arizona comes amid pressure from prominent Republicans to reject results showing Democrats winning top races.
Zion Williamson scored 23 points, matched his career high with eight assists and converted a go-ahead three-point play with 44 seconds left to lift the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans to a 105-101 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night.
On this date in history, in 1947, the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the partitioning of Palestine between Arabs and Jews.
In 1864, a Colorado militia killed at least 150 peaceful Cheyenne Indians in the Sand Creek Massacre.
We thank all of you again for joining us, remember to subscribe and again, hope you have a great day.
In 1929, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Richard E. Byrd, pilot Bernt Balchen, radio operator Harold June and photographer Ashley McKinney made the first airplane flight over the South Pole.
In 1961, Enos the chimp was launched from Cape Canaveral aboard the Mercury-Atlas 5 spacecraft, which orbited earth twice before returning.
In 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson named a commission headed by Earl Warren to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
In 1981, film star Natalie Wood drowned in a boating accident off Santa Catalina Island, California, at age 43.
In 1986, actor Cary Grant died in Davenport, Iowa, at age 82.
In 2001, former Beatle George Harrison died in Los Angeles following a battle with cancer; he was 58.
Today’s birthdays include: Today’s Birthdays: Blues singer-musician John Mayall is 89. Actor Diane Ladd is 87. Songwriter Mark James is 82. Composer-musician Chuck Mangione is 82. Pop singer-musician Felix Cavaliere (The Rascals) is 80. Former Olympic skier Suzy Chaffee is 76. Actor Jeff Fahey is 70. Movie director Joel Coen is 68. Actor-comedian-celebrity judge Howie Mandel is 67. Former Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano (neh-pahl-ih-TAN’-oh) is 65. Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is 63. Actor Cathy Moriarty is 62. Actor Kim Delaney is 61. Actor Tom Sizemore is 61. Actor Andrew McCarthy is 60. Actor Don Cheadle is 58. Actor-producer Neill Barry is 57. Pop singer Jonathan Knight (New Kids on the Block) is 54. Rock musician Martin Carr (Boo Radleys) is 54. Actor Jennifer Elise Cox is 53. Baseball Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera is 53. Actor Larry Joe Campbell is 52. Rock musician Frank Delgado (Deftones) is 52. Actor Paola Turbay is 52. Contemporary Christian singer Crowder is 51. Actor Gena Lee Nolin is 51. Actor Brian Baumgartner is 50. Actor Julian Ovenden is 47. Actor Anna (AH’-nuh) Faris is 46. Gospel singer James Fortune is 45. Actor Lauren German is 44. Rapper The Game is 43. Actor Janina Gavankar is 42. Rock musician Ringo Garza is 41. Actor-comedian John Milhiser is 41. Actor Lucas Black is 40. NFL quarterback Russell Wilson is 34. Actor Diego Boneta is 32. Actor Lovie Simone (TV: “Greenleaf”) is 24.
The pardoned turkey
By LEON YOUNGBLOOD
Friday after Thanksgiving, I visited friends Joe and Teresa at their farm, and among other critters, they still had Flavius. Flavius was to be the main feature at Joe and Terry’s Thanksgiving dinner three years ago; he got a reprieve.
That was a good thing, for Flavius is as fine a bird as you could hope to meet. He and three large dogs were the first members of the family to, greet me with friendly gobbles and barks as I climbed out of my old truck. The dogs wagged their tails in such an enthusiastic way, it was almost like they were dancing. Flavius, not to be outdone, fanned his tail feathers. Domestic turkeys are generally sociable, and Flavius especially so.
BRIAR CIRCLE
Joe and Terry are generally sociable, too, and stepped out to greet me when they heard the commotion in the yard. Their two grandkids, ages five and eight, were on their heels, The scene was not unlike some you see on those sappy, sentimental TV movies that infest the holiday season except that the kids were dirty. There was no problem, here. It is impossible for children to explore and play on a farm without it rubbing off on them, which is a good thing.
The adults exchanged the usual greetings, but the five-year old girl hugged the turkey while her brother petted the dogs, advising them to “settle down!” It was cute, to say the least, and we will leave it there.
“Y’all still haven’t et that turkey,” I noted. “I thought he was sentenced to the roasting pan!”
“We’d sooner eat one of the kids,” Joe said, but we knew he did not mean it. “Flavius has a full pardon. We hope he has a long and happy life.”
Flavius responded to this show of support by gobbling and pooping on the ground. “See that?” the grandson asked, pointing to the dropping. “It’s shaped like a J. That’s how you know Flav’us is a boy.”
Anybody with scant exposure to turkeys could immediately tell Flavius was a tom, a male turkey. But I answered honestly, “Really? I did not know that.”
Joe, who has hunted his share of wild turkeys, said, “Toms have J-shaped droppings. Hen droppings are kinda curlicued.”
Well—you learn something every day. I can only speculate how much I will benefit from this recently acquired turkey-trivia tidbit, but I am certain I am a better person because of it, and hope I can work it into a conversation, someday.
Terry shared other turkey facts. I suspect they are known by most people, but some of them were new to me: Benjamin Franklin preferred the wild turkey over the eagle as the National bird, citing its intelligence, character and morals as qualifications; 50-million turkeys were sold for Thanksgiving, give or take a few; turkeys kept as pets live ten years, on average; wild turkeys’ life spans are four years, at best; wild turkeys can fly, domestics can’t due to weight issues; President George Bush made pardoning the White House Turkey tradition an official ceremony in 1989—Terry knew a lot more facts than I needed to know. When she told me, “Wild turkeys roost in trees,” I asked about Flavius’ accommodations. He has a big wooden box in their garage with ample food and water, heat lamps for winter, fans for summer, and a mirror.
The grandson explained, “He looks at his self in the mirror and spreads out his feathers. Sometimes he gobbles when he does that.”
The children obviously admired and loved Flavius. I admit, he is a fine bird, and if I was the cook for the holidays, I would not be able to help myself. I would pardon him, too.
LeFlore County weather 11-29-2022
Partly cloudy skies Tuesday in LeFlore County with a wind advisory in effect through noon.
Wind gusts up to 40 mph are possible.
The high will be 73 degrees with a low of 30 degrees.
Sunrise is 7:06 a.m. Sunset is 5:07 p.m.
Sunday’s high was 54 with a low of 37.
Average temperatures for Nov. 29 are a high of 59 and low of 33. Records for the date were a high of 79 in 1990 and a record low of 17 in 1995.
Last year on this date, the high was 69 with a low of 37.
LeFlore County calendar 11-29-2022
The calendar of events lists the upcoming events in the area. This is a free service, so if you or your group have an event coming up and would like it added to the calendar, please email craig@heavenerledger.com or text (918) 649-4712.
Tuesday
Heavener community blood drive 2-6 p.m.
Memorial service for Robin Ray
Poteau Evening Lions Club meet 6 p.m. CASC
High School basketball: Arkoma at Webbers Falls; Cave Springs at Bokoshe; Heavener girls at Poteau; Kinta at Panama; Wister at Talihina
Wednesday
Poteau Rotary Club meets noon at EOMC
Thursday
Graveside service for Russell "Gus" Potter
Poteau Kiwanis Club meets noon
Heavener VFW bingo 6 p.m. Highway 59 North
High school basketball: Braggs at Bokoshe; Cameron at Keota; LeFlore at Red Oak; Panama at Spiro; Stigler at Talihina; Wister at Kinta
Heavener City Council meets 6 p.m.
Friday
High school basketball: Arkoma at Porum; Bokoshe at Moss; Heavener at Panama; Oktaha at Howe; Quinton at LeFlore; Pocola at Wilburton; Poteau at Sallisaw; Checotah at Spiro
Saturday
Poteau Christmas parade
Sunday
Benefit for Tatum Hinds at Heavener School 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. school cafeteria
Monday
LeFlore County commissioners meet 9 a.m.
High school basketball: Bokoshe, LeFlore, Wister at Nadine Carpenter Classic at LeFlore; Arkoma, Heavener at Arkoma Tournament; Panama at Porum Tournament
Howe, Poteau City meetings.
Did you know 11-29-2022
Did you know is a feature we run exclusively on the Ledger’s daily newsletter focusing on the people and places of LeFlore County.
In 1936, the Hodgen School had 170 students. Stapp-Zoe school had 112.
If you have an interesting fact or figure about LeFlore County, email it to craig@heavenerledger.com.
Blast from the past 11-29-2021
This is the blast from the past for Tuesday. This is a feature we post daily on the Ledger’s daily newsletter of a picture from the past of the people, places and events from Heavener and LeFlore County.
Looking south at the west side of East First Street in downtown Heavener during the 1930s.
If you have an old photo to use in our blast from the past, please email craig@heavenerledger.com.
Obituary for Gus Potter
SPIRO -- Graveside service for Russell "Gus" Potter, 73 of Spiro, is 1 p.m. Thursday at The United States National Cemetery in Fort Smith, Arkansas with Reverend Shawn Caldwell officiating. Graveside services are under the direction of Mallory-Martin Funeral Home of Spiro.
He was born April 7, 1949 in Lindsay, California to Anna Jane (Parker) and Homer Harry Potter and passed away Nov. 26, 2022 in Muskogee.
He was an Army Veteran of the Vietnam War.
Survivors include his wife, Diana Potter; two sons Mark Potter and John Potter; grandson, Riven Potter; two sisters Caroline and Mindy; and two brothers Steven and Gordon.
He was preceded in death by his parents Homer and Anna Potter.