Ledger/LCJ newsletter 11-13-2020

The Ledger/LCJ newsletter for Friday

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NEWS

Coronavirus update 11-12-2020

LeFlore County had 21 new coronavirus cases in Thursday’s report by the Oklahoma Department of Health.

Poteau had eight new cases, Cameron had four, Panama had three, Arkoma and Wister both had two, while Bokoshe and Heavener each had one.

The county has 208 active cases, down nine from Wednesday. LeFlore County has now had 1,988 cases with 1,752 recoveries and 25 deaths from coronavirus or complications from the virus.

Oklahoma had 2,357 new cases, 11 deaths and 1,282 recoveries in Thursday’s report. The state has now had 144,691 cases, 1,481 deaths and 120,426 recoveries. Active cases are 22,784, up 1,064 from Wednesday.

The United States had 147,196 new cases, 2,239 deaths and 35,302 recoveries Thursday. The nation has had 10,399,325 cases, 241,910 deaths and 3,997,175 recoveries. Current active cases are 6,160,240, up 109,655 from Wednesday.

HUA receives $8.1 million loan from OWRB

OKLAHOMA CITY - Heavener Utilities Authority received approval Tuesday for an $8,165,000 Financial Assistance Program (FAP) loan from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) to refinance existing debt. The Authority will utilize the proceeds to refinance five Rural Development Loans from 2001, 2007, and 2011 originally incurred for sewer system improvements. 

According to Joe Freeman, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, the Authority’s customers will save an estimated $1.6 million over the life of the 25-year loan by refinancing. The loan shall be secured with a lien on the revenues of the Authority’s water, sewer, and sanitation systems and a 0.5% sales tax.

Heavener officials provided the following statement to the Board, “The Heavener Utilities Authority would like to express our appreciation for the OWRB’s consideration of our loan. The savings generated by the refinancing transaction will allow the Authority to continue providing utility services at the lowest possible cost to our customers. In particular, we would like to express our appreciation to the OWRB staff for all of their assistance in the loan application process.”

Since 1983, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board has approved over $4.7 billion in loans and grants for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements throughout Oklahoma.

SPORTS

LeFlore County sports scoreboard 11-12-2020

The LeFlore County sports scoreboard for Thursday and schedule for Friday.

Thursday’s scores

Basketball

Boys

Howe at LeFlore (postponed)

Battiest at Cameron (postponed)

Whitesboro at Smthville (postponed)

Girls

Howe 82, LeFlore 44

Battiest at Cameron (postponed)

Whitesboro at Smithville (postponed)

Friday’s games

Football

Class 2A playoffs

Valliant at Spiro

Class B playoffs

Porum at Arkoma

Basketball

Wister at Battiest.

To report scores or information on games involving LeFlore County teams, send an email to craig@heavenerledger.com, fax to (918) 653-7305 or text (918) 372-3641.

Football playoffs start Friday

The 2020 Oklahoma high school football playoffs start Friday with two LeFlore County teams scheduled to participate.

Spiro hosts Valliant in a 2A game while Porum visits Arkoma in a Class B game. Poteau has a bye in the first round.

Heavener, Panama and Pocola all canceled their playoff games. Heavener was going to Idabel, Panama was at Atoka and Pocola drew Eufaula.

Spiro is 6-1 and seeded third in 2A-5. Valliant finished 3-5 and was sixth in 2A-6. The winner plays Idabel next week.

Arkoma enters the playoffs with a 5-2 record and the third seed out of its district. Porum is 2-8. The two teams met Sept. 25 at Porum with Arkoma winning, 47-0. The Arkoma-Porum winner advances to play Quinton next week.

Howe girls win big at LeFlore.

LeFLORE – Howe’s girls improved to 2-0 Thursday night with an 82-44 win at LeFlore.

The boys’ game was postponed.

The Lady Lions jumped ahead 23-5 in the first quarter and coasted to the win as Howe had 12 players score.

Shiloh Fletcher led Howe with 13 points; Makayla Twyman added 11; Raven Woolbright had 10.

Lindsey Waits led LeFlore with 13 points.

Howe 82, LeFlore 44

HHS 23 22 12 24—82

LHS 5 15 9 15-44

Howe – Maddie Ramsey 2 0-1 2 4; Shiloh Fletcher 5 1-2 1 13; Makayla Twyman 3 4-4 2 11; Caitlyn Stacy 1 0-0 0 2; Kalan Nye 3 2-2 1 8; Gracie Lute 4 0-0 0 8; Abby Huie 2 0-0 0 6; Jayce Blake 3 0-0 2 9; Janae Graves 0 0-0 2 0; Jazmyn Johnson 0 0-0 1 0; Kayley Turner 2 0-0 3 4; Ashlynn Dalton 1 3-3 1 5; Karsyn Nye 1 0-0 0 2; Raven Woolbright 4 0-0 1 10; Jurnee Williams 0 0-0 1 0. TOTALS: 31 10-12 17 82.

LeFlore – Lindsey Waits 5 2-2 2 13; Emma Lumen 0 0-2 1 0; Jenna Woodall 1 1-2 2 4; Alyssa Waits 3 2-3 1 7; Shadie Crase 2 2-2 2 8; Kaylee Turner 0 2-2 1 2; Braxtyn McMillin 2 1-4 0 5; Kaylin Hudlow 2 1-2 3 5. TOTALS: 15 11-19 12 44.

OTHER STORIES

LeFlore County weather forecast 11-13-2020

Partly cloudy skies for Friday in LeFlore County with a slight chance of rain.

The high will be 66 degrees with a low of 52 degrees. There is a 20 percent chance of rain.

Sunrise is at 6:51 a.m. with sunset at 5:24 p.m.

Thursday’s high was 71 with a low of 40.

Average temperatures for Nov. 13 are a high of 64 and low of 36. Records for the date were a high of 79 in 1971 and a low of 15 in 1982.

Calendar of events

The LeFlore County 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 send an email to craig@heavenerledger.com.

Friday

Funeral service for Inora Pierce

High school basketball: Wister at Battiest

High school football playoffs: Valliant at Spiro 7:30 p.m., Porum at Arkoma 7:30 p.m.

Saturday

Poteau Holiday Market

High school football: Heavener at Idabel 7:30 p.m.

Monday

LeFlore County commissioners meet 9 a.m.

Blood drive at Howe High School 9:15 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Heavener School Board meets 6 p.m.

High school basketball: Cameron at Howe; Whitesboro at Rock Creek

Tuesday

Poteau Evening Lions Club meet 6 p.m. CASC

High school basketball: Smithville at Howe; Red Oak at Wister; Riverfield at Bokoshe

Wednesday

Poteau Rotary Club meets noon at EOMC

Thursday

Poteau Kiwanis Club meets noon at Western Sizzlin’

Heavener VFW bingo 6 p.m. Highway 59 north

HUA, City Council meets 6 p.m.

High school basketball: Bokoshe at Indianola; Cameron at Gans; Whitesboro at Rattan; Buffalo Valley at Arkoma.

Today in history for Nov. 13

By The Associated Press

Today is Friday, Nov. 13, the 318th day of 2020. There are 48 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 13, 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

On this date:

In 1789, Benjamin Franklin wrote in a letter to a friend, Jean-Baptiste Leroy: "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."

In 1927, the Holland Tunnel opened to the public, providing access between lower Manhattan and New Jersey beneath the Hudson River.

In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a measure lowering the minimum draft age from 21 to 18.

In 1956, the Supreme Court struck down laws calling for racial segregation on public buses.

In 1969, speaking in Des Moines, Iowa, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew accused network television news departments of bias and distortion, and urged viewers to lodge complaints.

In 1971, the U.S. space probe Mariner 9 went into orbit around Mars.

In 1974, Karen Silkwood, a 28-year-old technician and union activist at the Kerr-McGee Cimarron plutonium plant near Crescent, Oklahoma, died in a car crash while on her way to meet a reporter.

In 1985, some 23,000 residents of Armero, Colombia, died when a volcanic mudslide buried the city.

In 2000, lawyers for George W. Bush failed to win a court order barring manual recounts of ballots in Florida. Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris announced she would end the recounting at 5 p.m. Eastern time the next day -- prompting an immediate appeal by lawyers for Al Gore.

In 2001, President George W. Bush approved the use of a special military tribunal that could put accused terrorists on trial faster and in greater secrecy than an ordinary criminal court. President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin met at the White House, where they pledged to slash Cold War-era nuclear arsenals by two-thirds.

In 2014, Clayton Kershaw became the first pitcher to win the National League MVP award since Bob Gibson in 1968; Los Angeles Angels' outfielder Mike Trout was a unanimous pick for the AL MVP.

In 2016, President-elect Donald Trump named Republican Party chief Reince Priebus (ryns PREE'-bus) as White House chief of staff and conservative media executive Stephen Bannon as his top presidential strategist.

Ten years ago: Pro-democracy hero Aung San Suu Kyi (soo chee) walked free in Myanmar after more than seven years under house arrest. Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel officially announced his ultimately successful candidacy for mayor of Chicago.

Five years ago: Islamic State militants carried out a set of coordinated attacks in Paris on the national stadium, restaurants and streets, and a crowded concert hall, killing 130 people in the worst attack on French soil since World War II.

One year ago: The House Intelligence Committee opened two weeks of public impeachment hearings with a dozen current and former career foreign service officials and political appointees scheduled to testify about efforts by President Donald Trump and others to pressure Ukraine to investigate Trump's political rivals. The top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, William Taylor, offered new evidence that Trump was overheard asking about political "investigations" that he later demanded from Ukraine in exchange for military aid. Justin Verlander won a second American League Cy Young Award, beating fellow Houston Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole; New York Mets ace Jacob DeGrom won the National League prize for the second straight year.

Today's Birthdays: Journalist-author Peter Arnett is 86. Actor Jimmy Hawkins is 79. Blues singer John Hammond is 78. Country singer-songwriter Ray Wylie Hubbard is 74. Actor Joe Mantegna is 73. Actor Sheila Frazier is 72. Musician Andrew Ranken (The Pogues) is 67. Actor Tracy Scoggins is 67. Actor Chris Noth (nohth) is 66. Actor-comedian Whoopi Goldberg is 65. Actor Rex Linn is 64. Actor Caroline Goodall is 61. Actor Neil Flynn is 60. Former NFL quarterback and College Football Hall of Famer Vinny Testaverde (tehs-teh-VUR'-dee) is 57. Rock musician Walter Kibby (Fishbone) is 56. Comedian and talk show host Jimmy Kimmel is 53. Actor Steve Zahn is 53. Actor Gerard Butler is 51. Writer-activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali is 51. Actor Jordan Bridges is 47. Actor Aisha Hinds is 45. Rock musician Nikolai Fraiture is 42. Former NBA All-Star Metta World Peace (formerly Ron Artest) is 41. Actor Monique Coleman is 40. Actor Rahul Kohli is 35. Actor Devon Bostick is 29.