Looking back at 2023

Looking back on the year that was, Sallisaw and Sequoyah County were witness to a wide range of happenings. From an unsolicited bid to purchase the Sallisaw municipal landfill facility for $21.5 million — which touched off a firestorm of public criticism and the eventual decision to reject the offer and the city continuing to operate the budget-strapped landfill — to controversy at the building site for the new Sallisaw Veterans Center — which requested $21.7 million from the state legislature to fund a budget shortfall and the subsequent filing of a $20 million lawsuit against the center’s architect — to the hiring of a new football coach at Sallisaw who helped the Black Diamonds end their unbearable 17-game losing streak and returned the team to the playoffs, 2023 had something for just about everyone.

Other high-profile occurrences during the year included:

• Tragedy was averted when a high-speed chase on Sallisaw streets ended with a head-on crash that prevented a vehicle from plowing into a downtown Diamond Daze celebration jammed with festival-goers

• A high-alert crisis, which involved a massive manhunt near Gans for an armed suspect who reportedly robbed a FedEx truck, prompting lockdowns at two schools, turned out to be a hoax

• Tragedy struck at Sallisaw Municipal Airport when a mother of two, making her first solo jump, died while skydiving

• Repairs were completed and Indian Road, the main highway artery from Sequoyah County to Tahlequah, was reopened 15 months after heavy rains washed out the roadway

• Cherokee Nation voters overwhelmingly reelected Chuck Hoskin Jr. as Principal Chief, Bryan Warner as Deputy Chief and Daryl Legg as District 6 Tribal Councilor

• Vian Public School was locked down as a precaution after police were concerned about a social media post by a former student showing an automatic weapon

• The Cherokee Nation broke ground for Redbird Smith Estates on Sallisaw’s west side, where 12 single-family homes and eight duplexes will be built

• Warned by climate-change experts that oppressive heat experienced in July and August is a preview to unthinkable heat indices of 125 degrees possible in the next 30 years

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01/06 — Citizens’ outcry dooms crisis center

Citing concerns about facility security, neighborhood safety, plummeting property values and possible future expansion of CREOKS Behavioral Health Services’ assessment and treatment programs, more than 50 Sallisaw residents jammed the City Council Chambers for a public hearing to declare with one voice, not in my backyard.

The city planning commission meeting was considering a rezoning request that would have cleared the way for a proposed overnight behavioral crisis treatment center. But those who opposed introducing an overnight, short-term residential treatment facility in Sallisaw made sure the commissioners knew that while most agreed the services CREOKS provides are not only necessary but also important, they would not stand for “these type of people” or “undesirables” in their neighborhood.

If the rezoning had been approved, CREOKS intended to address what it termed “a huge need” in Sequoyah County by introducing a crisis center that would provide overnight, short-term care.

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01/11 — CREOKS zoning appeal denied

Undeterred by the Sallisaw Planning Commission’s denial of a rezoning request that would have cleared the way for a proposed crisis treatment center in a north side residential neighborhood, CREOKS Health Services took its case to Sallisaw City Commissioners in hopes of receiving an 11th-hour reprieve.

But city commissioners refused to overturn the planning commission’s decision regarding CREOKS’ request to rezone property at 1108 N. Wheeler (U.S. 59).

More than 40 citizens turned out for the meeting, but Mayor Ernie Martens, while expressing his appreciation for their interest and attendance, advised them that no public comment item was on the agenda, and that no one would be allowed to address the commissioner during the meeting.

The commissioners unanimously denied the rezoning request.

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01/11 — ‘Best days are ahead’ for Marble City

Cherokee Nation tribal officials and leaders from the community gathered at the old Marble City School gymnasium to kick off a demolition event which will culminate with construction of the new Marble City Community Center.

“It’s sad to see the old building go, but it’s very exciting there will be a new one in its place,” said town historian Mildred Taylor, who provided archival photographs of the venerable structure.

“Progress is how we measure ourselves across the reservation and the generations ahead. Marble City has a brighter future, and its best days are ahead,” Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin told those who turned out to witness the beginning of the end of the old gymnasium.

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02/15 — New football coach hired for Sallisaw

Brandon Tyler, who has coached at Vian and is the current head football coach at Gore, has been hired as Sallisaw High School’s new head football coach. Tyler replaces Mark Hutson, who was hired for the position one year ago but resigned from the position in December.

In Tyler’s 12 seasons as head coach at Vian, the Wolverines were 128-25, and in 2006, Vian advanced to the state title game. In 2017, after serving as an assistant coach at Van Buren (Ark.) High School, Tyler became the head coach at Gore, his alma mater. His six-season record at Gore was 60-11, and in 2022, the Pirates were 14-1 and state runner-up in Class A.

The Black Diamonds were winless in 2022 and 1-9 the previous season, far from Sallisaw’s glory days as Class 2A state champions in 1980 and ’81, followed by finishing as state runners-up in 2000 and 2001.

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02/17 — VA engages law firm to sue architect

The eight-month work stoppage at the Sallisaw Veterans Center in 2021 that began about a year ago before resuming Oct. 7 has an added twist today. The Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs (ODVA) has retained legal counsel to investigate and pursue damages arising from the design and construction of the center.

With the approval of Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, ODVA has engaged the Oklahoma City law firm Hayes, Magrini & Gatewood, with the intent to file a lawsuit against the architect on the project. The current estimate of damages is calculated at about $21 million.

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02/22 — ‘Heaven received another angel’

The Sallisaw Police Department, working with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s Office, continue to investigate Saturday’s skydiving death at Sallisaw Municipal Airport.

Heather Glasgow, 44, of Poteau, was making her first solo jump when a witness said he saw her spinning uncontrollably and unable to recover before she struck the ground. Glasgow’s jump was through Adventure Skydive Center, which is cooperating with SPD and the FAA to determine the cause of the accident.

“Today, Heaven received another angel,” Jason Glasgow, Heather’s cousin, posted on Facebook. “The world is a lesser place without her. She lived fearlessly and set the example to never give up and never quit dreaming.”

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02/24 — Brooks, BRD receive hall of fame induction

After more than 50 years as the preeminent trainer at Blue Ribbon Downs, if Rex Brooks were a racehorse, he’d likely be named Headed For The Hall of Fame. And as that horse in a race for enshrinement, he’d be so far out in front of the field as he rounded the final turn and streaked down the stretch, it’d look like a one-horse race. (Think back to Secretariat leaving all the other horses behind in the 1973 Belmont Stakes enroute to the Triple Crown, and that’s Rex Brooks among all other trainers.)

Which is why he’ll be inducted into the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in a March 4 ceremony at the Grand Casino in Shawnee.

Historic Blue Ribbon Downs — once the first, last and only words in the Oklahoma horse racing lexicon — will also be enshrined at the same hall of fame induction ceremony.

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03/08 — Teen ‘dies’ in horrific mock crash

A Sallisaw high school student perished, another was airlifted to a Fort Smith hospital and one was transported to a local hospital following a horrific two-car head-on crash Monday morning at Sallisaw High School.

 

Meanwhile, the driver of one of the vehicles sits in Sallisaw City Jail facing vehicular manslaughter charges and driving while intoxicated. Family members and friends were openly emotional at the scene as they grieved the loss of the teen and the injuries to three others.

It was a tragic scene that underscored the consequences of drinking and driving, as well as the cost to human life. It is particularly sobering when young lives are lost.

If not for the hundreds of spectators who gathered to witness the graphic scene at the high school, it was a realistic representation of exactly what transpires when emergency personnel respond to a major traffic accident and the price paid by those involved in the carnage.

 

The mock tragedy, fashioned after the well-known Shattered Dreams experience, is a dramatization designed to educate students, parents and the community about the serious issue of underage drinking and driving by providing a realistic experience and encouraging them to make positive choices. The presentation is intentionally held prior to spring break and the school’s prom, occasions on which teenagers are most likely to consume alcoholic beverages.

The event was so realistic — with emergency lights and sirens from first responders as well as an air evac helicopter landing at the high school — that the school took overt steps to avoid a panic, posting a rotating message on the school’s video marquee advising “This is not a real incident. This is a mock crash.”

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03/24 — $21.7 million funding increase sought for VA facility

In a special meeting to address additional funding to complete the Sallisaw Veterans Center, the Oklahoma Veterans Commission (OVC) approved requesting more than $21.7 million for a construction project that has been fraught with cost increases, an eight-month work stoppage, the threat of a pending lawsuit against the project’s original architect and the firing of embattled Executive Director Joel Kintsel.

That’s why when Greg Slavonic, a retired rear admiral and former U.S. Navy undersecretary, was hired to replace Kintsel, one of his first priorities was to find out what’s going on with the Sallisaw facility in order to resolve a “distressing situation.”

The commission meeting was necessitated by an anticipated $21 million cost overrun on a $77 million project. The estimate of damages were because “the company made significant mistakes during construction, and parts of the building were not up to code,” and led to the ODVA engaging the Oklahoma City law firm Hayes, Magrini & Gatewood as a first step to the potential filing of a lawsuit against the architect.

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04/07 — Marble City man gets 2 life sentences

Joseph Hernandez, 35, of Marble City, was handed two life sentences, plus 20 years by a federal grand jury on March 15 for the brutal 2019 murders of his mother, Audrey Hernandez, 62, and grandmother, Frances Wright, 78, in Marble City.

Hernandez was originally charged with first degree murder in Sequoyah County District Court after his mother died at a Tulsa hospital following a fire on Delaware Street. Hernandez reportedly doused his mother and grandmother with gasoline and set fire to their mobile home after he claimed he was trying to light a cigarette while holding a gallon of gas.

Hernandez was released from prison a month prior to setting the fire, and had a history of other assault and battery, drug and alcohol, and arson-related charges and crimes, according to authorities.

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04/28 — Cherokees break ground for Redbird Smith Estates

In about a year, 12 Cherokee families will benefit from a new brick home in Sallisaw complete with modern-day conveniences, the internet, a safe room and park, with nearby access to Sallisaw High School and Redbird Smith Health Care Center.

On April 26, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner, Sequoyah County Dist. 6 Cherokee Councilman Daryl Legg and other tribal, housing and local officials gathered at the site to break ground where the new homes, along with eight duplexes will be built. Construction is expected to begin in about two to three months and will be completed in about a year, said Todd Enlow, executive director of the Housing Authority of the Cherokee Nation.

The site where the groundbreaking was held is located across from Redbird Smith Health Care Center and adjacent to People Inc. on J.T. Sites Boulevard.

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05/10 — Weber, McGuirt Sallisaw’s last line of defense

Sequoyah County residents may be hugging their loved ones a little more tightly today when they consider how close Sallisaw came to making national headlines on Saturday … for all the wrong reasons.

With children happily playing in bounce houses on Oak Street and downtown Sallisaw streets jammed with festival-goers for the annual Diamond Daze event, Sallisaw Police Capt. John Weber and Officer Wesley McGuirt found themselves as the last line of defense to prevent vehicular mayhem which would surely have resulted in massive casualties.

A high-speed chase on I-40 that began near Roland before the fleeing vehicle invaded Sallisaw streets ended abruptly when Weber and McGuirt used their 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe cruiser to stop the speeding 2020 Hyundai by hitting it head-on, just one block from where the children, unaware of what could have been, were playing, with thousands more patrons just beyond enjoying an afternoon stroll perusing scores of vendors.

Two Florida men are being held without bond in the Sequoyah County Detention Center following the high-speed pursuit.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Joa’n Alvarez reported Carlton Rucker, 37, of Plantation, was fleeing police on Oak Street just south of Creek Ave. around 1:21 p.m. when the head-on collision occurred.

Rucker was reportedly uninjured along with one of his passengers, Courtney Walker, 35, of Dania Beach, but another passenger, Shawn Hyman, 34, also of Florida, was transported by First Flight to St. John’s Hospital in Tulsa where he was admitted in stable condition with leg injuries.

Weber sustained a broken wrist in the crash, while McGuirt suffered cuts and bruises.

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05/10 — Landfill sale draws criticism, decision pending

Everything has a starting point.

For the Sallisaw Municipal Authority (SMA), that starting point was May 1 when the board received an unsolicited offer of $21.5 million to purchase the Sallisaw Municipal Landfill facility and the city sanitation collection services.

A second step was taken Monday night at a public hearing to further consider the offer. Mayor Ernie Martens and City Manager Keith Skelton assured the SMA as well as a full house of concerned citizens that it will not be the last step.

A standing-room-only crowd of more than 60 decidedly partisan citizens jammed the city council chambers to learn more about the future of the landfill, as well as to make sure the board knows how they feel about the proposed sale.

At the public hearing, which lasted more than an hour, the SMA heard comments from 11 citizens, 10 of which left no doubt that they were against the sale, sharp criticism that drew wide applause from the crowd.

But once the public hearing closed and the board moved on to other items on its agenda — one of which was further discussion of the offer from CARDS Holdings Inc. — emotions still ran high.

As the discussion about the landfill waned, board member Josh Bailey revisited what he called “a valid concern” about the possible shortening of the landfill’s lifespan if ownership transferred to CARDS. He also said that he knows of other companies interested in bidding on purchasing the landfill, and that there was one party that believes the landfill valuation “would come in substantially higher” than the current unsolicited offer. Bailey said another interested party claims the landfill “is grossly undervalued,” and that another party “would not even consider selling it for under $120 million.”

“There’s a lot of moving pieces on this still,” said chairman Ernie Martens, who admitted he remains undecided. “This is not a decision that’s gonna be made in a week, I can promise you that. We need to go through this process. Rest assured, this decision is not going to be made quickly. This council is taking this very, very seriously. This decision will not be made quickly, and it won’t be made lightly, and it will be made carefully with the best interest of this city and our citizens that we can come up with.”

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05/31 — Spencer remembered for community service, education

The community is remembering Sallisaw businessman Buddy Spencer, who not only contributed richly to his community, but gave his life to education and making the world a better place.

Spencer, 91, died on May 26, according to family members.

Spencer served as president of the chamber of commerce in both Durant and Sallisaw, is recipient of the chamber’s Member of the Year and also the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Sallisaw Chamber. He was on the board of directors for the Sallisaw Chamber, as well as the current president of the Sallisaw Improvement Corporation.

The chairman of the Committee for Excellence in Sallisaw, where scholarship money is raised for graduating Sequoyah County seniors, under Spencer’s leadership the committee raised more than $750,000.

He was presented the Key to the City of Sallisaw and given his own namesake street in the Sallisaw Industrial Park for his economic, educational and civic contributions. South Buddy Spencer Avenue (East 1082 Road) is located east of Carl Albert State College.

Spencer’s commitment to higher education continues at Carl Albert State College, where he and President Joe White were the driving forces for establishing a new branch campus in Sallisaw. He and his wife Doris were inducted into the Carl Albert State College Hall of Fame in 2008-09 for their many contributions, and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education honored him with their Business Partnership Excellence Award in 2014 for his work with the college.

He was inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Heritage Society’s Hall of Fame in 2022 where he received a special merit award.

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06/07 — SMA rejects landfill deal, will ‘keep it in the family’

When it comes to the Sallisaw municipal landfill facility that the city has owned and operated for the past 29 years, there appears to be plenty of support for the well-worn adage, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

So that’s what the Sallisaw Municipal Authority will do.

Nothing.

At least for now.

Unless things change.

“So basically we’re going to do nothing,” SMA chair Ernie Martens said, seeking assurance he was clearly understanding the board’s intentions at Monday’s special meeting.

“Keep it running. Keep it in the family,” affirmed board trustee Josh Bailey, the most outspoken opponent of the unsolicited $21.5 million purchase offer from CARDS Holdings LLC.

With the board’s decision to reject a letter of intent that would authorize negotiations with CARDS for either purchasing the landfill or partnering with Sallisaw to run it, the city is firmly in the landfill and sanitation collection business without any assistance from any possible suitors.

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06/07 — Hoskin, Warner, Legg retain Cherokee seats

The Cherokee Nation Election Commission certified on Monday the 2023 General Election, with Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner taking more than 62% of votes to win re-election and serve another four-year term.

According to the official results, Hoskin garnered 10,756 of the 17,139 votes, or 62.76% of the ballots cast in the Principal Chief race. Cara Cowan Watts received 4,095 votes, or 23.89%. Candidates Wes Nofire and David Cornsilk received 1,720 and 568 votes, respectively.

The official Deputy Chief results show Warner, of Sallisaw, receiving 10,500 votes, or 61.43%. Warner outdistanced former Tribal Councilor David Walkingstick, who received 5,017 votes, followed by Meredith Frailey with 1,179 and Bill Pearson with 396 votes.

Daryl Legg, District 6 Tribal Councilor, also received the highest number of votes from his district in Sequoyah County to retain his seat for another four years.

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06/28 — Operational issues, financial woes doom Talihina VA

Well, the other shoe finally fell, just sooner than most expected.

Today, Oklahoma veterans and their families are looking for a place to live, at least for the next 16 months or so.

It was just a matter of time before the Talihina Veterans Home’s doors would be shuttered, but many believed the facility would continue to house Oklahoma veterans until the Sallisaw Veterans Center could be completed.

But the Oklahoma Veterans Commission last week at a special meeting voted unanimously to close the Talihina center, citing operational challenges and financial strain that had gotten to the point of negatively impacting the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs.

Jennifer Bloomfield, communications director for the ODVA, said the vote to close the home was in response to a report that the facility is running at a huge deficit. Bloomfield said the agency is losing approximately half a million dollars monthly at the Talihina facility due to low occupancy and high contract employee costs.

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07/14 — QuikTrip coming to Sallisaw

When George Bormann tells the Sallisaw City Commissioners about grandiose plans and anticipated announcements related to the city’s business future — what companies or which developers or what entrepreneurs have their eye on Sallisaw — he’s often tight-lipped and understandably vague. It’s one of the hazards of his position as economic development director for the city.

Ask him on the q.t. to give you some morsel from his efforts, and he’ll be coy while giving you a sly, knowing grin.

But at the city commissioners meeting on July 10, Bormann divulged not a morsel but a feast. And this time it wasn’t on the q.t., but rather it was QT.

Bormann announced that QuikTrip has committed to Sallisaw.

While Bormann mentioned a possible location for the travel plaza at the former Ed’s Truck Stop location on East Cherokee Avenue (U.S. 64) at Interstate 40, it was confirmed on Dec. 14 that QT will build at I-40 and Kerr Boulevard (U.S. 59).

QuikTrip, often shortened to QT, is a convenience store chain based in Tulsa, with more than 1,000 stores in 16 states. QuikTrip stores in Oklahoma are almost exclusively in the Tulsa metro area, with Bartlesville being the farthest north, and Muskogee currently the farthest southeast. When the newest store opens in Sallisaw, it will be the farthest east and south Oklahoma location.

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07/21 — Warrant issued for mother in infant’s death

A felony arrest warrant was issued on July 6 for a Roland woman who has been charged in Sequoyah County District Court with the unpremeditated death of her 2-month-old infant, by allegedly co-sleeping with the infant and exposing it to methamphetamine.

Chelsea D. Massey, 30, was formally charged with felony murder in the second degree/manslaughter in the second degree. Special Judge Matt Orendorff has set Massey’s bond at $25,000, according to court documents.

The medical examiner’s report showed that the infant died of accidental asphyxiation on Nov. 28, 2022. Other contributing factors included methamphetamine exposure with methamphetamine present in the infant’s system, Bocavirius infection and unsafe sleep environment with adult bed, soft bedding and bed sharing.

The probable cause affidavit states Massey was allegedly under the influence while caring for the infant. Massey could face imprisonment for 10 years to life if found guilty of the murder charge, or in the alternative, manslaughter is punishable by imprisonment for two to four years.

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07/26 — Future sale of SLPT ‘emotional’

When it was announced July 17 that SLPT Global Pump Group is in the process of being purchased, foremost on Jeff Addison’s mind was how the transaction would affect the more than 150 full-time and temporary employees at the Sallisaw facility.

“Without a doubt, it’s an impact to our employees, and that, for us, is very much first and foremost on our mind,” says Addison, who is vice president and general manager for North America and Europe operations. “I think for a lot of employees, it is very emotional. I think for some of them, they see it as an opportunity for growth of this facility, that the new company coming in might have the potential to really expand it and add more jobs. We have some employees that have been here more than 40 years, and they’ve seen the name change a couple of times.”

The announcement by Shenglong Automotive Powertrain System Co. Ltd., a leading company in the combustion engine and electric vehicle market headquartered in Ningbo, is that it has entered into a framework agreement with Millison Technology Co. Ltd., which is headquartered in Chongqing. Both companies are in China.

Addison says the two companies — SLPT and Millison — expect the change in ownership to occur by the end of the year.

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08/04 — Indian Road repairs complete, reopens

The Sequoyah County Commissioners were told at their weekly meeting on Monday that emergency repairs to Indian Road were nearing completion.

By Thursday, District 2 Commissioner Beau Burlison confirmed that emergency repairs to the critical traffic artery have been completed.

 

The road reopened at 7 a.m. Aug. 7.

Indian Road had been closed since May 5, 2022, when the northwestern area of Sequoyah County received 7-10 inches of rainfall in a very short period of time. The overnight deluge caused two areas of Indian Road to completely wash out — one in Sequoyah County and one in Cherokee County. Along with the two washouts, there were two additional areas with substantial damage that required total reconstruction, again, one in Sequoyah County and one in Cherokee County.

Flooding from the downpour resulted in millions of dollars in damages throughout Eastern Oklahoma, but no federal disaster was declared, which meant no disaster recovery assistance funding for the area.

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08/04 — Record July heat ignites ‘era of global boiling’

Those who view weather in much the same way Mark Twain did — “If you don’t like the weather in Oklahoma, wait a few minutes” — are probably not too surprised by projections from climate-change researchers who warn that in 30 years, a third of Americans — and everyone in eastern Oklahoma — will live in dangerously hot areas.

Consider the past few days of what is now thought of as oppressive heat a preview to what will be the new normal by mid-century.

While unthinkable heat indices of 125 degrees are currently possible, but rare, in a small portion of the U.S., by 2053, such ridiculously high temperatures are not only thinkable, but are expected to be almost commonplace in the Heartland. The future area of high heat indices stretching from the Gulf Coast to Lake Michigan is forecast to include as many as 50 eastern Oklahoma counties, all but one of Arkansas’ 75 counties, all of Missouri and Illinois, and most of Louisiana, Iowa, Indiana and Mississippi.

Climate scientists agree that it’s just the beginning.

“Climate change is here. It is terrifying. And it is just the beginning,” U.N. Secretary-general Antonio Guterres says about July being the hottest on record, adding “the era of global boiling has arrived.”

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08/09 — Mitchell remembered as ‘making a difference’

Paramount in the wisdom Rex Brooks has gained in his 78 years is knowing good horses and good people.

Atop the list of good people, in his book, was Delores O’Guin Mitchell, who died Aug. 6 at the age of 92.

“She represented eastern Oklahoma to the fullest,” says Brooks, the newest inductee into the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Hall of Fame who says he has known her all his life. “She’s one of the finest people I ever met, and I met a lot of good people. She’ll leave an empty space in a lot of people’s hearts. She’s very, very precious. She made a difference. She impressed you with her kindness and intelligence. She was a very, very pretty lady, too, inside and out.

“Not everybody does that to you, but there’s a few people that stand out — you’d like to be like them. If you’re not like them, you need to learn something from them — follow the leader. She’s been there and done that for us all.”

Mitchell was a key supporter of Carl Albert State College for more than 30 years, spearheading many fundraising efforts. In July 2008, she received the CASC Development Foundation’s Statue of Liberty Award, the highest honor awarded by the foundation. The library at CASC is named in her honor, and an endowed professorship was established.

She was the first person ever appointed to the newly formed Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission, where she served for a record 16 years. She was the second-ever woman to chair the Association of Racing Commissioners International.

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08/16 — Increases approved to utilities rates, landfill fees

The Sallisaw City Commissioners and the Sallisaw Municipal Authority board have both unanimously approved increasing rates for city utilities — water, sewer and garbage — which will hike monthly residential costs for the average customer by almost $10 (and could be higher depending on individual household usages) and will boost commercial billing by almost $25 per month (or more).

The amendments to the city’s Master Fee Schedule go into effect Sept. 1.

In addition, the two administrative entities approved an increase of tipping fees at the municipal landfill facility from $34 to $41 per ton.

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09/13 — ODVA files $20 million lawsuit in Sallisaw VA project

The architectural firm blamed for huge cost overruns as well as untenable delays in the construction of the Sallisaw Veterans Center now knows how much compensation the Oklahoma Department of Veteran Affairs expects for what it claims as negligence and breach of contract resulting in “numerous and significant errors.”

In a lawsuit filed Aug. 31 in Sequoyah County District Court on behalf of the ODVA, $20 million in damages is sought from Orcutt | Winslow, the Arizona firm contracted in May 2019 to perform all architectural services required for the Sallisaw project.

But Orcutt | Winslow isn’t the only party ODVA believes was negligent, and should also be held accountable.

Cooper Project Advisors, which ODVA contracted with in February 2020 to act as ODVA’s representative and advisor on the project, is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

Among the claims against Orcutt | Winslow is the firm’s failure to properly incorporate fire rating requirements by applicable building codes, as well as failure to identify or account for “federally protected wetlands which had been unlawfully disturbed” during construction.

Likewise, the court document claims Cooper was “negligent in its duties as ODVA’s representative and advisor, and failed to identify the errors and omissions in the contract documents during the design phase of the project.”

The lawsuit holds Orcutt | Winslow and Cooper responsible inclusive. In addition to the $20 million in damages, the petitioner also seeks attorneys’ fees, costs and interest.

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09/13 — Sallisaw’s 17-game football losing streak is over

For the first time since Sept. 24, 2021, the Sallisaw Black Diamonds won a football game — and they didn’t just win, they dominated.

The Black Diamonds blanked the Muldrow Bulldogs 45-0 on Sept. 8 at Marty Rogers Field to end not only their overall 17-game losing streak, but a two-game losing streak to the ’Dogs, who beat the Black Diamonds on Oct. 1, 2021, to begin the 17-game skid.

“It means a lot to this program,” first-year Sallisaw coach Brandon Tyler said of ending the losing streak. “I’m proud of our team. It was a great team win. They’ve got to start expecting to win. We have to change the mindset.”

Now the Black Diamonds can begin a winning streak.

“We’re starting a new streak now,” Tyler said. “We’re 1-0.”

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10/20 — Divers search Dirty Creek for Stephan Adams

Chris Adams waited all day on Oct. 18 to see what divers might recover from Dirty Creek, south of Webbers Falls, hoping it might be the truck belonging to his brother Stephan M. Adams, an NSU student who went missing 19 years ago.

Adams was not alone. Others who gathered included representatives from the District 27 District Attorney’s Office, Remember Every Victim & Missing Persons (REVAMP) and Arkansas Missing Come Home, along with “chaos divers” from Illinois, and two other divers who volunteered to find missing persons from Georgia and Washington state.

Once the diving began, it didn’t take long to find one of the vehicles in the mirky waters known as Dirty Creek. A 1994 or 1995 Nissan pickup was located and a piece of the window from a camper was retrieved, as well as an old registration wallet. Authorities said none of the items belonged to Stephan Adams.

Stephan Adams, a Native American student at NSU who was a resident of Tahlequah at the time, went missing on Dec. 13, 2004, after leaving the college. Neither Adams’ body nor his 1995 GMC Sierra white short-wide pickup have been found. Adams reportedly had connections in Sequoyah County.

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10/27 — FedEx driver faces charges after hoax, manhunt

About 50 law enforcement officers — from Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Office, Cherokee Nation Marshal Service, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, FBI, Sequoyah County Emergency Management and local fire departments — scoured the heavily wooded countryside on Oct. 25 near Gans in an exhaustive manhunt for an armed suspect who reportedly robbed a FedEx truck, stole the truck and then abandoned the vehicle before fleeing on foot.

Although Sheriff Larry Lane said there was no immediate threat to students, teachers and staff, Gans Public Schools were locked down as a precautionary measure due to the proximity of the incident, and school officials asked parents not to go to the schools to pick up their children. Central Public Schools were subsequently also locked down.

The county — from law enforcement to school personnel to worried parents to anxious residents — was on high alert as authorities combed miles of rugged terrain between Gans and Brent and from U.S. 64 to the Arkansas River.

But after almost three hours of searching, which included use of drones for aerial surveillance as authorities employed all options available in the massive rural manhunt, the suspect could not be found.

That’s when Lane determined that the FedEx driver’s story wasn’t adding up.

“After further interviewing the driver and obtaining the inside vehicle video from the FedEx truck, we have concluded that the driver was lying and staged the incident,” Lane said.

The FedEx driver was arrested on charges that include filing a false report.

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11/15 — Trio enter pleas, 2 sentenced

Lee B. King, 29, of Dallas, who was charged on July 23, 2021, with two counts of shooting with intent to kill, two counts of maiming, and one count of first-degree attempted robbery after shooting two Arkansas men on I-40 near Vian in July 2021, pled no contest to his charges.

He was sentenced to 100 years in the Department of Corrections.

William O. Reed, 33, of Muldrow, who was charged on July 12 and Aug. 2, 2022, with lewd molestation, entered a guilty plea and was found guilty by the judge. He was sentenced to 20 years in the Department of Corrections.

Rusty J. Waters, 44, of Sallisaw, pled guilt to his charges and will be sentenced on Nov. 29.

Waters was facing six counts of child sexual abuse, one count of lewd molestation, three counts of first-degree rape, and one count of first-degree rape by instrumentation stemming from charges filed between Dec. 22, 2021 and Aug. 8, 2023.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed in the case, one of Waters’ victims was still in diapers when the alleged sexual abuse began in 2012 and continued to the present. The crimes involved at least four different victims. The offenses continued until the minors were reportedly 13 or 14 years old.

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11/22 — Black Diamonds see Cinderella season come to an end

BLANCHARD — The Sallisaw Black Diamonds made the long trek to Blanchard for Class 4A quarterfinal playoff action on Nov. 17 and quickly found themselves in a two-score hole after giving up an early interception. Unflustered, the Black Diamonds struck back with touchdown receptions from senior Max Stump and junior Cooper Cox to knot the score at 14 and trailed only 21-14 at halftime.

The District 4A-2 champion Lions dominated the second half of the contest to earn an eventual 55-28 win, but Sallisaw fought to the final whistle, scoring the contest’s final TD on a 44-yard Cole Stephens run inside the final three minutes.

Sallisaw closed the season at 7-5.

11/22 — Gore’s season comes to an end with playoff loss

STROUD — Gore’s 2023 football season ended Nov. 17 at the hands of the high-powered Stroud Tigers, who beat the Pirates 54-6, in the second round of the Class A playoffs.

The Pirates, who went into the game with an 8-2 record and ranked No. 3 in the state, stayed competitive through the first half, but the Tigers (10-2) eventually wore them down, particularly in a stretch of about 10 minutes spanning halftime. The Tigers used that stretch to expand a 13-6 lead to an insurmountable 35-6.

The Pirates started the season with six straight wins, then lost back-to-back district games to Central and Panama. They peeled off three more wins in a row before falling to Stroud, ending the year with a 9-3 record.

11/29 — Historic perfect season comes to an end for Tigers

NEWCASTLE — The historic perfect season the Central Tigers football team was enjoying came to a halt Nov. 24 as they lost 41-0 to the Hooker Bulldogs in the Class A state quarterfinals.

The Tigers end the season at 12-1, while the ’Dogs (11-2) advance to the state semifinals.

“I couldn’t be more proud of a group of boys as I am this one,” Central coach Jeremy Thompson said.

11/29 — Wolverines fall in Class 2A state quarterfinals

ADA — The 2023 football season for the Vian Wolverines started with a loss to the defending Class 2A state champion Washington Warriors, and the campaign ended Nov. 24 with a loss to those same Warriors.

The Class 2A defending state champion Warriors (13-0), who opened the season Aug. 25 with a 55-13 victory at home over the Wolverines, kept their perfect season intact and also punched their ticket to the state semifinals with a 47-14 victory over the Wolverines in the Class 2A state quarterfinals at Norris Field at Koi Ishto Stadium on the campus of East Central University.

The Wolverines finished the season at 8-5.

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12/06 — GRDA predicts 18% rate hike

Complaining about rates charged for natural gas, electricity and any other utilities is often a favorite pastime for consumers.

Add to that the familiar power cost adjustment (PCA) the Grand River Dam Authority charges the city of Sallisaw that is passed along to its customers, and those who like to pontificate about such things have plenty about which to talk.

And the next several years won’t placate those GRDA critics.

GRDA President/CEO Dan Sullivan last week revealed to the Sallisaw Municipal Authority board of trustees that rate increases equal to 18% are planned during the next five years.

The rate hike is being driven primarily by the need to build a new natural gas unit to replace GRDA’s existing coal unit, Sullivan told the board. He said the cost to GRDA to build the new natural gas unit is $450 million, along with another $40 million in additional investment in the gas transportation system. Sullivan said GRDA is looking at $25 million annually in interest payments alone.

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12/08 — Waters sentenced for child sexual abuse

Rusty J. Waters, 44, of Sallisaw, has been sentenced to 17 years on each of three charges of child sexual abuse as well as on one count of first-degree rape by instrumentation, with all but the first seven years suspended to run concurrently in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.

 

Waters was facing six counts of child sexual abuse, one count of lewd molestation, three counts of rape first degree, and one count of rape first degree by instrumentation stemming from charges filed between Dec. 22, 2021 and Aug. 8, 2023, when he pled guilt to his charges.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed in the case, one of the victims was still in diapers when the alleged sexual abuse began in 2012 and continued to the present.

The crimes involved at least four different victims. The offenses continued until the minors were reportedly 13 or 14 years old. There were also reported alleged incidents of Waters raping the minors against their will or consent at different times.

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12/13 — QT begins dirt work for 2025 completion

For those who may not have noticed, Sallisaw seems to be in the midst of an economic development boom.

At least that’s the way George Bormann, Sallisaw’s economic development director, will tell you.

And considering the dirt currently being moved — or expected to be moved very soon — you’d be hard pressed to convince anyone otherwise.

Bormann revealed on Dec. 11 to the Sallisaw City Commissioners that QuikTrip (QT) will begin construction of its planned travel plaza, but he did not specify the location of its Sallisaw store. [He subsequently on Dec. 14 confirmed that the location is at I-40 and Kerr Boulevard (U.S. 59), site of the former Valero travel plaza.]

“QT work is going to start very soon. I’m happy to announce I’ll be able to talk about it in full by next meeting,” Bormann told the commissioners. “My discussion with their people is that once they start working, it will be complete — up and running — in 18 months, so we should see something really soon — some dirt movement, and that’s always exciting.”

QuikTrip, often shortened to QT, is a convenience store chain based in Tulsa, with more than 1,000 stores in 16 states. QuikTrip stores in Oklahoma are almost exclusively in the Tulsa metro area, with Bartlesville being the farthest north, and Muskogee currently the farthest southeast. When the newest store opens in Sallisaw, it will be the chain’s farthest east and south Oklahoma location.

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12/15 — Cox rescinds resignation, will continue as court clerk

Conventional wisdom is that it is a woman’s prerogative to change her mind.

Sequoyah County Court Clerk Gina Cox exercised her prerogative earlier this week.

Cox, who was elected in November 2020 to a four-year term as court clerk, submitted her letter of resignation on Dec. 8 to the county commissioners.

But before the commissioners could meet to accept her resignation and appoint a successor, Cox changed her mind and rescinded her resignation.

Therefore, it was as if it never happened.

The about-face by Cox relieved the commissioners of appointing someone to fill the court clerk seat, which would have been until Dec. 31, 2024. And that’s fine with District 3 Commissioner Jim Rogers, who says he prefers the voters decide who should fill an elected office.

The commissioners had scheduled a special meeting to accept her resignation and appoint a successor. A notice of the special meeting was posted for 1:30 p.m. Dec. 11, then rescheduled for noon Dec. 13. (Oklahoma Open Meetings Act requires notice of special meetings be posted 48 hours prior to the meeting.) The first meeting was canceled, and the rescheduled meeting was effectively canceled when Cox rescinded her resignation.