Page 105 - Jared Atha News Today

Director of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics Donnie Anderson visited Elk City recently and spoke mainly about the ongoing problem of illegal medical marijuana grow operations that are popping up across the state – including in western Oklahoma. While speaking to the Elk City Rotary Club, Anderson said the sudden influx of illegal grow houses in Oklahoma is thanks in large part to the rushed passage of the legalization of medical marijuana in the state – without strong regulations. He said t...

By News Director Jared Atha Thanks to the request of U.S. Sen. James Inhofe, multiple, two-lane, rural Oklahoma highways could become immediate priorities with $65 million in additional federal funding. One of those highways is located in Washita County. Thursday, July 8, Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation Tim Gatz joined representatives from Sen. Inhofe’s office in Ardmore announcing the senator’s Congressionally Designated Spending requests for eight rural highway Oklahoma projects, inc...

By News Director Jared Atha A Clinton man along with a Sayre man are accused of working together and robbing the Sayre McDonald’s. The long investigation into the crime revealed that 20-year-old William Carl Ernst of Clinton allegedly met with 21-year-old Christian Robert Paulino of Sayre behind the restaurant on the evening of January 12, 2020. At the time, Paulino was an employee of the business. The two had allegedly planned to pretend as if Ernst was forcing Paulino back into the restaura...

Elk City’s Carnegie Library is about to get a face lift. During the recent meeting of the Elk City Commission, the city leaders approved just over $41,000 for masonry repairs to the building. Library Director DeAun Ivester reported to the Commission that the building has had little to no restoration work done on it’s exterior since it was built nearly 106 years ago. The bid to do the work was awarded to Mid-Continental Restoration out of Tuttle. In a separate agenda item, the Commission als...

By News Director Jared Atha Current Elk City Mayor Nick Archer has announced his plans to run for the soon to be vacant House District 55 seat in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The position is currently held by Todd Russ – Rep (Cordell), who will be term limited after next spring’s legislative session. Archer, a republican, says one of the motivations to run for the seat was seeing the needs of people in not only Elk City, but throughout the district.

By News Director Jared Atha A Clinton man was arrested in Elk City recently after allegedly threatening a woman with a knife and holding her against her will. According to a probable cause affidavit, 33-year-old Cory Lee Meade was arrested just after midnight on June 22 near the intersection of State Highway 6 and Meadow Ridge Drive after Elk City Police were dispatched to the area when a report came in saying a male subject had a shotgun pointed at an individual, and that one male subject had ...

The Hobart boy that went missing last night has been located. Little details have been given, however according to the Hobart Police Department, 15-year-old Sonny Mendez was located by authorities in Weatherford this morning. Officials had been looking for Mendez since 5:30 p.m. Monday after an alert was issued shortly after his disappearance. Authorities were concerned when the boy went missing due to a proven medical or physical disability that could have put the teen in danger if he was not ...

By News Director Jared Atha To help Oklahoma schools meet the needs of children in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Oklahoma State Department of Education is awarding grants to 181 school districts across the state, including local schools in western Oklahoma, to hire school counselors and school-based mental health professionals. OSDE is using $35.7 million in federal relief to fund the grant program called the Oklahoma School Counselor Corps. According to a press release from the OSDE, ...

By News Director Jared Atha The Custer County Election Board reminds the public of upcoming filing dates for three possible elections in the county’s biggest cities. Election Board Secretary Ann Brown says the City of Clinton will have elections for council member seats in wards 1 and 3, and the Mayoral position in the City of Weatherford will be up for election. Brown says the filing period opens Monday, July 12 at 8:00am and concludes on Wednesday, July 14 at 5:00pm. The primary election is...

Thursday marks the first day on the job for new Elk City Superintendent Mike Sparks. Sparks, who spoke recently to the Elk City Rotary Club, is entering his 28 th year in education with this upcoming school year being his 6 th as a superintendent. His background included teaching and coaching, but says when approached about an administration role at Anadarko High School, he accepted the challenge. Sparks says when he took on that job, the school was rated as an “F” by the State Department o...