Page 110 - Jared Atha News Today

A Weatherford man is accused of shooting a gun at a person and also attempting to run the victim over in his vehicle.

By News Director Jared Atha Red Collar Pet Foods in Clinton has announced that it is embarking on a $5.7 million expansion at their manufacturing plant located one mile south of I-40 on US Highway 183. The move could potentially add more jobs. The new 85,000-square-foot warehouse will be built on the south side of the existing building to help meet the high demand for products, and is on the heels of the company’s expansion of its packaging capabilities. Construction is set to begin at end of...

By News Director Jared Atha During the latest Elk City Commissioner’s proceedings, the Commission approved to re-purpose sales tax intake to go towards city employee’s pay. As explained by city financial adviser Meredith Meacham-Wilson to the Commission, the current sales tax rate in the city stands at 4.5%, with 1.5% dedicated to debt service, half a percent goes towards the hospital with the other whole percent going towards funding CAPPs projects. She explained that the remaining 3% is s...

By News Director Jared Atha A Hammon man led authorities on a high speed pursuit in Beckham County earlier this month after allegedly stealing a car. The chase would end with the man wrecking the vehicle. According to the probable cause affidavit for arrest, 32-year-old Micah Jay Johnson was arrested on the morning of May 8 when he took a vehicle belonging to a woman whose home he was staying at, in Elk City. According to the report, the woman told police that Johnson woke her sometime around 3...

By News Director Jared Atha An Elk City man was charged last week in Beckham County District Court after allegedly kicking in the front door of his neighbor’s apartment. According to the probable cause affidavit for arrest, 31-year-old Dereck Wayne Cheshire is accused of kicking in the door at an apartment complex in the 200 block of Brian Road in Elk City on the morning of May 10. The affidavit stated that police were dispatched to the scene after the occupants of the unit on the second stor...

An early Sunday morning crash in Custer County has hospitalized a pair of local teens. According to an accident report filed by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the mishap occurred on at 1:15 Sunday morning, two miles west of Clinton, when the 2007 GMC pick-up driven by 19-year-old Christopher Newcomb of Clinton traveled off the right side of the road after being distracted by a phone. The driver over corrected and then traveled across both eastbound lanes and the center median. The pick-up would s...

By News Director Jared Atha Effective Tuesday (May 25), Southwestern Oklahoma State University will no longer require the use of masks or social distancing on campus locations or at any SWOSU-sponsored activity. According to a press release issued by the university, anyone who wishes to mask indoors or outdoors may freely do so, and unvaccinated individuals are strongly encouraged to become vaccinated. Officials say SWOSU plans can be adjusted, based on the status of the pandemic, and in accord...

By News Director Jared Atha Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Congressman Frank Lucas of Cheyenne’s (OK-03) bipartisan Rural STEM Education Research Act. Lucas told the House that the legislation addresses the inequities faced by rural students that make it harder to access quality STEM education, including giving teachers more resources and training in STEM, engaging students in hands-on education within their communities, increasing access to broadband, and supporting resear...

The latest COVID-19 numbers in the region continue to improve. According to the latest figures from the Oklahoma State Department of Health, Beckham, Washita, and Roger Mills Counties all are currently Covid free. Additionally the department says all counties are categorized in the state’s COVID-19 Risk Level System as being “green” meaning each county has less than 1.41 of active cases per 100,000 people. Custer County is also a “green” county, however the department says there are 6...

By News Director Jared Atha Sales tax numbers are in for area cities for the month of March, and they appear to be on the uptick. Elk City is once again over $1 million at just under $1.2 million – a 17% increase when compared to a year ago. Why the dramatic increase? City Treasurer Jennifer Rainey says she suspects it is because of a lot of out of town visitors due to recent activity at the softball / baseball 5-plex at Ackley Park West. Rainey also credits the influx of tax dollars to recen...