QUOTE OF THE DAY- “People will forget what you said, people may forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” -Mary Angelou
Terral Annual Board of Trustees has voted to havethe annual Fireorks Display on Saturday, June 30th., 2018 in downtown Terral. Kids will be allowed to pop fireworks from 6-9 p.m. and after the City Display, in the middle of the Apache. The City Fireworks will begin at dark approximately 9:00 p.m. Bring your own lawn chairs and enjoy the fun.
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH- Vacation Bible School is set for July 16-20. Our theme this year is “GAME ON”. Buses will run nightly. Theme Verse: His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU- Annester Rushing will party on the 30th.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY- Cecil and Mary Loo Duke will celebrate on the 30th.
COMMUNITY PRAYER LIST- Tony Rodriguez, Carrie Villarreal, Brenda Bryant, Archie Fulton, Scotty Day, Tom Bayslinger, Sue Linton, Martin Villarreal, Sr., Joe Martin, Adam White, Mary Loo Duke, Florita Villarreal, Glen Martin, Esther Grimes, Marie Pollan, Virginia Tanner, Darlene Hall, T.K. Delaney, Manuel Villarreal, Shana Reed, Hardy Johnson and our military stationed around the world. May God keep you in his loving care.
Jefferson County residents will go to the polls on Tuesday, August 23 for a special run-off election that includes voting on maintaining a one cent sales tax that was originally earmarked for the Jefferson County Hospital. The Jefferson County Hospital Authority no longer needs those funds, but our county officials want to put those dollars to work for some much needed projects.
“Keeping the one cent sales tax active will allow us to keep our county government local,” stated Bryce Bohot, Jefferson County Commissioner for District One. “It’s essentially the same idea as keeping our hospital local and keeping those important services available here, we need to ensure that we keep our county services here, too.”
“It’s important to note that voting yes on the sales tax, does not increase your property taxes. It only impacts sales tax and it is not an increase from what you are currently paying,” Bohot continued.
In order to keep services local, the one cent sales tax would be used for many improvements, including, but not limited to the following areas:
• To ensure that necessary repairs can be made to our County Courthouse and Jefferson County Fairgrounds buildings.
• To comply with Oklahoma state statutes on paying all elected officials & first deputies out of the county general fund.
• Bring our County Jail up to state mandated codes.
• Increasing the dollars available for improving our county roads.
• Operating at a level where there is matching funding available for grants to support future projects without additional indebtedness.
County officials have scheduled a series of Town Meetings for area residents to get their questions answered about the importance of keeping the one cent tax for Jefferson County. The meeting days and times are: Addington, Monday, August 8, 6 p.m., Addington Community Center; Hastings, Monday, August 8, 7:30 p.m. Hastings Senior Citizens Center; Terral/Grady, Tuesday, August 9, 6 p.m., Terral Community Center; Ryan/Sugden, Friday, August 12, 6 p.m. Ryan Senior Citizens Center; Ringling, Monday, August 15, 6 p.m. Ringling Community Center; Claypool, Monday, August 15, 7:30 p.m. Claypool Community Center; and Waurika/Sugden, Tuesday, August 16, 6 p.m. Waurika Presbyterian Church, 124 W. Broadway, Waurika.
On August 23, Jefferson County voters have an opportunity to vote on continuing a one cent sales tax that is currently providing funding for the Jefferson County Hospital. Hospital officials project their obligation will be paid off this year. Jefferson County Commissioners want to keep the one cent tax and use it to place the county in a better financial position. According to Jeffco officials continuing the tax will provide vital funding to meet mandated obligations and position the county to spend money on other important areas like rural fire, better roads and courthouse repairs as well as repairs at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds.
County officials are presenting a series of Town Meetings to answer questions and talk about how the county works and how funding and budgeting works for counties across Oklahoma. “Our initial One Cent Tax was passed by voters in 1992. It was slated for general county operations, and for the support of county civil defense, OSU extension, county law enforcement, county-wide rural fire protection and fair board maintenance and operations,” according to Bryce Bohot, District One Commissioner. “If you consider it’s now 30 years later and how the cost of everything has risen, that the limited dollars we have to work with can only be increased by sales tax, then it’s vital that this proposition passes. Having these dollars available means that we can actually accomplish all the items mentioned in the original proposal,” Bohot continued. “We still have the same needs, and these dollars will allow us to budget for each of the areas and to have dollars available for matching grants that will make the dollars go even farther.”
The first two town meetings were held Monday evening in Addington and Hastings. The full meetings are posted to Facebook under the Friends of Jefferson County Group. “We encourage everyone to attend one of the meetings,” Bohot stated. “However, having the full meetings with all the questions and answers available provides a great way for people to watch from home. I’m also available to answer any questions you may have.”
At both meetings the same questions were asked. Attendees wanted an assurance that this was not an additional tax or a new tax; that it would not raise their property taxes and that the county would not come back in a couple of years and ask for an additional increase. Attendees also wanted to make sure there would be dollars available to support our rural fire departments and that those monies would be distributed fairly.
“Oklahoma law allows rural counties to have up to a 2 cent sales tax for county operations,” Bryce Bohot said at both the Hastings and Addington Town Meetings. “We are not allowed to go back to the voters for more sales tax.”
“Having the two cents of sales tax will actually allow us to go back to the original list of items on the 1992 Proposition and begin working with the various groups to get their items budgeted,” Bohot stated. “For the past several years, we have never gotten past the basic mandated items and have not been able to fully fund those items. This additional tax projected to be approximately $35,000 to $40,000 per month will allow us to not only fund the items mentioned, but also to begin saving dollars to use as matching funds to make the county funds go farther.” “Currently we spend all our time trying to cover whatever urgent need we have at the moment. These dollars will allow us to actually plan for a stronger future for all of us.”
“Rural Fire Department funding was part of the original sales tax proposition and is vitally important to our county,” Bohot stated. “I’m part of the Hastings Volunteer Fire Department and I fully understand how important all the volunteer departments are to the county. I’m pleased that all the departments are coming together once a month to meet and share information. I’ve talked with several of the volunteers and talked about the budgeting process and how it would be great for them to come to the budget planning session and bring their projected needs for the coming year. We would visit with them about providing funding for their priorities and would make that part of the budget.”
Denise Bacon, Addington resident, made an excellent point when she asked the group if this helped them understand the importance of shopping local because your sales tax stays right her at home and supports the towns and Jefferson County.
“I hope voters understand that this not asking for a tax increase, but to keep the one cent that is already in place,” County Commissioner, Ty Phillips explained. “Voters have supported the one cent tax for the hospital for the past 23 years and the hospital is retiring their debt and no longer needs the funds. Keeping the one cent that is already in place for the county will go a long way toward allowing us to get Jefferson County up to mandated standards and also so we can have funds to use for matching grants that can help all our organizations including emergency services and rural fire.”
There are three more town meetings that all residents are invited to attend. Monday, August 15 at 6 p.m. at the Community Center; Monday, August 15, at 7:30 at the Claypool Community Center and on Tuesday, August 16, at the Waurika Presbyterian Church.
In conjunction with Cameron University‘s current academic festival “American Identities in the 21st Century”, Cameron University is pleased to present “Choosing America: Freedom and Human Rights,” a panel presentation focusing on why the United States of America continues to be the country of choice for immigrants. The panel will take place on Monday, April 23 at 5:30 p.m. in the CETES Conference Center and is open to the public at no charge.
The keynote address will be provided by Hamit Bilici, former editor-in-chief of Zaman, the major newspaper in Turkey. Bilici, who is now in exile and who lives in the Washington, D.C. area, came under fire and was ultimately arrested when his newspaper did not fully support the new regime in Turkey. Returning to Turkey is no longer an option for Bilici, who has firsthand experience in losing the right to freely express his views, whether personally or through the press.
“Now I am in exile, but I am fortunate,” he says. “At least I am out of the country. Lots of my friends are now in jail.”
He will be joined for the panel discussion by Matthew Modeste, a native of St. Lucia who is a CPA at Hatch, Croke & Associates, and Dr. Narayan Thapa, a native of Nepal, who is chair of Cameron’s Department of Mathematics. The panel will provide a broad opportunity for discussion of the rights of Americans – rights many Americans take for granted. Many people leave their home countries, some in search of freedom from tyranny, like Bilici, and others in search of opportunity, like Thapa and Modeste.
OKLAHOMA CITY – Gov. Mary Fallin has reappointed Kevin Potter of Bartlesville to represent District 1 on the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission.
District 1 encompasses all of Tulsa, Wagoner and Washington counties, as well as small portions of Creek and Rogers counties in northeastern Oklahoma. Potter’s term will expire Dec. 31, 2024.
“I have learned a great deal during my tenure serving on the Aeronautics Commission,” said Potter. “Due to a statewide study in 2017, we now know that aviation and aerospace is the second largest industry in our state with a $44 billion annual economic impact. Because of these new findings, Oklahoma aviation has been energized. The Aeronautics Commission is positioned to facilitate continued aerospace commerce growth. I am proud to be part of the team to help the State of Oklahoma advance the aviation and aerospace sector.”
Potter is president and general manager of Bartlesville Radio. A licensed private pilot who has flown for nearly 30 years, Potter and his wife, Dorea, have owned and operated Radio Broadcasting since 1980, which consists of four radio stations located in and around the Bartlesville area, and four radio stations in Coffeyville, Kansas. Prior to their move to Bartlesville, the couple owned and operated two radio stations for 15 years while living in Monmouth, Ill.
Potter currently serves on the board of directors for the Oklahoma Broadcasters Association, Salvation Army and the Oklahoma Wesleyan University Foundation. He is also an active member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Rotary Club.
Potter played college football at Cameron University in Lawton, Okla., where he also earned his bachelor’s degree.
The mission of the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission is to promote aviation, which includes ensuring that the needs of commerce and communities across the state are met by the state’s 108 publicly owned airports that comprise the Oklahoma Airport System, and helping ensure the viability of the state’s aerospace industry.
Aviation Industry Facts:
The Oklahoma Aviation & Aerospace Industry produces just under $44B in annual economic activity, making it the second largest economic engine in our state. Three segments account for the $44B total: Military aviation, $19.3B; off-airport aviation and aerospace businesses, $13.9B; and the 108 commercial and general aviation airports, $10.6B. Aviation & Aerospace supports 206,000 jobs totaling an $11.7B payroll. The average salary in the industry is $73,300 making it one of the highest average salaries in the state.
The Chickasaw map design depicted on this blanket uses almost entirely straight lines and filled in circles. It is fashioned after a 1723 historical map – an illustration of how the Chickasaw people visualized relationships with other tribes at the time. It is one of three designs of Mahota Textile’s “Heritage Collection.”
SULPHUR, Okla. – Since its launch in October 2018, Mahota Textiles has already made waves in the Native American art world. The First American Art Magazine named the founding of Mahota Textiles to its Top 10 Native Art Events of 2018.
“I think the story really begins with Mahota and the Chickasaws,” Wheeler explained, referring to a Chickasaw matriarch in her lineage – the namesake for both her co-op and the new business.
“In 1844, she came from Mississippi during Removal and was a widow,” Wheeler explained. “She wound up coming to what is Burneyville today, in Indian Territory. She was an older woman when she came. That is, to me, where my story begins, with the Chickasaw named Mahota.”
The founder of Mahota Textiles, Margaret Roach Wheeler (center), displays an assortment of new products from the “Heritage Collection” alongside Bethany McCord (left) and Taloa Underwood.
The threads of Wheeler’s history are depicted in Mahota Textile’s company logo. With an aesthetic similar to early hand-carved Native American glyphs, or perhaps the age rings of a tree, the logo traces five generations of Chickasaw women: Mahota, Nancy Mahota, Juel, Rubey and Margaret.
Out of this lineage across three centuries of Native American history, Wheeler developed as a painter, sculptor, educator, Native historian, weaver and 2010 Chickasaw Hall of Fame inductee.
“We are makers of art, of story – the threads that connect the inspiration of our ancestors to all of us in a modern world,” Wheeler said. Wheeler’s labor of passion is shared with a small team of hardworking women.
“It is all love. It is all things I love to do, people I love to be with,” Wheeler said. “People have come in that are so talented to help me with this venture. It is not happenstance, but how things are supposed to go and fit together. It is wonderful.”
At Wheeler’s side are a student of weaving named Taloa Underwood and the business-savvy Bethany McCord.
The Chickasaw map design depicted on this blanket uses almost entirely straight lines and filled in circles. It is fashioned after a 1723 historical map – an illustration of how the Chickasaw people visualized relationships with other tribes at the time. It is one of three designs of Mahota Textile’s “Heritage Collection.”
Using three new designs crafted by Wheeler, Mahota Textiles launched its first line of blankets, pillows and bags called “The Heritage Collection.” As part of Mahota Textiles’ “Heritage Collection,” the Chickasaw map design uses almost entirely straight lines and filled in circles. It is fashioned after a 1723 historical map, an illustration of how the Chickasaw people visualized relationships with other tribes at the time. The map was originally crafted onto deerskin and delineates an understanding of population, power, influence and diplomacy within a 700,000-square-mile area, including waterways and trade routes.
The sun symbols design, thanks to its inspiration, had no way around being round. The sun was frequently represented in Southeastern design through what are now called sun circles. Sun circles have been found on a range of objects including burial items and adornments to stone disks used as paint palettes. They often include concentric circles and spirals, and may contain a cross or inverted scalloped lines within a circle.
With these new heavily-researched and uniquely-designed products in hand, Mahota Textiles began spreading the word.
This blanket shows the sun circles motif from Mahota Textile’s “Heritage Collection.” Sun circles have been found on a range of objects including burial items, adornments and stone disks used as paint palettes. They often include concentric circles, spirals and may contain a cross or inverted scalloped lines within a circle.
“We mailed books out to the Smithsonian, the Heard Museum, all major museum gift shops to get some interest there,” Wheeler said. She gave heavy credit to Underwood, who came in after her college courses to iron out samples and prepare envelopes for shipping.
Wheeler said she sees Mahota Textiles as a way to give back to the tribe which has supported her on her journey. She will pass the baton, relinquishing ownership to the Chickasaw Nation and operations over to the women who have made the business possible.
She said she is happy to carry on the title of founder and donate new designs to the company going forward.
“I am truly blessed with who I have come in contact with,” Wheeler said, referring to her team at Mahota Textiles. “I am putting all my eggs in their baskets so they can carry this on.”
Upcoming product lines for Mahota Textiles will be themed after the summer and winter solstices and designed by Taloa Underwood. Plans to include guest artists like Joanna Underwood Blackburn are also in the works.
ADA, Okla. – Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby crowned three young ladies Chickasaw Royalty during the 2018-2019 Chickasaw Nation Princess Pageant in conjunction with the 2018 Chickasaw Annual Meeting and Festival.
“Our Chickasaw Princess Pageant is always a joyful occasion,” said Gov. Anoatubby. “We believe these extraordinary young ladies will do a wonderful job as goodwill ambassadors for the Chickasaw Nation because they take great pride in our culture. It is our hope that they will gain valuable life experience as they represent the Chickasaw people at events across the nation.”
Mikayla Hook, daughter of Michael Hook and Deborah Hook, was crowned Chickasaw Princess. Ms. Hook is a student at East Central University (ECU) in Ada. In 2018, she graduated cum laude from Murray State College, serving as vice president of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. After completing studies at ECU, she will attend Rose State College to study dental hygiene.
LaKala Orphan, daughter of Ruebin Orphan and Latonia Orphan, was crowned Chickasaw Junior Princess. LaKala is an eighth-grade student at Byng Junior High School. LaKala is a member of the Chickasaw Honor Club, Chickasaw Choir and studies piano at Blackburn Studio. Music is quite important to LaKala as she also is a member of the National Federation Music Club and National Piano Playing Club.
Jadyce Burns, a third-grader at Washington Elementary School in Ada, was selected Little Miss Chickasaw. She is the daughter of Jalena Walker, granddaughter of Gina Brown and Thurman Walker and the great granddaughter of Pauline Brown, a fluent speaker of the Chickasaw language. She is on Chickasaw Nation Governor Anoatubby’s Honor Roll and was named the Johnson – O’Malley Student of the Year as a first-grader. Each winner was congratulated by Governor Anoatubby and Lt. Gov. Jefferson Keel.
“I am so thrilled and blessed to be named Chickasaw Princess,” said Ms. Hook while receiving dozens of well-wishers as she knelt on the edge of the stage at the Cougar Activity Center on the Ada High School campus. “It really is a dream come true; a blessing from God. It gives me the opportunity to share my tribe’s history, culture and traditions with other tribes and with so many others.”
Participants of the pageant were judged on talent, poise, traditional Chickasaw dress and traditional greetings and responses to random questions.
During their one-year reign, these dynamic young ladies will take courses on language, culture and the history of the Chickasaw people. In addition to serving as young ambassadors of the Chickasaw Nation, the 2018-2019 princesses will see many places, serve as role models and represent the Chickasaw people in many formal functions nationally.
The winners received a crown, sash, trophy and gifts to prepare them for the upcoming year.
The reign of a Chickasaw Princess has been a Chickasaw Nation tradition since 1963 when Ranell (James) Harry was appointed the first Chickasaw Princess.
2017-2018 Chickasaw Nation Princesses, Little Miss Chickasaw Olivia Worcester, Chickasaw Junior Princess Cydnee Miller and Chickasaw Princess Tiffany Postoak, all of Ada, ended their reigns with fond memories each shared with pageant attendees. All were honored for their year of service to the Chickasaw Nation.
