Veterans Sponsor Memorial Day Service

Members of American Legion Carnie Welch Post 27 in Sallisaw will sponsor the Memorial Day Service at 11 a.m. Monday at the Sallisaw City Cemetery. Bill Aydelott of Sallisaw said this year's special speaker is Master Sgt. Jean Schnauffer of the 188th Wing of the Arkansas Air National Guard in Fort Smith.

The service will begin with singing by the audience. Melanie Drummond will then perform a patriotic solo. The post's color guard will post the colors and Stanley Collins will lead the Flag Salute before the audience sings the Star Spangled Banner. Chaplain Vernon Lawrence will give the invocation, and Bill Brown will follow with a patriotic reading. Holly Bormann will perform a patriotic solo, and Aydelott will introduce the speaker. The post firing squad will Salute the Fallen with a 21-gun salute and the bugler will play taps. Chaplain Lawrence will conclude the service with a benediction. 

Aydelott said, "On Memorial Day we honor those who have died for our freedom throughout history. We honor their torture and their pain; we honor their families torn by tragedy; we honor their faith in God. On this day we can pray for the lives they gave and for the loved ones they left behind, pray for our country and our leaders."

Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director

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Area Schools Moving Graduation to Dry Sites

Several Sequoyah County schools have changed graduation locations as rain continues to pelt the county.

Sallisaw and Vian High Schools have decided to move graduation ceremonies from their football fields to their gymnasiums. Sallisaw High School graduation will be held at 8 p.m. Friday in the high school gym and Vian's graduation will be at 8 p.m. in the Vian gym.

Central School officials had not yet decided on Wednesday morning if graduation should be moved from the football field to the gym.  A school spokesman said the decision would be made on Thursday. Central's graduation is slated for 8 p.m. Friday.

Roland High School officials are still hoping to hold graduation at the Roland Football Field. "We are hoping and praying it doesn't rain," a school spokesman said. Roland graduation is also planned for 8 p.m. Friday.

Gore High School graduation is at 6 p.m. Saturday in the school fieldhouse.

Gans High School graduation is at 7 p.m. Thursday in the new gymnasium.

Muldrow's graduation is at 7 p.m. Friday in the high school gym.

Webbers Falls High School graduation is at 7 p.m. Friday in the Events Center.

Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director

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Casino Opens: Economic Impact Report Released

The $80 million Cherokee Casino and Hotel in Roland opened doors for gamers and the hungry on Tuesday, and a formal grand opening will be held later in the summer, officials said. The new casino offers 850 electronic games, table games and a poker room, along with a Las Vegas style buffet and the Grab-and-Go Cafe'. The hotel will feature 120 rooms and convention spaces. The enlarged casino also adds 100 jobs to the area economy, and replaces the older casino that opened in 1990.

The Cherokee Casino in Roland is just one of the tribe's business enterprises that have a $1.55 billion impact on the state's economy, according to a report by Dr. Russell Evans of Meinders School of Business at Oklahoma City University. That's up nearly 50 percent since the 2011 economic impact report, also done by Evans. The report indicates Cherokee Nation and its businesses have expanded their economic footprint by creating jobs, expanding operations and providing services to the Cherokee people. 

The study showed Cherokee Nation either directly or indirectly supports more than 15,600 jobs and $645 million in wages throughout northeast Oklahoma. The tribe's direct economic activities provided employment opportunities to more than 10,000 people, including contract workers, and its operations and activities are valued at $1.2 billion.

The tribe's business and field offices are spread throughout the tribe's jurisdiction, which covers all or part of 14 counties in northeast Oklahoma, including all of Sequoyah County. During 2014, the fiscal year studied by the economists, the tribe began a major overhaul of its health care system, investing $100 million to provide better facilities and improved access for citizens. New health centers in Ochelata and Jay and expanded facilities in Stilwell and Sallisaw are nearly complete.

Also factoring into the increased impact was an upstart in new home construction. The tribe began building homes again for its citizens in 2012, the first new home construction program by the tribe in more than a decade. Along with the growth in housing, the tribe also added field sites for career services and tag offices throughout the Cherokee Nation.

In 2014, the tribe's businesses generated record revenues. In fiscal year 2014, Cherokee Nation Businesses generated more than $829 million.

Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director

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Spiro Woman Killed in One-car Wreck

A Spiro woman was killed at about 3:23 p.m. Monday in a one-car crash on U.S. Highway 271, one mile west of State Highway 9A in LeFlore County. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported Willie Gray White, 52, of Spiro was driving a 2006 Cadillac east when, for an unknown reason, the car ran off the highway to the right, then rolled several times, and collided with a tree. The car came to a rest on its top. The passenger, Doris Perkins, 63, of Spiro was pinned for about 20 minutes before she was extricated by the Murray Spur Fire Department with the Hurst Rescue Tool. Perkins was transported by LeFlore County EMS to Mercy Hospital where she was pronounced dead about two hours after arrival. White was also transported to Mercy Hospital where he was treated for minor injuries and released. The cause of the accident remains under investigation.

Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director

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Christian Mayberry Will Graduate with Classmates on Friday

Christian Mayberry, who continues rehabilitation at the Florida Institute for Neurologic Rehabilitation or FINR, will graduate with his Muldrow High School classmates on Friday. The Muldrow High School graduation will be held in the school gym at 7 p.m. but Christian will hold his graduation ceremony and celebration in Florida.

Christian is a long way from that Muldrow graduation ceremony, in several physical ways. Not only is he now in Florida, he is still rehabilitating from an ATV wreck on Sept. 1, 2013, that left him with severe brain trauma. But his mother, Kim, is not going to let that stand in his way.

She extended an invitation this week for all friends and relatives. "I want to invite you to Christian's graduation party we are having for him this Friday night. Yep, you read that right! Bless his heart, he wants to graduate so bad so I've decided he is graduating! The principal (Steve Page) is sending him a cap and gown. There will be an empty chair there in his honor and they will call his name and show his picture in the cap and gown."

Those who can't attend Christian's graduation party are invited to send him congratulations to 1962 Vandolah Rd., Wauchala, FL 33873.

Muldrow High School Principal Steve Page said plans are to put out a chair that will be designated for Christian, and his name will be read during the graduation ceremony. "He will have a seat and we will call his name," Page said. "He's improved a lot, and we hope he continues to improve."

Christian's improvements continued this week. His mother reports he set a new walking record. "He had walked 825 feet. On Monday he walked over 1,800 feet, breaking his record by 1,000 feet." Kim Mayberry said an ophthalmologist, who is a low-vision specialist, also had good news. New glasses are improving Christian's eyesight, and will continue to do so, the doctor predicted.

Kim said about her son and his feelings about high school graduation, "He is so excited. He keeps saying he's never been so excited in all his life."

Kim explained that, before his graduation plans were made, Christian was "really sad and depressed about graduation. It's really been getting to him. Of course he will get his GED eventually."

When plans were made for Christian to participate in graduation, his attitude changed. "It doesn't take a lot to make him really, really happy," Kim said.

Kim concluded, "For anyone here in Florida, please come help him get through what would have been a very sad night but instead is going to be a great night! If there is any way you can come, we would love to have you." The party will be at FINR in Dogwood at 6 p.m. Friday.

Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director

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Couple Killed in Crash

A Shady Point couple was killed in a three-vehicle crash at 10 a.m. Monday in LeFlore County. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) reported the dead are Joe Waddle, 68, and Debra Waddle, 58. Both were pronounced dead at the scene, at the intersection of U.S. Highway 271 and Kerr Blvd. The OHP reported Andrea Callahan, 26, of Wister was driving a 2007 Chevrolet Impala west on U.S. Highway 271 when she struck from behind the 2008 Dodge pickup driven by Joe Waddle.  Waddle, also driving west, was stopped waiting for oncoming traffic to pass to make a left turn. The impact sent the pickup truck across the center line and into the path of a collision with a 2014 Mack semi-truck, driven by Casey Vaughn, 33, of Heavener. The Waddles were pinned for about an hour before being extracted by the Poteau and Wister Fire Departments using the Hurst Tool. Callahan was transported by LeFlore County EMS to Sparks Regional Medical Center in Fort Smith where she was admitted and listed in stable condition with leg injuries. A four-month-old female in her car was treated at the scene and released to family members. Vaughn was treated and released at the scene.

Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director

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Pinning Ceremony Held for Nursing Students

The Carl Albert State College Nursing Class of 2015 participated in the annual Pinning Ceremony Tuesday for students completing the RN program. Katrina Proctor received the Florence Nightingale Award in recognition of excellence as the Outstanding Nursing Graduate. Dusti Meek was recognized as the Outstanding Transition Graduate.

In addition to Proctor and Meek, others in the class include Ginger Aleshire, Erin Aultz-Cross, Alyssa Barrett, Clint Bartholomew, Sarah Brunk, Taryn Carter, Sarah Collins, Elaine Crivano, Rachel Daniels, James Derrick, Brittni Hamilton, Michelle Harwell, Brittni Hill, Charity Hoover, Carolyn Jenkins, Jessica Jones, SaDaea' Jones, Christopher Kunze, Kayla Lattimore, AnnDee Manire, Chelsea Marrow, Cassandra McClendon, Samantha Miller, Arin Place, Kimberly Plummer, Jennifer Sparks, Priscilla Starr, Amber Tallant, Courtney Thompson, Jeana Underwood, and Jamie Vincent.

Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director

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