Cherokee Nation Donates $200K to Town of Webbers Falls

(L to R) National Trail of Tears Association Executive Director Troy Wayne Poteete, Cherokee Nation Director of Environmental Health and Engineering Billy Hix, Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner, Webbers Falls Mayor Sandy Wright, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., District 5 Tribal Councilor E.O. Smith, Webbers Falls Vice Mayor Bobby Ogg, Cherokee Nation Community Services Executive Director Michael Lynn and Trail of Tears Association member Roy Barnes.

The Cherokee Nation donated $200,000 to the town of Webbers Falls on Monday to aid in placement of a new waterline after historic flooding in June damaged much of the community’s infrastructure.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner met with District 5 Tribal Councilor E.O. Smith to present the check to Webbers Falls Mayor Sandy Wright.

“Over the years, the Cherokee Nation has partnered with Webbers Falls on a variety projects to serve the town’s citizens, many of whom are Cherokee,” Chief Hoskin said. “It is our duty as a government to help Cherokee citizens in need and with our contribution to the new waterline, Webbers Falls will be able to supply families and businesses for years to come.”

The tribe contributed $200,000 in Indian Health Service Emergency Project funding to replace the East Central Oklahoma Water Authority waterline, which supplies water to the town of Webbers Falls and the surrounding area. 

“It’s been a tough summer for everyone here,” Councilor Smith said. “Every donation and repair counts in helping Webbers Falls get back to where they were before the flood, and I am proud to be part of a Nation that does its part in helping its communities when they need it.”

The total cost of the town’s project is estimated to be $974,000 with the balance of funds coming from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board and USDA Rural Development.

“We are eternally grateful to Cherokee Nation for this grant because without it we would have a hard time putting our waterline back in,” Mayor Sandy Wright said. “They have helped to make it possible for us to get a new waterline to our town and fresh water to our citizens.”

In September, Cherokee Nation Child Support and Human Services employees also delivered school supplies to Webbers Falls School, which lost most of its supplies in the flood. The two tribal departments spent weeks collecting the school supply donations around the tribe’s 14-county area.

Webbers Falls, with a population of around 600, has a rich history that can be traced back to the arrival of Cherokees in the early 1800s. Today, the town is also home to the National Trail of Tears Association office.

KXMX News Staff

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