Spiro Man Dies at Tenkiller

An 80-year-old Spiro man was found dead on Lake Tenkiller near Chicken Creek Saturday.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) reported Glenn A. Vaughn was last seen at 1:46 p.m. in a 16-and-a-half foot Glasstream Fast Boat near the shoreline, throwing an anchor into the water. About 20 minutes later Vaughn was no longer seen in the boat. Witnesses said the boat had no occupants and they went toward the boat. They then saw Vaughn in the water about 40 yards away. They pulled the victim into their boat and attempted CPR.

Vaughn was pronounced dead on the scene by Cherokee Nation EMS and his body was transported to the Green Country Funeral Home in Tahlequah.

The OHP Marine Enforcement Division was assisted by the Chicken Creek Fire Department and the Cherokee Nation EMS.

Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director

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UMW Clothes Closet Helps Foster Families

Tiny little shoes line a portion of the floor. Tiny little shirts are stacked neatly on one shelf, flanked by another shelf piled with tiny little blue jeans.

Boxes of diapers line another shelf. They stand next to large plastic storage bins of tiny little socks and underwear.

This is the Foster Children Clothes Closet at First United Methodist Church in Sallisaw. The clothes closet is a mission of Sallisaw United Methodist Women (UMW) who saw a need in the community. UMW members who help with the project are, from the left, Pat Heflebower, Janie Hensley, Anne Bottorff and Marilyn Elliott.

In September over 160 children from Sequoyah County were placed in foster care. Their foster care parents are sometimes not prepared for their arrival and have little resources to fall back upon.

UMW member Anne Bottorff explained.

“Foster parents sometimes have to wait until the next pay cycle” to purchase needed items for the children, who often arrive with nothing. Then, Bottorff continued, “The children grow out of things so fast. And people don’t get rich on foster care.”

That prompted the UMW to open the clothes closet to provide for immediate needs.

Foster parents, who sometimes are the childrens’ own grandparents, can pick up clothing for boys and girls from birth to age 5. The closet can provide shirts and tops, dresses, pants, coats, pajamas, underwear, socks, shoes, baby blankets, diapers and shampoos.

Most are donations, either from members of the congregation at First United Methodist, or from the public. The UMW members buy and supply the disposables, such as the diapers, and money donations are appreciated because today’s disposable diapers are expensive.

Pat Heflebower said she was delighted and surprised one day, when, standing in a checkout lane with boxes of diapers, the man behind her asked if she was on her way to a baby shower. When Pat explained the diapers were headed to the Foster Children Clothes Closet, the man made a donation. Marilyn Elliott and Janie Hensley said they like to go to yard and garage sales where childrens’ clothes are on sale. They said often, when the seller finds out what their childrens’ outgrown clothes can do to help, they often donate the clothes to the clothes closet.

Hensley even makes the children duffle bags for their new wardrobes. Bottorff said, “They often arrive with nothing of their own, or all their things are stuffed into garbage bags.” The duffle bags give them a sense of ownership, a positive in a frightening world.

Sometimes the clothes closet gets too many clothes donations. Bottorff said when that happens, they share with Catholic Charities in Sallisaw.

But right now the clothes closet is in need of baby blankets, size 2 to 3 clothes, sleepers and pajamas, and “We can always use shoes,” Heflebower said.

Bottorff said the clothes closet is one of several missions the UMW support. “We like to do something to give back to the community,” she explained.

The Foster Children Clothes Closet is in the First United Methodist Church at 2100 McGee Ave. in Sallisaw. For information call 918-775-2538 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. The closet is open to foster parents only from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. the third Saturday of the month.

Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director

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Sallisaw Man Hospitalized in Tulsa

A Sallisaw man was reported hospitalized after running off the road east of Broken Arrow Saturday to avoid an animal, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) reported.

The OHP reported Kenton Bowles, 31, was flown to St. Johns Hospital in Tulsa where he was admitted with internal trunk and head injuries. He was listed in stable condition.

The OHP report said Bowles was driving a 1989 GMC Sierra pickup truck west on 21st Street at about 7 a.m. Saturday when he swerved to avoid an animal in the road, ran off the road and hit a tree. The OHP said Bowles then drove back onto the road but lost control again, ran off the road again, and hit another tree. The OHP reported the cause of the accident was driving too fast.

Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director

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Gore Woman Sentenced

Tammy Jean McDaniels, 56, of Gore was sentenced in U.S. Court in Muskogee to 21 months imprisonment and three years of supervised release for wire fraud. McDaniels was also ordered to pay $146,004.80 in restitution.

The defendant entered a guilty plea in June to a charge alleging that from Oct. 1, 2012, to about Dec. 19, 2014, she devised a scheme to defraud Bacone College in Muskogee and to obtain money and property by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises.

The charges arose from an investigation by the Muskogee Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The investigation revealed that the defendant, while employed as the Human Resources Director at Bacone College, fraudulently reactivated the employment status of former adjunct professors and had the fraudulent salary paid directly into her bank account.

Judge James H. Payne presided over the sentencing hearing. The defendant was ordered to self-report to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on Feb. 15 to begin serving her non-paroleable sentence.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Wilson represented the United States.

Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director

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Cookson Man to Face Trial on Manslaughter Charge

The trial date for a Cookson man, accused of first-degree manslaughter and other charges, will be set on Dec. 3 by District Judge Jeff Payton during his sounding trial docket.

Elton Darrell Vanzant, 75, of Cookson is charged with first-degree manslaughter, leaving the scene of a fatality accident and leaving the scene of an accident involving an injury. He was charged Oct. 16, 2014, in Sequoyah County District Court, Sallisaw. His district court arraignment was held Monday.

Vanzant is accused of driving over two women in Vian on Oct. 7, 2014. One of the women, Linda Finney-Drew, 55, died at the scene. The other, Candy Shade, was treated for her injuries at Sequoyah Memorial Hospital in Sallisaw. Finney-Drew’s family is also suing Vanzant in civil court for wrongful death.

According to the Vian police officer's report filed with the charges, the officer was dispatched to the hit-and-run scene on East Sanders Street in Vian at 7:31 p.m. on Oct. 7, 2014, where he found Shade along with Finney-Drew, who was unresponsive. Shade informed the officer that she and Finney- Drew were walking east and had just entered the intersection of Martin Luther King Boulevard when they were struck by a car. Three witnesses reported seeing the car hit the women or seeing the same car nearly run another car off the road. Bystanders told the officer that the same car was seen leaving a bar known as the Rusty Barn. Witnesses at the bar said the most recent person to leave was Vanzant. The officer sent out a be-on-the-lookout (BOLO) for Vanzant's gold-colored Mercury.

The officer returned to the scene where he was informed that resuscitation of Finney-Drew was unsuccessful and she was pronounced dead at 7:56 p.m. The officer, with the help of the Sequoyah County Sheriff's Department, coordinated with the Cherokee County Sheriff's office to take custody of Vanzant. He was arrested at 12:05 a.m., Oct. 8, 2014, and his Mercury was impounded. The officer then took photos and evidence from Vanzant's car, including a piece of material that resembled that worn by Finney-Drew. In the report, Vanzant is described at the time of his arrest as having bloodshot eyes, having a strong odor of alcohol about his person, and being unstable on his feet. He told the officer he had been drinking.

Vanzant has two other drinking-related charges on his police record, according to court records.

Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director

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Free Admission for Veterans to Tonight's Football Games

The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) Board of Directors has chosen to allow free admission to veterans to the first round of high school football playoffs. According to information from the OSSAA a veteran and one guest will be admitted free of charge, simply by showing their drivers license, which has a seal indicating the person is a veteran. If the individual has not renewed their license in the last couple of years, a veterans ID card or any proof of identification is acceptable.

The decision was made to help encourage Oklahoma high schools to recognize veterans in conjunction with any school activities in the next couple of weeks. 

Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director

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Annual Thanksgiving Dinner is Friday; Methodist Church Hands the Tradition Over to Oakridge Assembly of God

Angie Kimble of Oakridge Assembly of God has made over 600 sweet rolls for Sallisaw’s Community Thanksgiving Dinner Friday at the church on south U.S. Highway 59. 

The ladies at Oakridge Assembly of God have prepared a complete homemade turkey dinner, with all the fixings, for the annual Thanksgiving Dinner. The dinner will be served from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Friday at the church, on U.S. Highway 59 south in Sallisaw. The cost is $10 per adult and $5 per child age 10 and under. Picture above are, from the left, Shelly Mullen, Angie Kimble, Daphene Lewis, Thelma Curry and Carol Wooten.

The membership of Oakridge Assembly of God has pitched in to prepare and present Sallisaw’s annual Thanksgiving Turkey dinner from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Friday at the church.

The previous 43 annual dinners were prepared by the United Methodist Women from Sallisaw’s First United Methodist Church to raise money for their many missions. But they are a bit tired from all the cooking, and have turned the reins, and the ovens, over to the Assembly of God women this year.

Head cook Angie Kimble said, “This is a church-wide effort. Everyone is helping.”

Kimble herself made over 600 homemade rolls and the ladies cooked over 30 turkeys and made all the fixings and desserts. Kimble said they are expecting to feed about 500 on Friday.

The meals are $10 for adults and $5 for children age 10 and under. Diners may eat in or carry out and just need to tell the servers how they want their meal. There is no need to call in carry-out orders.

Oakridge Assembly of God is on U.S. Highway 59 south.

Mullen said the dinner is just the beginning of the church’s holiday events. On Dec. 5 and 6 Oakridge Assembly of God will again present its Living Nativity, she said.

“It is totally awesome,” Mullen said. “People visit four and five times.”

Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director

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