8 found dead in Oklahoma house fire; homicide feared

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. (AP) — Eight people were found dead Thursday in a burning Tulsa-area house in what was being investigated as multiple homicides, police said.

The fire was reported about 4 p.m. Thursday in a quiet residential area of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, 13 miles (20 kilometers) southeast of Tulsa.

Broken Arrow police said that although the fire and the deaths were being investigated as homicides, they did not believe an immediate threat to the public existed.

Police spokesman Ethan Hutchins said the scene was complex “with a lot of moving parts,” so no other information was being released immediately. Witnesses told police that a family of eight had lived in the house, two adults and six children, but the bodies have not been positively identified, Hutchins said.

“Understandably, this is a shock to Broken Arrow. It’s a safe city. Broken Arrow doesn’t have this kind of situation every day,” Hutchins said.

Catelin Powers said she was driving with her children nearby when she saw a column of smoke near her house, so she drove past to investigate.

“When I got closer to the house, I saw smoke pouring out from the very top of the house, which looked like maybe the attic,” she told The Associated Press.

Two men and a woman on her phone were standing in front of the house, Powers said, when another man emerged from the front door dragging an apparently unconscious, unresponsive woman. “Her arms were flopped to her sides,” she said.

“She was in either very short shorts or underwear and a tight shirt,” Power said. She described the woman as having a tan complexion “and looked maybe to be mid-twenties.”

Suspecting the woman was dead, Powers said she drove on so her children would be spared the sight.

Broken Arrow is Tulsa’s biggest suburb, with almost 115,000 residents.

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was assisting in the investigation, he said.

Bearskin Health and Wellness Center to host health fair today

WYANDOTTE, Okla. – A health fair tailored for the older population kicks off today.

Tribal governments and community partners are hosting the 21st annual health fair at the Bearskin Health and Wellness Center in Wyandotte.

Medicare Part D and diabetic screenings are from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The health fair is an opportunity for the community to learn about health and wellness, ask about enrollment in Medicare Part D, assess their diabetes risk and manage the condition. American Indians are twice as likely to develop diabetes and diabetes is the cause of kidney failure in about two-thirds of American Indians.

The health fair is open to everyone, and all community members are welcome. In addition to health screenings, there will be educational activities, music, inflatables, hayrides and information booths from sponsors and participants. 

Area tribal nations, community groups, healthcare organizations and civic clubs are sponsoring the community-wide event. Sponsors and participants include the Quapaw Nation, Wyandotte Nation, Eastern Shawnee Tribe, Ottawa Tribe, Peoria Tribe and Seneca Cayuga Nation. Other groups and organizations supporting and participating in the health fair include Senior Companions, Grand Gateway, Quaker Hill Skilled Nursing, Good Shepherd Hospice, Grandwood Assisted Living and the Lions Club. 

The Bearskin Health and Wellness Center serves the community of Wyandotte and the greater Ottawa County area and is located at 1 Turtle Drive in Wyandotte. 

Regular hours of operation for the fitness center are Monday through Friday, 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturdays 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Sundays, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Clinic hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

For more information about the health fair or other programs at the Bearskin Health and Wellness Center, call (918) 678-2282.

NEO A&M College awarded Department of Education grant

MIAMI, Okla. — The United States Department of Education has awarded Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College cooperative funding under the Native American Serving Non-Tribal Institutions (NASNTI) program. The NASNTI program provides grants and related assistance to Native American-serving, nontribal institutions to improve and expand their capacity to serve Native American and low-income students.

NEO’s 2,040 square-mile, three-county primary service area — Ottawa, Craig, and Delaware counties — has a total population of 88,298 people, 30 percent of whom are Native American. The counties are home to 10 tribal jurisdictions. In the fall of 2021, Native American students represented 29 percent of the college’s overall enrollment. NEO offers degrees and certificates in 38 transfer and occupational programs.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, NEO expanded online and hybrid class offerings and added real-time remote classes using Zoom videoconferencing technology. NEO was awarded $1,596,013 over five years as the lead institution for the $2,749,977 grant, a two-initiative project to develop a robust virtual campus. The partner institution, Carl Albert State College, was awarded $1,153,964.

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The first initiative is titled “Strengthen Faculty Capacity to Provide Effective Virtual Campus Instruction.” Institutions will develop new onboarding modules to orient faculty to virtual campus teaching. It will establish a faculty resource repository, and each institution will provide training in cultural responsiveness, Universal Design for Learning, teaching with technology, interaction and engagement in virtual courses, and using Open Educational Resources.  

The second initiative is titled “Address Gaps and Weakness to Provide Efficient Virtual Campus Student Support.” Institutions will integrate new or redesigned student support into the coaching and mentoring systems and develop student orientations to virtual learning. NEO will develop online support to align with Universal Design for Learning, address students’ social and emotional needs, and ensure virtual support is interactive.

“NEO is very excited with the announcement of the NASNTI Title III grant award. This grant will allow the college to improve services to students while presenting a unique opportunity to work with another institution in Oklahoma on U.S. Department of Education initiatives,” said NEO Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Dustin Grover.

Minor disturbance at Ottawa County jail

MIAMI, Okla. – Broken windows were reported during a minor disturbance in the Ottawa County jail on Tuesday evening.

Inmates in one of the pods were mad because jailers caught them passing notes and contraband to another pod, said Ottawa County Sheriff David Dean.  

“The inmates got mad and started busting windows,” Dean said.

When law enforcement showed up with pepper spray the disturbance stopped, he said.

No injuries were reported but Dean said some inmates will be charged because of damages to the windows, he said.

The 4 major US cities where the average starter home is still affordable: study

(NEXSTAR) – U.S. home sales fell in September for the eighth straight month, but thanks to soaring mortgage rates, things haven’t gotten easier for first-time home buyers.

Real estate site Point2Homes.com looked at the 50 largest cities and calculated whether or not a renter could, on average, comfortably afford the median starter home.

The study found that only four major U.S. cities fit the criteria after mortgage rates jumped to 7 percent in October: Detroit, Tulsa, Memphis and Oklahoma City.

City State Median Starter Home Price September Starter Home Down Payment Loan Amount Yearly Payment (7%) Yearly Income Required (7%)
Detroit MI $48,129 $9,626 $38,503 $5,731 $19,103
Tulsa OK $95,481 $19,096 $76,385 $8,857 $29,524
Memphis TN $87,174 $17,435 $69,739 $8,390 $27,966
Oklahoma City OK $126,442 $25,288 $101,154 $11,121 $37,071
(Point2)

Since August, when rates were closer to 5.5%, Kansas City, Missouri and Baltimore have both fallen off the list of affordable cities. To qualify, the monthly mortgage payment had to be no more than 30% of a renter’s household income, assuming a 20% down payment.

For the breakdown of all 50 cities and the full methodology see the report on the Point2Homes site.

Higher mortgage rates reduce homebuyers’ purchasing power, resulting in fewer people being able to afford to buy a home. Consider, a buyer who got a 3% rate on a 30-year mortgage to buy a $300,000 home last year would only be able to borrow $190,000 today for the same monthly payment.

“This is why the buyers have essentially been pushed out of the market,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Reator’s.

Mortgage rates have risen sharply along with the 10-year Treasury yield, which has been climbing amid expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep hiking interest rates in its bid to bring down inflation. The 10-year yield reached its highest level since June 2008 last week.

In September, U.S. home sales fell 1.5% from the month before and 23.8% from the torrid pace of the previous year, according to the NAR. First-time buyers made up 29% of sales for the second month in a row.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Country group Diamond Rio headed to Buffalo Run this December

MIAMI, Okla. – Buffalo Run Casino & Resort announced Tuesday that Grammy award-winning country super group Diamond Rio is bringing their crowd-pleasing harmonies to The Peoria Showplace stage on Thursday, December 22nd.

The six-time Vocal Group of the Year signed to Arista Records, and in 1991, with the release of “Meet In The Middle,” became the first country music group in history to reach No. 1 with a debut single. The band is also known for their hit singles “How Your Love Makes Me Feel,” “One More Day,” “Beautiful Mess,” “Unbelievable,” “In a Week or Two” and more.

Diamond Rio has released 11 studio albums (including a Christmas album), two Greatest Hits compilations and their first-ever live project, Diamond Rio Live. Known for their charity commitments including long-time spokespersons for Big Brothers Big Sisters, the band has raised more than $1 million for non-profits and received the Minnie Pearl Humanitarian award.

Wrap-up of this week's top Northeast Oklahoma news

Grove High School Football _-7498921741248149338

Grove Ridgerunners are in the driver’s seat to be crowned Class 5A-4 District Champions.


Authorities continue to search for the remains of Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman, two 16-year-old best friends missing for almost 23 years.

Chief Follis leaves behind a great legacy that will impact the next seven generations of the Modoc people.


Grove bringing ice skating to Grand Lake just in time for the holiday season.


(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Election Day Information.


Director Jeff Reeves free on $15,000 bail.

Oklahoma man expected to plead guilty in the death of his wife; couple reportedly were fighting over ranch property prior to fatal shooting

JAY, Okla. — A Delaware County man is expected to enter a plea on Monday in connection to the fatal shooting of his wife.

The criminal trial of John Hackathorn, 54, of Zena, was expected to start on Monday. Instead, Hackathorn will enter a plea in Delaware County District Court in Jay to murder in the first degree with deliberate intent in the November 2020 death of his wife, Mary Ann Hackathorn, 60.

An autopsy report shows Mary Hackathorn died of multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and stomach and listed the manner of death as a homicide

Online court records show Mary Hackathorn had filed for divorce in April 2018, but no divorce was ever granted. The couple had been married for 15 years, according to court testimony.

Prior to the fatal shooting, the couple had been fighting, and “John Hackathorn had been upset with Mary Hackathorn because most of the ranch’s properties were in Mary Hackathorn’s name,” according to a witness list pleading.

Probate records show the appraised value of the Hackathorn estate was estimated to be worth over $11 million.

In December 2021 Hackathorn was offered a plea deal to life with the possibility of parole. The plea offer included unknown restitution but was estimated to be $20,000, according to court records. The agreement also acknowledged should Hackathorn elect to have a jury trial, there was a possibility of the jury returning a verdict of life without the chance of parole, court documents show. The state was expected to call 15 witnesses.  

Hackathorn confessed to Dr. Kathryn Dunaway-Knight, a Grove veterinarian and Brandon Bronaugh, one of the Hackathorns’ ranch hands, to fatally shooting his wife four times in the chest, according to court testimony.

After calling Dunaway-Knight and Bronaugh, Hackathorn threatened to harm himself, court testimony showed. Knight said in a previous hearing, the victim had expressed fears for her safety to her as early as April 2018.

Undefeated Grove cruises to victory over Oklahoma's Class 5A State Champions Collinsville

COLLINSVILLE – Grove’s premier running back Emmanuel Crawford churned out 345 yards and scored four touchdowns as Grove carved its way through defending 5A State Champion Collinsville defeated the Cardinals 49-21.

Prior to Friday’s game, Grove’s offense was averaging 49.7 points a game and most of that was at the feet of Grove’s workhorse Crawford. The Grove senior was averaging 10 yards every time he touched the ball, rushing for 951 yards and scoring 17 touchdowns.

By the end of the night, Crawford had passed the 1,000-yard mark ending Collinsville’s 21-game winning streak.  The high-octane Ridgerunner offense scored on its first five possessions.

Grove drew first blood with a 20-yard touchdown run by Crawford early in the first quarter. Corey Martin booted in the extra point to put the Ridgerunners up 7-0.

Two 15-yard penalties helped Collinsville as quarterback Kaden Rush capped off a 75-yard drive with a 7-yard run while Justice McMath added a point to tie the game 7-7.  

Grove struck again at the opening of the second quarter when quarterback Carson Trimble hit Hagen Hacker with a 21-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the endzone.  Martin added an extra point to put Grove up 14-7.

A series later Crawford scampered 70 yards for the Grove’s third touchdown pushing him over 1,000 rushing yards.  Martin added an extra point as Grove took a 21-7 lead.   

The next time Grove touched the ball Crawford received the handoff, weaved through defenders to the right side of the field, made a couple of quick moves and ran 56-yards to push Grove up 28-7.

Trimble showed some track speed and scampered down the field 53 yards to the 10-yard line for a first-and-goal. A penalty and three plays later Trimble hit Hacker for a 10-yard pass to go up 35-7 at halftime.

A scoreless third quarter was plagued with penalties and a missed Grove field goal. Grove finished the night with 15 penalties for 125 yards while Collinsville had two penalties for 15 yards.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Collinsville’s Jack Keith took the ball in from the two-yard line and McMath added the extra point as Collinsville made a dent in the Ridgerunner score 35-14.   

Grove quickly responded with a Trimble 3-yard run to increase the lead to 42-14.

In the waning minutes of the game, Collinsville scored on a 29-yard pass from Rush to Henslick and Crawford added his final touchdown for the night on a 1-yard run.

Scoring

Grove                7        28     0        14      49

Collinsville         7        0        0        14      21

Early voting begins Nov. 2 in Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA – Early voting for the 2022 General Election begins Nov. 2 for Oklahoma voters.

Voters who will not be able to make it to the polls on Election Day, on Nov. 8 have the option of voting early at their County Election Board, said Delaware County Election Board Secretary Crystal January.

“You do not need to provide an excuse to vote early,” January said. “This is a great option for those who will be out of town on Election Day or who want to avoid long lines.”

Oklahoma allows early voting for all elections conducted through the State Election Board – from school board and municipal elections to state and federal elections, she said.

Early voting is available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 2 to Nov. 4 and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5 at the County Election Boards located in Vinita, Jay and Miami.

In the Craig County Commissioner’s race, voters will choose between Joel Todd Taylor, R, and Lowell Walker, Democrat for District No. 1.  In the District No. 3 race, voters will choose between Trenton Langley, R, and Dan Peetoom. Democrat.

Delaware County voters will elect either David Beck, R, or Charlie Smith, D, to the position of county commissioner for District No. 3.

For the unexpired term for the Ottawa Commissioner District No. 2 race, voters will choose between Larry McElhaney, R, and Cody Brecheisen, D.

In the State Representative District 7 race, Craig, Ottawa and Delaware County voters will decide between Steve Bashore, R, and Jason A. Spence, D.

Delaware, Craig and Ottawa county voters will elect the following state and congressional offices:

Governor

  • Natalie Bruno, L
  • Kevin Stitt, R
  • Joy Hofmeister, D
  • Ervin Stone Yen, I

Lieutenant Governor

  • Chris Powell, L
  • Matt Pinnell, R
  • Melinda L. Alizadeh-Fard, D

Attorney General

  • Lynda Steele, L
  • Genter F. Drummond, R

State Treasurer

  • Gregory J. Sadler, L
  • Todd Russ, R
  • Charles De Coune, D

Superintendent of  Public Instruction

  • Ryan Walters, R
  • Jena Nelson, D

Commissioner of Labor

  • Will Daugherty, L
  • Leslie Kathryn Osborn, R
  • Jack Henderson, D

Corporation Commissioner

  • Kim David, R
  • Margaret Warigia Bowman, D
  • Don Underwood, I

United States Senator  (Unexpired Term)

  • Robert Murphy, L
  • Markwayne Mullin, R
  • Kendra Horn, D
  • Ray Woods, I

United States Senator

  • Kenneth D. Blevins, L
  • James Lankford, R
  • Madison Horn, D
  • Michael L Delaney, I

United States Representative – District 2

  • Josh Brecheen, R
  • Naomi Andrews, D
  • Bulldog Ben Robinson, I