MIAMI, Okla. – Two Miami INTEGRIS Health Hospital employees were honored on Tuesday.
Sarah Shockley, B.S.N., RN, was honored with the DAISY Award For Extraordinary Nurses and Becky Osborne received the Sunflower Award.
Sarah Shockley
Becky Osborne
“Sarah is an exceptional supervisor and nurse,” said Carrie Turner, RN, nurse manager at INTEGRIS Health Miami Hospital. “When they say to surround yourself with good people, she is that person.”
The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s mission to recognize the outstanding efforts and meaningful difference nurses make daily in the lives of patients and their families.
Shockley serves as the supervisor of the Women’s Center.
Osborne was recognized as a caregiver for using their skills and compassion to ensure patients receive the highest level of care.
“Becky makes everyone feel special when they meet her, and she gives the best hugs in the world,” Turner said.
Osborne has been on staff since 1985 and currently serves as an intermediate emergency room technician. During her 37-year tenure, she has worked in numerous roles including monitor tech and emergency medical services.
MIAMI, Okla. – Ottawa County Sheriff David Dean said Sunday night’s jail disturbance was over a pencil.
On Sunday, four inmates got upset over another pod receiving a pencil, Dean posted on the department’s social media site.
The upset inmates started a fire in the jail yard, blocked the main door with bunks then started smashing windows, Dean said. Officers responded, along with the fire department and medical personnel to the jail as a preventative measure due to the vandalism and outbreak.
These inmates were taken out of the pod and put into another cell where they broke a hot water line, he said.
At no time did an inmate, deputy or staff go to the hospital, Dean said.
MIAMI, Okla. — Kids in and around Miami will soon have their artwork on display for thousands of people to admire.
These grade schoolers are taking part in a week-long Art For Fun program at All Saints Episcopal Church.
It’s being offered by the Miami Arts and Humanities Council.
This is an annual program but the first one that’s happened in person since 2019 because of the Pandemic.
This week, the kids are working on a mural project.
“We just had our Mural Fest in Miami, and so we have all those new murals and everything and the kids get to go around town and they see this. Well, this makes them a part of that. They will have their work posted in our park across from the Coleman, which is historic, and our mural that we’re doing has a lot of historic features and people from Miami,” said Jeanette Hughes, Artist.
Hughes also says she wants the kids to know that art isn’t always as much about beauty as it is about invoking emotion out of the people who see it.
AFTON, Okla. – A Bernice man died Thursday from injuries he sustained in a one-vehicle crash, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported.
Ryan Bliesath, 66, died at the scene from massive injuries, the patrol reported.
The fatal collision occurred around 6:15 p.m. about two miles south of Afton, on County Road South 520 and about a half-mile north of County Road East 240.
Bliesath was driving a Toyota Camry northbound on County Road South 520 when for an unknown reason struck a culvert and traveled another 84 feet before overturning an unknown number of times, the patrol said.
Bliesath was ejected during one of the rolls through the driver’s window landing 16 feet north and 20 feet west of the area where his vehicle crashed, the patrol reported.
The patrol said Bliesath’s condition and the cause of collision is under investigation.
The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline surpassed the $5.00 mark on Saturday, June 11 and continued to inch higher throughout the weekend. As of Monday, prices hovered around $5.01 per gallon, according to AAA.
Even an increase of fractions of a penny can add up quickly. According to reporting by the New York Times, a per-gallon price increase of a single penny equates to a collective cost of $4 million dollars each day for American drivers.
The White House confirmed to news outlet Axios over the weekend that President Biden will visit Saudi Arabia in July, with speculation that he will appeal to the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to increase oil production. Biden’s visit would reneg on a campaign promise to make Mohammed bin Salman a pariah for his role in the murder of American journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Stacker compiled statistics on gas prices in Oklahoma using data from AAA. Gas prices are as of July 12. The state gas tax data is from World Population Review. Connecticut and New York have temporarily suspended gas taxes to help consumers while the cost of gas has increased.
Oklahoma by the numbers – Gas current price: $4.39 – Week change: -$0.11 (-2.4%) – Year change: +$1.52 (+52.7%) – Gas tax: $0.20 per gallon (#42 highest among all states) – Historical expensive gas price: $4.67 (6/15/22)
NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA – In less than a month, thousands of northeast Oklahoma students will be returning to school.
Skyrocketing fuel and grocery prices have put a wrinkle in back-to-school spending for most families.
Thirty-seven percent of parents plan to spend more than last year, which will result in an 8% annual increase, amounting to $661 per child versus $612 in 2021, according to Deloitte Survey Research and Analytics Center.
“Back to school time is hard,” said Lindsey Waggoner, of Vinita, who is not a tribal member.
Waggoner said she purchases a maximum of two new outfits for each of her four children over the summer for back to school and then buys new clothes and shoes as needed throughout the year.
Another $150 is spent per child, she said.
“Backpacks and lunch boxes get used for at least two years,” Waggoner said.
Rosey Parsons has been homeschooling her son for six years and spends well over $500 a year.
“We are not tribal though two out of three of our children are Cherokee, so they receive JOM supplies and the $150 card,” Parsons said. “After that, I still spend close to $800 for the remaining supplies needed, clothing and shoes.”
The Johnson O’Malley Indian Education Program Services helps with basic school supplies.
Oklahoma offers a tax-free weekend the first weekend in August to help offset the costs of clothes and the state’s American Indian tribes also help out with clothing vouchers, school supplies, and backpack giveaways.
Here is a sample listing of some of the tribe’s back-to-school programs.
Cherokee Nation offers a $150 clothing voucher for students from birth up through college and career tech – up to age 22, making it the largest clothing assistance program in Cherokee history.
There are no residency restrictions or income guidelines for the program. Applicants must be a Cherokee Nation citizen as of July 7. Proof of high school, college or career tech enrollment will be required for applicants ages 19 to 22.
Cherokee Nation Human Services will accept applications for the school clothing assistance program until July 29 at 5 p.m.
Quapaw Nation enrolled tribal members with children in grades kindergarten through 12th grade are eligible to receive a one-time check to help with school clothes and supplies.
Students from Kindergarten through the fifth grade are eligible to receive a $250 voucher, students in sixth through eighth grade can receive $300, and students in grades ninth through 12th grade are eligible for $350.
The Peoria Tribe offers a $500 reimbursement program for students in grades kindergarten through 12th grade for enrolled tribal members.
Pre-School students, minimum 4 years old, are eligible for a $50 voucher, kindergarten through the 6th grade, $75; 7th and 8th grade, $100 and 9th through 12th grade, $150.
FAIRLAND, Okla. — A rural Ottawa County police officer charged with domestic violence said “it’s a slap in the face” the way men are treated when they seek help when they are victims of domestic violence.
Colin Raye Kirk, 28, formerly of Loma Linda, Mo., was charged in the Circuit Court of Newton County in Neosho with three felonies; domestic assault in the first degree and two counts in the third degree, and two misdemeanor counts of domestic assault in the fourth degree.
The Missouri charges stem from five incidents dating back to July 16, 2021. Kirk is accused of verbal and physical abuse against a former girlfriend, according to a probable cause statement.
It is the policy of KSN/KODE not to identify the name of a victim in a domestic violence case.
When contacted, the victim declined to comment on the advice of her attorney.
“I told her multiple times I didn’t want a relationship,” Kirk said. “She continuously harassed me.”
“I moved to a different city, got a different job, changed vehicles to stop the harassment,” Kirk said. “I did everything I could to get away from her.”
Kirk denies assaulting the victim saying he tried to end their relationship on many occasions, and the victim was the physical aggressor.
She was so much the aggressor, Kirk said he sought help from the legal system by filing a protective order against her.
Court records show both the victim and Kirk filed dueling protective orders in Ottawa County District Court in Miami on June 22.
Kirk said the victim threatened him with a gun and he feared for his life.
The victim accused Kirk of brandishing a knife saying she was fearful of him, according to her protective order.
Both were ordered not to have contact with each other, Kirk was ordered not to go to the Loma Linda residence, and both are accused of violating the protective orders.
Kirk said a protective order violation was filed against the victim in Cherokee Nation Criminal Court in Tahlequah. The Cherokee Nation court records website was not functioning on Wednesday to verify the violation.
A hearing is set for July 18 in Ottawa County District Court on the protective orders.
The protective order was filed in Oklahoma because Kirk said he left the couple’s house in Loma Linda and moved to Oklahoma.
“This is why men don’t reach out,” Kirk said. “The system always believes the woman over the man.”
According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence: 1 in 4 men have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner.
“It’s like a slap in the face,” Kirk said.
Male domestic violence victims seldom seek help, he said.
The estranged couple is former and current law enforcement officers. The victim previously worked for the Ottawa County Sheriff’s office and the Miami Police Department.
Kirk also worked for the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department and was recently hired by the Fairland Police Department as their K9 officer.
“She is trying to ruin my career,” Kirk said referring to the charges.
Kirk’s protective order states “she (the victim) threatened to make slanderous posts that would end my career and contact CLEET.”
The Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training, known as CLEET, provides certification to state and municipal law enforcement officers.
A domestic violence conviction would end Kirk’s law enforcement career.
Kirk is free on $9,500 bail and hasn’t been actively working at the Fairland Police Department, according to Winston Connor, II, Kirk’s attorney and Fairland Police Chief Gordon Williams, Jr.
The subject of Kirk’s employment is on the Fairland Board of Trustees’ meeting agenda for Thursday.
CHARGES
The victim accused Kirk of slapping her. She produced a photograph to authorities showing her face, covered by a “bright blue, purple and black bruise the shape of a handprint,” according to the statement.
Kirk said the photograph is “doctored up.”
“I never put my hands on her,” Kirk said. “I have never laid a hand on her.”
In another incident, Kirk is accused of “ramming his elbow into (the victim’s) eye socket” which required surgery, according to the statement.
The victim posted on a social media site about the injury saying it was an accident, he said.
FAIRLAND – A Fairland police officer was charged in Missouri with domestic violence charges.
Colin Raye Kirk, 28, of Loma Linda, Mo., was charged in the Circuit Court of Newton County in Neosho with three felonies; domestic assault in the first degree and two counts in the third degree, and two misdemeanor counts of domestic assault in the fourth degree.
Gordon Williams, Jr., Fairland Police Chief said any decision on putting Kirk on paid administrative leave would be decided by the Fairland Board of Trustees.
Colin Kirk booking photo
Williams did confirm Kirk was employed with the department but not working.
Fairland Mayor Nick Bowers did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Kirk was taken into custody by the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department and released on a $9,500 bail, according to Winston Connor, II, Kirk’s attorney.
Kirk has surrendered to Newton County authorities and retained a Missouri lawyer to fight those charges, he said.
“I believe there is hard core proof there are not any intentional or unwanted physical actions toward her,” Connor said, referring to the alleged abuse.
Connor said Kirk repeatedly tried to distance himself from the victim.
The Missouri charges stem from five incidents dating back to July 16, 2021. Kirk is accused of verbal and physical abuse, according to a probable cause statement.
The victim produced a photograph to authorities showing her face, which was covered by a “bright blue, purple and black bruise the shape of a handprint,” according to the statement.
In another incident, Kirk is accused of “ramming his elbow into (the victim’s) eye socket” which required surgery, according to the statement.
Kirk is also accused of violating a June 22, Ottawa County District Court protective order.
Kirk and the victim, a former law enforcement officer, filed dueling protective orders on June 22 against each other, according to Ottawa County District Court records. Both accused each other of domestic violence, records show.
Kirk’s protective order identifies the victim as a former wife and states “she threatened to make slanderous posts that would end my career and contact CLEET.”
The Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training provides certification to state and municipal law enforcement officers.
Kirk also writes, “I fear for my life and safety.”
The victim’s protective order identifies Kirk as a former boyfriend and outlines four instances of domestic violence dating back to September 2021.
A hearing is set for July 18 in Ottawa County District Court.
Kirk’s history shows he has been involved in several protective orders – mainly, seeking protection against former girlfriends.”
Kirk filed a protective order in 2013 in Muskogee County against a former wife, and two protective orders in 2019 in Mayes County, one against a former girlfriend, and another against a former roommate.
In 2017 a Wagoner County woman filed a protective order against Kirk, but it was dismissed two weeks later, court records show.
CLEORA, Okla. – Stacker compiled a list of cities with the most expensive homes in Oklahoma using data from Zillow.
Cleora, located on the Duck Creek arm of Grand Lake, came in sixth on the list.
Cities are ranked by the Zillow Home Values Index for all homes as of May 2022. The charts in this story were created automatically using Matplotlib. The most expensive city on the list has a typical home value of $884,771 which is 396% higher than the state average of $178,378.
One of the most expensive homes in the Cleora area is a $4.9 million custom built home in the gated community of Eagle Bluff.
The 13,000 square-foot, five bedroom, seven and half baths luxury home set on a 1.17-acre lot.
“Any house on Eagle Bluff is amazing,” said Peggy Steed, with Keller Williams Realty.
The Cleora area has the perfect lake view and it’s quite the drawing card, she said.
“It’s all about the view,” Steed said.
During the Covid pandemic, more and more employers allowed their employees to work remotely.
“Who wouldn’t want to have an office with breathtaking views of the lake and the natural beauty here at Grand,” Steed said.
