December 29, 2023
The top 10 western Oklahoma news stories from 2023:
10. Weatherford Superintendent Resigns
June 30, 2023
After a special meeting Thursday afternoon, the resignation of Superintendent Dr. Jill Henderson was unanimously accepted by the Weatherford School Board.
The resignation comes on the heels of two special meetings that saw the board discuss Henderson’s employment behind closed doors during executive sessions. The issue was tabled after at the conclusion of those executive sessions.
After serving two years as Weatherford’s superintendent, Dr. Henderson accepted the same position at Cimarron Public Schools, a school system in Garfield County near Enid.
Also during Thursday’s special meeting, the board approved Assistant Superintendent Steve Callan to sign purchase orders until a new superintendent is hired.
9. Clinton Hospital Reopens
November 2, 2023
A milestone moment for the City of Clinton this week as the hospital that has been closed since the beginning of the year has reopened its doors.
As of Monday, the now named Clinton Regional Hospital reopened to the public with an emergency room, radiology, lab services, and is licensed for 22 beds with room for more pending licensing procedures.
Jobs were filled as well with 29 employees currently working at the hospital.
AllianceHealth, the previous operaters of the hospital, closed Clinton Regional Hospital on December 31, but instead of transferring state and federal licenses to the City of Clinton as previous operators had done, the company canceled the permits. Reapplication for those licenses took time and also required the city to spend millions of dollars on upgrades to the hospital.
Limited on money, city leaders decided to dip into a fund of $11.6 million that was established when the hospital was built to pay for the upgrades. However, to do that a vote of the people was needed – and got, with over 93% of Clinton voters saying “yes” back in March.
Hospital officials say the work isn’t done, saying the next step is for the hospital to be surveyed by an accreditation organization to re-institute the hospital’s credentialing with Medicare, which officials say should occur about the third week of November. The survey could lead to certification by or complete enrollment with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
8. ODOC Announces North Fork Correctional Closing
April 26, 2023
The Oklahoma Department of Corrections (ODOC) announced today it has entered into a lease agreement with The Geo Group, owner of the Great Plains Correctional Facility (GPCF) near Hinton. Under the agreement, ODOC will lease the Hinton facility from The Geo Group and begin operating the facility in early May 2023.
The facility will house inmates from around the state, providing additional efficiencies, namely saving the State of Oklahoma $3.7 million per year in lease costs and will lower the per-bed, per-day rate by $1.31 based on capacities, all while enhancing public safety outcomes.
GPCF, which will employ approximately 264 correctional officers, medical staff and other corrections professionals, is expected to be fully populated by July 1.
The acquisition of GPCF comes after several years in which ODOC encountered staffing limitations with North Fork Correctional Center (NFCC) in Sayre, a facility leased from CoreCivic since 2016. The location of NFCC, which lies approximately two hours west of ODOC’s headquarters, made recruiting and retaining staff difficult.
With the 66-month lease now in place, ODOC will begin populating GPCF with inmates from around the state and allow the lease agreement with CoreCivic to non-renew. Affected staff at NFCC are given the opportunity to transfer to GPCF or other vacant positions throughout ODOC.
“Opening Great Plains Correctional Facility is necessary for the agency as it continues to change the lives of those in its custody and its employees. Its proximity to more populated areas not only brings greater staff-recruitment potential, but it also allows for increased programmatic opportunities and enhances the level of healthcare services available to those housed there,” said Steven Harpe, ODOC director. “This move has an equally significant financial and public safety impact on Oklahoma, ensuring the state continues to be good stewards of taxpayers’ dollars while enhancing the agency’s ability to change lives for the better.”
GPCF, which opened in 1991, was expanded in 2008 to its current operational capacity of 2,040 inmates. Previously, the facility was operated by The Geo Group and housed inmates for the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the states of Oklahoma and Arizona. The facility was depopulated in 2017 when its contract with the Federal Bureau of Prisons ended.
With the addition of GPCF in Hinton and the subsequent depopulation of NFCC, ODOC maintains its footprint across the state with 16 state-run institutions (14 male, two female) ranging from minimum to maximum security. ODOC also utilizes the services of two private facilities, one halfway house and operates five community corrections centers.
7. Elk City Aquatic Center Opens
June 13, 2023
The wait is finally over!
According to Elk City, City Manager Tom Ivester Elk City’s newest attraction, the Elk City Aquatic Center, will open to the public Wednesday with two out of three pools available for public use.
Ivester says although the “plunge pool” will be closed to the public, the other two pools can maintain up to 400 swimmers at one time.
Ivester says the pool will be open from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays and 1 p.m. – 7 p.m. on Sundays.
6. $1 Million Bond Set for Elk City Man
August 21, 2023
More details have been released surrounding the arrest of an Elk City man last month after a tip from the FBI led to the raid of the suspect’s home.
That man, identified as being 37-year-old Timothy Blaylock Junior would be arrested by the FBI and received multiple felony charges including two counts of child sexual abuse, two counts of possession of juvenile pornography, and one count of attempted 1st degree rape.
According to the probable cause affidavit, On July 28 Elk City P.D. were notified by an agent with the FBI that the suspect was online at the time, and the FBI had reason to believe that an assault of a child was imminent. Police formed an entry team and made entry into the residence, detained Blaylock, and secured the scene.
The affidavit stated that 5 juvenile females were inside the residence with ages ranging from 6 to 14 years of age.
The affidavit said that forensic interviews were conducted with 4 out of 5 of the juveniles, and it was discovered that two of the girls may have been victims.
The court document said that after obtaining a search warrant, police would gather evidence out of the home that coincided with the victim’s statements, including a cell phone with alleged inappropriate images involving the victims and Blaylock.
Bond for Blaylock was set at $1 million.
5. Elk City High School Placed on Temporary Lockdown
December 4, 2023
Elk City High School was placed on lockdown Monday morning for about 15 minutes says Superintendent Mike Sparks.
He said the lockdown was initiated after a student reported through the school district’s app, that there may be a gun on campus.
According to a post on the Elk City Police Department’s Facebook page, the student taken into custody is 14-years-old, and the unloaded gun was found in a bathroom.
The name of the student, or why the student brought the gun to the school has not been released.
4. Two Men Rescued From Collapsed Trench in Elk City
March 3, 2023
Crews with the Elk City Fire Department, Police Department, and Water Department extracted two men who were trapped in a trench on N. Main Friday morning.
Elk City Fire Chief Kyle Chervenka said the two men who work for Orr Construction, were working on the water line replacement project currently taking place in downtown Elk City.
Chervenka said both men were taken to Elk City’s Great Plains Regional Medical Center where they were treated for minor injuries. He added that it did not appear that the men had suffered any broken bones in the mishap.
Chervenka said the rescue trailer from the Weatherford Fire Department assisted on the scene as well.
3. Severe Weather, Tornadoes Strike Western Oklahoma
February 27, 2023
A large system of severe thunderstorms produced multiple tornadoes Sunday night, with one of them striking the Roger Mills County community of Cheyenne.
Officials are still assessing the damage but have reported that multiple structures including homes were hit, and some destroyed.
The tornado, that has not received a rating as of press time, blew through the northwest portion of the Cheyenne community near the airport before pushing off to the northwest near Strong City.
Beckham County Sheriff Derek Manning said his deputies and himself assisted the Roger Mills County Sheriff’s Department along with other authorities Sunday night during the aftermath of the storm.
Manning said unfortunately it was discovered that there was one fatality.
Manning said there were no reports of major damage in Beckham County.
There was a report of a semi truck being blown off Interstate 40 in Custer County near Weatherford. No injuries were reported in that crash.
Power companies have reported that due to downed power lines multiple customers are still without power.
At noon Monday, Public Service Company of Oklahoma said damage assessments include 92 downed poles in the PSO distribution system, mostly in southwest Oklahoma. Damage was also reported for transmission towers, wires, and other equipment. Officials said at around 10 p.m. Sunday, 11,229 customers were without power throughout the PSO service area, marking the high point for outages. As of 11 a.m., the vast majority of customers were restored with the number of outages reduced to less than 1,000 customers. The remaining outages are concentrated in southwestern Oklahoma, where 900 customers were without power.
At 2 p.m. Monday, Northfork Electric Cooperative was reporting a total of 199 members without power in Roger Mills County, and 190 members in Kiowa County without power.
2. Pursuit Ends in Officer-Involved Shooting Near Canute
May 15, 2023
An incident that began as a pursuit and search for a man in Elk City ended south of Canute Friday afternoon when the man crashed and threatened officers with a gun.
Officers initially began looking for the man after reports indicated that he made threats at a local car dealership in southeast Elk City.
Sources tell Paragon Communications that the man was attempting to trade in a stolen vehicle that had California plates, but was denied by a salesman.
Reports also indicated that the man struck a couple on a motorcycle in the area causing them to crash.
Beckham County Sheriff Derek Manning said the suspect initially lost pursuing officers due to a patrol car having a blow out. He said the man was eventually located near Canute after dispatch was able to ping his phone.
Sheriff Manning said the pursuit and shooting incident are still under investigation, and multiple agencies, including his, were involved, and few details are available at this time.
No officers were hurt during the shooting.
The name of the deceased suspect has not been released.
1. Two Vehicle Wreck Kills 6 Near Elk City
November 28, 2023
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol has released the names of the victims of the tragic accident that occurred last week near Elk City.
Troopers said the accident occurred at the intersection of Route 66 and OK-34, 3 miles west of Elk City, when a 2015 Toyota Sienna driven by 43-year-old Jose Paxtor Oxlai of Los Angeles, California collided with a 2021 Ford F-250 just after 3 p.m on November 21.
As a result, 23-year-old Kimberly Sloresvila Xol-Ehub, 26-year-old Rutilia Tzud-Xol, 35-year-old Geremias Choc-Saqui, a 6-year-old female, a 17-year-old male all from Camden, New Jersey died from injuries sustained in the wreck. Additionally, a 16-year-old male from Oklahoma City also passed away.
A seventh passenger, a 4-year-old female from Camden, New Jersey was flown to OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City where she was last listed to be in critical condition with arm, head, trunk internal, trunk external and leg injuries.
Beckham County Sheriff Derek Manning says the crash remains under investigation.
The driver, Oxlai, suffered arm injuries and was treated and released from Great Plains Regional Medical Center. He would be arrested on a complaint of first degree manslaughter.
The driver of the F-250 was uninjured.
Copyright 2023 Paragon Communications. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.
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