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Friday, 12 March 2010 20:50 |
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By Stan Stamper
Publisher
HUGO — More than 400 Choctaw County men and women were shaking their heads Thursday evening in Hugo, as representatives of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission explained state and federal regulations relating to farm vehicles and trailer towing.
At times the buzz of discontent in the room grew so loud that decorum was lost, but OHP Lieutenant Offotter patiently waited until quiet was restored.
The primary purpose of the meeting was to provide answers to area farmers and ranchers relating to what they could legally haul up and down Oklahoma highways and occasionally into Texas or other states.
Offotter explained that most of the present day laws were on the books back in 1987, but that they had not been fully enforced until recently. He said the laws were largely mandated by the Department of Transportation arm of the federal government.
“They give us highway money and put lots of strings, in the form of regulations, on us, which we must enforce,” he said.
To make understanding the regulations even more difficult, Oklahoma has two sets of enforcement agencies, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission actively enforcing them.
Apparently, OHP deals more with weight and safety matters, while OCC also pays close attention to weights and adherence to regulations concerning intrastate and interstate commerce.
Offotter said there were two significant weight numbers area farmers and businessmen should be aware of. The first was 10,000 pounds and the second was 26,000 pounds.
What might be perfectly legal to haul inside the State of Oklahoma on a farm operation, might not be legal if the trip were to either exceed 150 miles or cross a state line.
Citing an extreme case, Offotter said it was possible a farmer going to Paris, Texas in a one-ton dually to purchase a bolt for a tractor, would fall under the heading of an Interstate Motor Carrier. “You have to learn what to tell the officer,” one of the troopers said. “It would be perfectly legal for you to take your wife to dinner, in some cases, without having to comply with this regulation.” Read the full story, subscribe to the online edition: http://www.hugonews.com/transitionHDN.html |
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Wednesday, 10 March 2010 21:27 |
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By Joanne Webster
Contributing Writer
BOSWELL — “The people of this town are rising up,” a Boswell business owner told members of the town council during a heated meeting Tuesday evening at city hall.
Approximately 40 citizens filled the council chambers voicing their continued displeasure with what they report to be “excessive city police harrasment.”
The topic has been boiling since the fall, after numerous business owners in Boswell told the council that their business was “drying up,” and attributed the loss of business to citizens fear of “harassment by the police.”
Tuesday night, a restaurant owner said he had lost as many as 21 Friday night customers, who said they decided it wasn’t worth coming to town for fear of being stopped by police. One citizen said some teens on a work assignment for a relative were stopped four times in a weekend.
Another business owner said his employees were “stopped repeatedly,” and that numerous travelers, angry at the way they were treated by Boswell officers, would no longer trade in the town.
Some citizens said the town had employed officers with questionable backgrounds. Some questioned why officers routinely “just disappeared” in the middle of the night with the citizens not knowing why they quit.
Another citizen questioned why the council would continue trying to run an aggressive police department with city accounts running a negative balance.
Officer Brian Gordon was called into Tuesday night’s executive session for approximately 50 minutes, during which time citizens could hear members of the council speaking with raised voices inside.
After returning to open session, the decorum grew more raucous, and Mayor Buck Eastwood called for the meeting to be adjourned.
“No! No!,” yelled several citizens. “You’re going to hear us,” several said.
The meeting ended with heated conduct, which included profane language on both sides and adjournment became necessary. Read the full story, subscribe to the online edition: http://www.hugonews.com/transitionHDN.html |
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Thursday, 04 March 2010 20:05 |
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FORT TOWSON — The Fort Towson Tigers received a wonderful sendoff Wednesday as they headed to the state playoffs for the first time in 37 years.
The day began with a downright giddy dancing performance by Drake King as he carried his bags onto the bus. Once the entire student body arrived, the Tigers’ cheerleaders started the pep-rally with a cheer.
Then it was time for the basketball team to get loud. Seniors Zack Samaha and Phillip Clark chanted with the crowd. As Samaha yelled out “black,” the entire student body surrounding him, and holding black and gold ballons, would yell back, “gold” representative of their school colors. Clark would get everyone riled up and then it was Samaha’s turn again. Next, the cheerleaders got involved in some back and forth chants with the crowd.
After the chants were over, Superintendent Gary Parris invited the crowd to all gather around the boys team as they stood around the base of the flagpole. As hundreds of students surrounded the boys, Parris joyously commanded everyone to release the balloons and the sky turned into a momentary view of black and gold.
The players scurried onto the bus, opened the windows and leaned out as students and parents took turns high-fiving them.
Read the full story, subscribe to the online edition: http://www.hugonews.com/transitionHDN.html |
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Friday, 05 March 2010 19:28 |
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SWINK — Swink School, in partnership with the Choctaw County Boys & Girls Club has recently been awarded a grant through the Boys & Girls Club of America and Kimberly-Clark.
Twenty Family PLUS grants were awarded nationally. In Swink, $15,000 in grant funds will be used for after-school enrichment activities and evening events that promote family involvement and economic development for Swink area residents.
Swink School and the Choctaw County Boys & Girls Club are working together to determine just what programs should be offered.
“When we wrote the grant, our focus included access to our technology lab for students and district patrons from 4 to 6 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays. However, after attending the grant meeting in Atlanta we now realize that there are many other projects that we can target to meet the needs of families. Technology will still be offered, but we are going to let them help us decide which other projects are most needed,” said Swink Superintendent Ed Kennedy.
Some of the projects recommended for daily activities have included: hunter’s education, arts and crafts, gardening, archery and music. It is also important to determine weekly evening events for families.
“In addition to specialty technology workshops, we are considering events like tax preparation help, assistance in getting CDIB cards, home buying, credit counseling and wildlife habitat improvement,” he said.
At 5:30 p.m. Monday, March 8 Swink School will host a community forum to get feedback on program offerings. Hot dogs, chips and refreshments will be served. Read the full story, subscribe to the online edition: http://www.hugonews.com/transitionHDN.html |
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Monday, 01 March 2010 19:20 |
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FORT TOWSON — Fort Towson school officials made public Friday the terms of a recent federal lawsuit settlement in which several school district patrons sought changes to the districts girls’ sports programs.
The school district agreed to comply with Title IX regulations and the following:
• To the extent the district provides equipment, supplies, uniforms and shoes for students who participate in athletics, both as to quantity and quality, it shall do so in a manner that does not discriminate on the basis as to gender.
• The district shall select coaches for all teams, male and female, using the same criteria and with the same motivation to attract qualified an skilled coaches. The district shall utilize a gender-neutral system for attracting coaches for all of its teams, male and female.
The parties have toured the district’s facilities for the purpose of identifying modifications to facilities to ensure that the district’s athletic facilities assigned to female athletes are equivalent to those assigned to male athletes. Defendants agree to address the following issues in regard to the softball facilities in the following manner, within one calendar year...
• The district shall ensure that the softball program has equivalent access, as compared to the baseball program, to the current press box/concession stand/public restroom facility which adjoins the baseball field; Read the full story, subscribe to the online edition: http://www.hugonews.com/transitionHDN.html |
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