One of President Biden’s first acts in office was to revoke the permit for construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, which was supposed to carry heavy crude oil from Canada to the refineries that process it.

A couple of years ago we talked about how the “environmental lobby” had grown in strength and numbers until it became more powerful than the old mid-century labor union lobby powerhouse. We are seeing some of the effects of that play out in just the first few days of our 46th President’s administration.

Funeral services for John Young, of Sawyer, Okla., will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, Jan.

Funeral services for Jessie Ervin Priddy will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021 in the Prater-Lampton-Mills & Coffey Funeral Home Chapel with Mike Merritt officiating. Burial will follow at the Fort Towson Cemetery. Jessie went to be with the Lord on Jan. 24, 2021 at his home.

Funeral services for Mary Delana Amend, of Soper, Okla., were held at 2 p.m. Jan.

Funeral services for Elmer Snow Pierce, of Boswell, Okla., will be held at 2 p.m. Jan.

Graveside services for Leland Bridges were held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan.

The Rev. Edward “Joe” Pierce, 78, of Spiro, Okla., passed away Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021 in Spiro. He was born April 10, 1942 in Boswell, Okla., to Leroy and Evelyn (Clark) Pierce. He was preceded in death by his parents; beloved wife of 49 years, Norla Pierce; son, Scottie Pierce; a granddaughter, and brother, Charles Pierce.

WILBURTON — Eastern Oklahoma State College’s scholarship applications for the 2021-22 academic year are due by midnight on Sunday, Feb. 21. Current and prospective students who plan to attend Eastern in the fall are encouraged to submit their application using Eastern’s online scholarship management system.

The University of Central Oklahoma recently announced the students named to the university’s honor rolls, a distinction given to those who achieve the highest academic standards. For the fall 2020 semester, 1,599 students were named to the President’s Honor Roll, an honor achieved by those who recorded a “straight-A” or 4.0 GPA.