The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma’s (CNO) Success Through Academic Recognition (STAR) Program is again rewarding tribal members for academic excellence. STAR provides Choctaw students, in second through 12th grades, with gift cards at the end of each semester. A report card with straight As will earn a $25 gift card, and students with all A’s and Bs or all Bs will receive a $10 gift card. Perfect attendance can earn an additional $25 gift card for a student.

WILBURTON –– Eastern Oklahoma State College has announced honor rolls for the fall 2022 semester. Named to the Named to the spring 2022 semester lists were: PRESIDENT’S HONOR ROLL Choctaw County Swink – Freeda Mcclure.

Fort Towson High School held a National Honor Society Induction Ceremony on April 28. Nine members were inducted at this time. Members were selected after a rigorous application process which included an essay followed by a rubic scoring process based on the four pillars of the National Honor Society. These include Scholarship, Service, Leadership and Character.

Congratulations to the Parade Winners: • First Place Float: Lemonace. • Second Place Float: 4H/FFA.

On Monday night, the Hugo Public Schools Administration building was packed with concerned parents and citizens waiting for their chance to speak during the regularly-scheduled monthly board meeting. When the group was given the floor toward the end of the meeting, they raised concerns about school board transparency, the hiring process that led to Cory Smith being hired as the next superintendent, disciplinary action in schools, low test scores and the lack of retention among faculty and support staff.

CHOCTAW COUNTY –– The body of an unidentified white male was recovered Sunday, south of the Hugo Dam on Kiamichi River. According to reports from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the body was located around 6:30 p.m.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health has identified its first probable case of monkeypox and is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to confirm the infection in a central Oklahoma resident with recent international travel to a country with confirmed cases.

FORMER HUGO BUFFALO ALL-DISTRICT running back, Don Short, welcomed Vicki Bains Sharp during the Hugo Homecoming Saturday. Short and several other former Hugo Buffaloes were avid golfers and frequently played with Coach Bains and his assistant coach Don Overton. Vicki was just 8 years-old and her brother Greg was 2 when the family moved from Hugo. For several years her mother, Peggy, was employed here at the Hugo Daily News as Woman’s Page Editor, working alongside Ann Nash, Advertising Manager, whose son Greg, was the namesake for the Bains’ youngest child, Greg. Greg Nash was an All-District quarterback and linebacker for the Buffaloes during Coach Bains’ final year as head Buffalo Coach in 1969. Hugo News Photo/Stan Stamper

LEGENDARY BUFFALO FOOTBALL Coach L.D. Bains made his final trip to Gene Nesbit Stadium Saturday as a number of athletes and former Coach Larry Landreth participated in a ceremony to scatter a portion of his ashes at the 50 yard-line of Buff Parker Field. Bains coached the Buffaloes from 1963-1969 and ultimately was inducted into the Oklahoma Coach’s Hall of Fame. He passed away in late 2021. His ashes have been scattered at the 50-yard-line on fields where he played and coached, including the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University, Tulsa University, at his alma mater Chelsea Dragons, where he played and graduated in 1953, and in Hugo at Gene Nesbit Stadium. Pictured above participating in the ceremony were: Tommy Parker, RayGene Jones, Larry Landreth, Tony Harris, Mike Ford, David Rawls, Mike Simpson and Stan Stamper. Each of the former players made brief comments about the many ways that Coach Bains had impacted their lives, both during and after his tenure as Buffalo Head Football Coach.

RATTAN — The Rattan RAMS blew Wright City out last week on their home field, scoring four runs in the first, third, and sixth innings, and adding six more in the fifth and a pair in the seventh! Lead the RAMS at the plate was Ethan Clay with four hits. Also booking hits for the RAMS were: Logan Smith, Carson Bailey, Nate Hairrell, Seth Springfield (2), Xadin, Jace May, Keegan Robertson, Dawson Addington, Ben Ellis (2)..