By Andy and Renie Bowman Comments to: andybowman839@ gmail. com Coffeetimecolumn.

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Kiamichi Tech honored students who recently completed their career training with a graduation ceremony on May 16 at the Hugo campus. The ceremony included congratulatory remarks from Shelley Free, Kiamichi Tech Superintendent, a presentation of certificates and a special recognition of Kiamichi Tech Distinguished Graduates.

the point Publisher Everyone knows that time flies when you’re having fun, so now that we’re celebrating Hugo’s 41st Homecoming and 61st PRCA Rodeo, perhaps we should cut back on the fun! But that never resonates well with the former HHS grads who look forward to reliving highlights of their formative years at Hugo High (and other Choctaw County schools to follow). Like good wines, the fabled stories we recant only grow better with time, and some even morph into the realm of fictional lore.

• Choctaw Cultural Night for the Magnolia Festival on June 1 The Choctaw Cultural Center is partnering with the Durant Area Chamber of Commerce to help kick off this year’s Magnolia Festival. Choctaw Cultural Night for the Magnolia Festival will take place from 5 p.m.

were rewarded for meeting their reading goals during the course of the 2022-2023 school year. In addition to weekly and monthly reading rewards, students were also rewarded field trips during the months of April and May. Field trips included going to the Public Library, Urban Air, Incredible Pizza, Cinemark Movie Theater, Medieval Times and Geocaching. A visit was also made to Gingerbread Preschool to encourage reading to younger students. All rewards and trips were sponsored by a grant received from the International Paper Foundation to help HPS campus libraries promote literacy in Hugo Public Schools.

• May to bring awareness of mental health issues and promote wellness in Oklahoma May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time to come together as a community to shift from stigma associated with mental health issues, raise awareness of resources available for those dealing with mental health issues and to start conversations encouraging those in need to seek support and treatment. “Mental Health Awareness Month provides an opportunity for all members of the community to work together to promote mental health awareness throughout Oklahoma,” Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Commissioner Carrie Slatton-Hodges said.

All Oklahoma families eligible for Private School and Homeschool Tax Credits OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has signed an historic school choice bill into law. House Bill 1934 makes a tax credit of at least $5,000 available for every family with a school-aged child, with the credit eligible to help offset private school tuition.

Funeral services for James Browning were held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 30, 2023 at First Baptist Church of Hugo with Pastor Byron Smith officiating. Burial followed at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. James passed away Saturday, May 27, 2023, in Hugo, Okla., at the age of 92.

A broad coalition of groups that support freedom of speech and the press has sent a letter of thanks to Gov. Kevin Stitt for his veto of HB 1236. The measure would have weakened the Oklahoma Citizen Participation Act, which provides legal recourse against frivolous lawsuits that are intended to chill free speech.