Eddie Ray Brown passed away on Feb. 28, 2026, at his home in Rattan, Okla., where he had lived for two years.

Deborah Sue Arnold, age 72, passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family on Saturday, March 7, 2026. Debbie was born on Dec.

• Historic gift brought lasting ties between Choctaw Nation, Ireland The Choctaw Cultural Center’s Choctaw-Irish Friendship Festival this year will fill two days with activities on the weekend before St. Patrick’s Day.

Choctaw County Democrats will hold their March monthly meeting at the Washington Heights Hope Center (400 W. Bissell St., Hugo) on Thursday, March 19 at 5:30 p.m.

Friday, March 13 Chicken Spaghetti Green Beans Sliced Tomatoes Rolls Jello Cups Wednesday, March 18 Chicken & Dumplings Green Beans Oven-Fried Okra Cornmeal Muffin Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Felony 014 – Steven Tyler Nicole: Assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. 015 – Mark Allen McKee: DUI.

The Emergency Drought Committee met on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, and voted to approve a new program aimed to provide emergency drought assistance to Oklahoma producers. The application period opened March 9 and runs through June 30, 2026.

Rep. David Hardin, R-Stilwell, issued the following statement after the state of Oklahoma finalized settlements totaling $25.5 million with Tyson Foods and Cargill in the long-running Illinois River Watershed litigation. “For more than 20 years, this case has hung over the heads of poultry growers in eastern Oklahoma. I’ve heard from families who were unsure whether they would be able to continue operating from one year to the next. That kind of uncertainty takes a real toll on our rural communities.

HUGO –– Hugo City Council members heard department reports and presentations on potential grant opportunities from KEDDO and the Choctaw Nation during last week’s meeting. John Redman and Hannah Shaffer presented several options for the city to pursue Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and community revitalization grants, which could be used for possible rehabilitation of the Chamber of Commerce building.

Oklahoma Human Services will begin rolling out new chip-enabled SNAP EBT cards to residents in five counties –– Adair, Carter, Choctaw, Grady and Noble –– as part of a two-month pilot program on Monday, March 16. Chip-enabled EBT cards will be mailed to all remaining Oklahoma SNAP cardholders beginning this summer –– marking only the third state to implement these safety-enhanced cards to protect food benefits.