It’s been a few decades ago, but a member of the Hugo city council approached me in the middle of May and told me the council was going to be in a jam getting the annual budget out... because they had just fired the city manager.

A Texas-based construction company, Zachry Construction Corporation is entering the Oklahoma market and was selected by ODOT to deliver the US-70 Roosevelt Bridge replacement project under a modified progressive design-build contract. This project will be delivered by Zachry Construction Corporation/Traylor Bros., Inc. (JV).

With property taxes routinely getting hiked annually in all of Oklahoma’s 77 counties, more and more senior citizens are screaming about excessive tax levies. In response to those complaints, several bills have been introduced in the current 2026 Oklahoma legislative session to place a cap on property taxes assessed on seniors.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Growing weary of hearing the State of Oklahoma’s educational report card at or near the bottom of regional states in recent years, members of the Oklahoma Legislature have begun seeking new and better ways to boost the 46th State’s scores.

Funeral services for Brit Songer, of Valliant, Okla., will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, May 8, 2026 at Miller & Miller Funeral Home in Valliant.

On April 19, 2026, Jan (Vandergriff) Smeigh of Columbus, Ohio, peacefully passed away at home after an arduous journey with Parkinson’s Disease. Born in Paris, Texas, in 1946, Jan grew up in and around Hugo, Okla.

Charles Leon “Bootlegger” Creacy, 83, passed away on May 3, 2026, leaving behind a lifetime of stories, stubborn opinions, questionable decisions and enough memories to keep his family laughing for generations. Charles was born on Oct. 1, 1942 to Lindey Lee “Dobbin” Creacy and Ester Mosell (Cladwell) Creacy. He was preceded in death by his parents; his son, Charles Thomas Creacy; his sister, Mary Ann Parker; and two former wives: Ruby Creacy and Teressa Creacy.

ALEX HIGH SCHOOL — Two Hugo High School track team members earned invitation to the upcoming State 3A meet in Catoosa Saturday by virtue of their outstanding performances at last week’s Regional track meet at Alex.

BEGGS — The Hugo Buffalo baseball team battled gallantly last week at the Regional Tournament hosted at Beggs. The Buffaloes lost in their opening game to the host team, 11-1 even though they managed six hits in the game.

Oklahoma Daily COLLEGE STATION — No. 1 OU (48-7, 20-4 SEC) defeated No. 12 Texas A&M (36-16, 15-7 SEC) 6-4 Saturday in game three to win the series and clinch the regular-season Southeastern Conference championship.