Good morning and thanks for reading today’s newsletter. Please subscribe below.

bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Luke 6:28

That’s 6 sales in 7 months. 29 all time. And the performance?

16.5%, 17.6%, and 17.8%, net annualized returns on sold works held longer than one year (See all 29 at Masterworks.com)

It’s not from stocks, private equity, or real estate… it’s from contemporary and post war art. Crazy, right?

With Masterworks, you don’t need to be a BILLIONAIRE to invest in multi-million dollar art anymore.

Historically, the segment overall has had attractive appreciation and low correlation to stocks.*

Masterworks targets works featuring legends like Banksy, Basquiat, and Picasso, identifying what they believe to have significant long-term appreciation potential, not just at the artist level but at the level of individual artworks.

As one of the largest players in the art market, with $1.3 billion invested over 500 artworks, they pass critical advantages through to their 70,000+ members to add art to their portfolios strategically.

Looking to diversify your investments in 2026?

Click here to skip the waitlist

^{*According to Masterworks data. Investing involves risk. Past performance is not indicative of future returns. See important Reg A disclosures at masterworks.com/cd.}

Hot and dry conditions continue across LeFlore County to start the week, with a slight chance of rain creeping in by the Fourth of July weekend.

Gov. Stitt Meets With Officers, Family Members of Those Involved in Firefight

By Rep. Rick West

Gov. Kevin Stitt came to Poteau last week to deliver citations to several law enforcement officers who were involved in an ambush attack in Wister back in April. Many of their family members also attended the private ceremony, getting to meet one-on-one with the governor.

Killed in the firefight on April 19 was Deputy Sheriff Thomas "Walker" LeMay. His family was among those presented with a citation from the governor.

Also recognized were Wister Police Chief William "Andy" Thompson, who was wounded in the gunfire that day, along with LeFlore County Sheriff Rodney Derryberry, Lt. Paul Moss, Deputies Cynthia Hicks, Cody Key, Megan Graham, Barry Riggs and Dustin McKinney, and U.S. Forestry Agent James Necessary, who all responded to the incident.

It was the desire of the governor and the families for this to be a private ceremony, giving the governor time to meet personally with the 70 or so people in attendance. He took time to listen to their stories and hug them, taking pictures with those who wanted to preserve the moment. I know it meant a lot to have this personal time with the governor outside of the normal fanfare that accompanies him everywhere he goes.

I'm glad too that Gov. Stitt took this opportunity to thank these men and women for the bravery and courage they display every day while performing their duties of keeping the public safe. I trust it meant a lot to the LeMay family to have their loved one remembered in this way.

A bridge in LeFlore County will be named after LeMay. The bridge is on U.S. Highway 59 crossing over the Poteau River north of Heavener. I anticipate it will be about November before the Department of Transportation can get signs made and a ceremony can be held to dedicate the bridge in LeMay's memory. The governor said he would plan to come back to our area for this ceremony.

I wish to extend thanks to Poteau Mayor Scotty White, Choctaw Tribal Councilman Jess Henry, LeFlore County DA Kevin Merritt and Gail Hudson, who works as the victim witness coordinator in the DA's office, all of whom attended, and to Karen Wages, the CEO of the Poteau Chamber of Commerce, as she and her staff set up the center and had it looking very nice for this event.

This was a really kind gesture on the governor's part and just a touching ceremony overall. I'm glad it went so well.

Remember to listen to my Capitol update on the radio at 7:35 a.m. every Thursday on KPRV.

As always, if I can help you with anything, please call my Capitol office at (405) 557-7413 or email me at [email protected].

Rick West serves District 3 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. His district includes part of LeFlore County.

Hall about sports

Isaiah Hartenstein is finalizing a three-year, $75 million deal to remain with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team confirmed this week. Oklahoma City also exercised its 2026-27 contract option on guard Lu Dort, locking in another piece of its roster heading into the offseason.

Overnight in the FIFA World Cup, the Round of 32 continued to produce drama. Morocco eliminated the Netherlands in a penalty shootout after the two sides finished tied 1-1, and Brazil topped Japan 2-1 to advance. Germany and Paraguay also finished level at 1-1, with Paraguay moving through on the tiebreak.

In Major League Baseball, Shohei Ohtani homered to power the Los Angeles Dodgers past the Athletics 9-4, and the Arizona Diamondbacks edged the San Francisco Giants 5-4 on a three-run double from Geraldo Perdomo. NBA free agency also moved fast overnight: Kristaps Porzingis agreed to a two-year, $40 million deal with the Golden State Warriors, and restricted free agent Jalen Duren is reportedly set to meet with the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings.

Monday, June 29 MLB scores: Chicago White Sox 8, Baltimore 2; Pittsburgh 11, Philadelphia 7; Detroit 7, NY Yankees 3; Toronto 2, NY Mets 1; Boston 6, Washington 3; Texas 6, Cleveland 3; Milwaukee 5, Cincinnati 3; Chicago Cubs 3, San Diego 2; Minnesota 5, Houston 4; Miami 10, Colorado 7; LA Dodgers 9, Athletics 4; Arizona 5, San Francisco 4; Seattle 6, LA Angels 2.

Tuesday, June 30 MLB schedule (CDT): Chicago White Sox at Baltimore, 5:35 p.m.; Texas at Cleveland, 5:40 p.m.; Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, 5:40 p.m.; Detroit at NY Yankees, 6:05 p.m.; NY Mets at Toronto, 6:07 p.m.; Washington at Boston, 6:10 p.m.; St. Louis at Atlanta, 6:15 p.m.; Tampa Bay at Kansas City, 6:40 p.m.; Cincinnati at Milwaukee, 6:40 p.m.; San Diego at Chicago Cubs, 7:05 p.m.; Minnesota at Houston, 7:10 p.m.; Miami at Colorado, 7:40 p.m.; LA Angels at Seattle, 8:40 p.m.; LA Dodgers at Athletics, 8:40 p.m.; San Francisco at Arizona, 8:40 p.m.

Tuesday, June 30 World Cup schedule (CDT): Ivory Coast vs. Norway, noon, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas; France vs. Sweden, 4 p.m., MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey; Mexico vs. Ecuador, 8 p.m., Estadio Azteca, Mexico City.

Your AI features are generating more data than Postgres was built for. TimescaleDB extends it to stay fast at any scale. No pipeline, no second database. Get $1000 Credit.

On this date in local history, regional communication took a massive leap forward as Indian Territory began to rapidly expand. On June 30, 1890, the United States officially established the first post offices for the communities of Wister and Gilmore.

Named after railroad official Gutman G. Wister and local mill operator Rad Gilmore respectively, these essential hubs connected early settlers in what would later become LeFlore County to the rest of the nation via the expanding Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad.

Here's what's happening in Heavener and LeFlore County over the next week, including meetings, July 4 celebrations  and more.

Event submission form

Tuesday

Celebrate America

Graveside services for Doris Ann Yeats Goins 

Poteau Evening Lions Club meet 6 p.m. CASC

See the whole calendar

Add your event to the LeFlore County calendar

Got something happening in LeFlore County? Let us know and we'll add it to the Heavener.news community calendar — free of charge.

We list events from across the county, including Heavener, Poteau, Spiro, Talihina, Panama, Wister, Arkoma, Bokoshe and every community in between. If it's open to the public, we want to help get the word out.

What we list:
Community events, church events, school events, government meetings, fundraisers, festivals, sports events, business grand openings, blood drives and more.

What we need from you:

Two ways to submit:

Use our online form below, or email the details directly to [email protected].

We do our best to add events as quickly as possible, but please submit at least two days before the event to ensure it makes the calendar.

Heavener.news reserves the right to decline events that are not open to the public or are outside our coverage area.

Heavener.news and this newsletter are completely free — no paywall, no subscription required. We believe everyone in LeFlore County deserves access to local news regardless of their ability to pay.

But local journalism isn’t free to produce. If you find value in what we do, consider helping us keep it going with a small contribution — whatever you’re comfortable with.

Heavener.news has served LeFlore County since 2009.

Support us →