Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:10

LeFlore County is locked into a summer weather pattern featuring soaring temperatures, heavy humidity, and high UV indexes before a strong cold front introduces high-percentage thunderstorm risks by the weekend.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday for the primary and for Town of Arkoma special election. LeFlore County Election Board Secretary Kayla Rees offers these important tips to voters—especially those who will be casting a ballot for the first time.

Rees said election officials are there to assist voters and ensure all procedures are followed on Election Day. If you believe an election law has been violated, contact precinct and/or county election officials immediately. Do not wait until you leave the polling location.

Voting activity is generally slowest mid-morning and mid-afternoon, but lines and wait times can vary from precinct to precinct. All voters who want to cast a ballot should be in line no later than 7 p.m.

"Anyone who is in line by 7 p.m. on Tuesday and eligible to vote will be allowed to vote," Rees said.

You can locate your polling place and view a sample ballot using the State Election Board's OK Voter Portal at oklahoma.gov/elections/ovp.

The LeFlore County Election Board is located at 103 N Church St, Poteau, OK 74953 and is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. For questions, please contact the Election Board at (918) 647-3701 or [email protected].

By Rep. RICK WEST 

Now that the legislative session is over, it's a good time to take a look at some of the legislation that will now become law.  

Here are a few bills affecting teachers.  

House Bill 2288 reduces a three-year waiting period to six months for teachers who retire before they can return to teaching in Oklahoma public schools, while also drawing on their earned retirement benefits. Until now, teachers were allowed to go into a job in the private sector or in a private school but had to wait 36 months before returning to a public school classroom. This will be good for students, as they will have experienced teachers in the classroom. It's good for these retired educators, as they will be able to earn salary and retirement benefits. It also benefits our local schools, particularly those in rural areas, as they sometimes have a hard time finding a certified, veteran teacher to serve in the classroom. I had to take constitutional privilege and not vote on this bill because my wife is a retired teacher, but it's one that was liked by the retired teachers in our House district (including my wife). 

House Bill 4268 provides teachers who obtain National Board Certification with an annual $5,000 stipend for five years. National Board Certification is considered among the most respected professional certifications available in education. There is a decade of research that shows students perform better academically when taught by someone with this certification. Teachers who have been through the program like it because it was developed by teachers.  

We also passed a few bills to help us better deal with the fentanyl crisis, particularly among our youth.  

Senate Bill 633 also known as Leo’s Law, is designed to strengthen protections for children who are exposed to the dangers of fentanyl. It gives child welfare professionals and law enforcement needed tools to identify exposure quickly, intervene when necessary and protect children from environments where this deadly drug is present. The bill is named after Leonardo “Leo” Towe, a three-year-old Oklahoma child who died from fentanyl poisoning. This legislation establishes the Child Welfare Fentanyl Testing Revolving Fund and appropriates over $1 million to support testing and child welfare response efforts. 

House Bill 1484 creates Rain's Law, requiring age-appropriate fentanyl abuse prevention and drug poisoning awareness education in schools for students in grades six through 12. The law is named to honor Cameron University student Rain Reece, who died at 19 after unknowingly taking a pill laced with fentanyl.  

Additional bills deal with medical marijuana regulations.  

House Bill 3143 extends the moratorium on new medical marijuana business licenses until Aug. 1, 2028. This just applies to those seeking a new license not those that have an existing license who are in good standing with the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority. This will help us catch up with this industry that is still operating too much like the wild west, allowing the black market to still flourish in our state. 

House Bill 4454 requires edible medical marijuana products to clearly indicate the number of servings of THC in each package and the amount of THC in each individual serving to better educate and protect consumers. More importantly, the bill prohibits edible medical marijuana products from being made in the shape of humans, cartoons or animals, or in a form of commercially available candy. This is hoped to keep children from accidentally ingesting these often potent products.     

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.

By soonersports.com

LAWRENCE, Kan. – For the 12th time in program history and the second time in the last five years, Oklahoma baseball is going to the College World Series. The Sooners completed a 13-2 win over No. 15-seed Kansas Monday afternoon to sweep the NCAA Lawrence Super Regional.

The Sooners (38-22) will play in the College World Series for the second time under ninth-year head coach Skip Johnson and first since they finished as national runner-up in 2022.

"It was a special win today," Johnson said. "We beat a really good baseball team. (Kansas head coach) Dan Fitzgerald is a very good coach, and you can see the energy he's brought here is incredible. It was a great atmosphere and tough to play them. I'd like to thank our coaches, support staff, administration, everybody that's involved in our baseball program. It really means more to the players, because they're the ones that did it.

"We have a bunch of selfless players, and they care about each other. I'm thankful to even get the opportunity to coach them. Our job as coaches is to get those guys through excuses and teach them to be selfless. Where does it go from here, I don't know. But I can tell you this: we'll go up there and fight and claw. We went through a lot of adversity all year long, and (our players) fought through it and never wavered, and kept battling and kept battling and kept battling. That's the great thing about baseball. I still say it's the best game in the world, because you can be on a low and then be on a high. It's really good."

After an 8-1 victory over the Jayhawks (45-18) in the Super Regional opener on Saturday night, Oklahoma jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the first three innings of Game 2 on Sunday night before inclement weather forced the overnight suspension of play. When the game resumed at noon on Monday, OU kept its hot bats rolling with four runs in the sixth inning and another in the eighth.

Oklahoma hit four home runs in the second game of the Super Regional, increasing its total to seven in the Super Regional and 18 in seven NCAA Tournament games. First baseman Dayton Tockey's solo homer in the third inning immediately preceded the weather delay and made the score 8-1. Catcher Deiten Lachance and right fielder Dasan Harris each hit two-run homers in the sixth inning and designated hitter Trey Gambill added a solo shot in the eighth.

Freshman Xander Mercurius started the game on Sunday night and returned to the mound for the resumption on Monday and completed 4.0 innings, striking out six batters and allowing one run on three hits and two walks.

Junior Nate Smithburg (2-0) relieved him with a runner on first and pitched 3.2 innings to earn his second win of the season. He struck out two and only surrendered one hit, a solo home run by KU shortstop Tyson LeBlanc in the eighth inning. Junior Jason Bodin got the final out of the eighth inning and senior Jackson Cleveland closed out the win with a scoreless ninth.

The start of the game, originally scheduled for 5 p.m. Sunday, was delayed by rain and lightning until 7:30 p.m., then with lightning in the area, entered the delay in the bottom of the third inning at 8:40 p.m. The game resumed at noon on Monday.

OU, as the home team for the second game of the Super Regional, scored a run in the bottom of the first inning when center fielder Jason Walk scored from third base on a double play groundout. After KU tied the game on an RBI single by right fielder Jordan Bach in the top of the second, the Sooners responded with six runs in the bottom half to move ahead 7-1.

Harris knocked an RBI single through the infield and left fielder Brendan Brock came home on a safety squeeze bunt single by second baseman Kyle Branch. Third baseman Camden Johnson drew a bases-loaded walk, Lachance lined a two-run single to left field. Brock was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to cap the second-inning scoring. It was the second time in the frame he was hit by a pitch, as OU sent 12 batters to the plate.

Tockey led off the home half of the third inning with a 402-foot home run to right center field to make it 8-1. It was his eighth homer of the season, sixth in the last nine games and his third straight game with a home run. He has five home runs in seven NCAA Tournament games.

Kansas starter Mason Cook (5-2) pitched 1.1 innings and took the loss.

See the current calendar.

Event submission form

Tuesday

Graveside service for Nina (Mosley) Cauthen 

Poteau Evening Lions Club meets 6 p.m. CASC

Wednesday

Poteau Rotary Club meets noon EOMC

Thursday

Poteau Kiwanis Club meets noon EOMC

Heavener VFW bingo 6 p.m.

Monday

LeFlore County commissioners meet 9 a.m.

Aven Alvin Easton memorial

Aven Alvin Easton, 69, of Poteau, passed away June 5, 2026.

A graveside service is at 1 p.m. Friday at Oakland Cemetery in Poteau, with Jeff Dodd officiating. Burial will follow, under the direction of Evans & Miller Funeral Home of Poteau.

Survivors include his wife, Donna Easton; his daughter, Shylah Ridgway, and husband Chad; his sons Aven Brent Easton, Justin Easton and wife Seana, and Riley Easton; his grandchild, Kedrick Ridgway, and girlfriend Chelsea Salinas; a soon-to-be great-granddaughter, Kymbri Ridgway; an honorary granddaughter, Charlie Rose; his sisters Arlene LeMaster and Carol Baker; his sisters-in-law Sharon Easton, Loretta Hamil, Catherine Altamira and Renee Stout; and numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives and loved ones.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Alvin and Mildred Easton; his brother, Harlon Easton; and his brothers-in-law Jerry Baker and Leon LeMaster.

Honorary pallbearers are Josh Jennings, Joel Williams and Charles Metcalf.

Viewing and visitation are from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home.

Online condolences may be left for the family at www.evansandmillerfuneralhome.com.

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