🎇 Happy 4th of July! (Plus a very special family birthday)

Good morning, LeFlore County!

Happy Independence Day! As we fire up the grills, head out to the lakes, and gather with family and friends to celebrate the birth of the United States, I want to wish everyone across the area a wonderful, happy, and safe holiday weekend.

We also have a double celebration in our household today. July 4th isn't just America's birthday—it is also a very special Happy Birthday to my wonderful wife, Trish! If you see her out and about today, be sure to wish her a great day.

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Here is your local news, weather, and community update for this Saturday, July 4, 2026:

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.

Galatians 5:13

A Heat Advisory is in effect from noon to 8 p.m. today for Independence Day, with heat index values expected to climb as high as 107 degrees across areas along and north of I-40 in eastern Oklahoma, which includes LeFlore County.

Heat advisory in effect today

By Gary McManus, OCS Mesonet

June's severe weather story wasn't about tornadoes. It was about straight-line winds.

A powerful derecho and several other intense storm systems combined to produce six of the Oklahoma Mesonet's top 50 all-time wind gusts in a single month — the most of any month since the network began in January 1994. Three of those gusts topped 100 mph.

University of Oklahoma Vice President and Director of Athletics Roger Denny and OU Head Football Coach Brent Venables announced that OU's 2026 season-opening football game against UTEP in Norman has been moved to Sept. 4, one day earlier than originally scheduled.

See Sooners to open on Friday.

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

Event submission form

Saturday

Happy 4th of July

LeFlore County Historical Society bingo party

Freedom House Fellowship fourth of July fish fry 6 p.m.

Independence Day celebration downtown Poteau

Monday

LeFlore County commissioners meet 9 a.m.

Poteau city meetings 5:30 p.m.

Tuesday

Nelson William Feliciano memorial service

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.

Friday

Shore Invitational Tournament at Choctaw Country Club

See the upcoming 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.

See the July calendar

There is no more iconic date on the American calendar than July 4. While it is universally recognized as the birthday of the United States, this date has also borne witness to monumental historical coincidences, deep regional milestones, and the passings of the nation's absolute architectural and political giants.

Independence Day history

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