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Good morning, Earthlings! Hope all of you have a great Friday and your hairdo doesn’t get ruined by the rain this morning. That is a great concern of mine, so I am inside, where it is dry. Please subscribe below. It is a free newsletter and I will not spam you, just bring you news, sports and more from LeFlore County, Oklahoma and even Arkansas. If you have already subscribed, thank you, and please share our newsletter with others.

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

Colossians 3:2

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Heavener and LeFlore County are heading into a prolonged heat wave with temperatures climbing toward the upper 90s by early next week and virtually no rain in the forecast.

Today brings partly cloudy skies and highs near 89 degrees with only a 10 percent chance of rain — the last meaningful rain chance in the forecast. Winds are gusty out of the south at around 12 mph.

The heat builds steadily from there with no relief in sight. Saturday reaches the low 90s under sunny skies, Sunday approaches 95, and by Monday and Tuesday highs could reach 97 degrees with clear conditions and no precipitation expected.

Residents should take the heat seriously. Stay hydrated, avoid prolonged outdoor activity during peak afternoon hours between noon and 6 p.m., and check on elderly neighbors and family members. Pets should have plenty of water and shade.

For the latest weather alerts affecting LeFlore County, visit Heavener.news.

By Barbara Hoberock

Oklahoma Voice

OKLAHOMA CITY – Christopher Burney fondly remembers a childhood with large July 4 cookouts and fireworks displays that went into the early morning hours.

The self described “fireworks enthusiast” from Okmulgee was the instigator for Senate Bill 1948 that allows retailers to sell fireworks year-round and allows the sale of bottle rockets for the first time since 1981.

The measure, dubbed the Rocket’s Red Glare Act, passed both chambers and became effective in May with Gov. Kevin Stitt’s signature.

Burney, an IT security analyst, said the firework displays in his family had gotten smaller, but after the birth of his niece and nephew, Burney wanted to bring the celebration back to its full glory. 

He began researching state laws governing fireworks and found restrictions he felt were out of date.

While people could use fireworks year round in Oklahoma, they could only be sold during specified periods, even though residents could purchase them in other states, he said.

The law removes the restriction that only permitted retail sales from June 15 through July 6 and from Dec. 15 through Jan. 2.

“We’re sending Oklahomans to other states to buy fireworks that are legally able to be shot,” said Rep. Scott Fetgatter, R-Okmulgee, the House author. “It doesn’t make sense to make Oklahoma businesses be shut down when I can just drive across the state line and buy the fireworks, come back and shoot them.”

The new law also removes the prohibition on the sale and use of bottle rockets, which had been in place since July 5, 1981. The skyrockets, which come on a wooden stick, shoot dozens of feet into the air.

“When you look at the scale of fireworks today, I mean, a bottle rocket is no more dangerous than anything else out there that they make that goes up,” Fetgatter said. “They were really popular and so we just repealed that ban on bottle rockets.”

Anything that flies up in the air and it’s on a stick is essentially classified as a bottle rocket, said Abe Burrell, manager of Missile Fireworks in Edmond. 

State Fire Marshal Keith Bryant said the law does not preempt local ordinances which restrict or ban fireworks use within city limits.

“In any city or town that they are currently prohibited, they continue to be prohibited,” Bryant said.

The new law also only applies to fireworks purchased by consumers, not commercial or professional displays, which remain subject to separate permitting, licensing and safety requirements, according to Bryant’s office.

The City of Edmond has banned fireworks since the early 1900s, said Jesse Benne, Edmond Fire Department chief of prevention. Violators are subject to a fine not to exceed $200, he said.

The new law does not change that.

“Anything you would light on fire would be consumer-grade fireworks,” Benne said.

The law though limits the ability of counties to prohibit private displays on private property outside of city or town limits.

Fireworks can be banned if a county burn ban or Red Flag Fire Warning is in effect.

Burney, the Okmulgee resident, said fireworks are safer now than they were when he was a child. He said he did not advocate for the legalization of bottle rockets. Those were added during the legislative process.

“Bottle rockets were something I had when I was a child, and we had so much fun with bottle rockets, because they were inexpensive,” Burney said.

He could convert $5 into two hours of entertainment, he said.

This year, he’s planning a large, private July 4 party with family and friends. Burney said he’s spent a couple thousand dollars on fireworks for about a 20-minute show.

“I want my niece and nephew to have that same wonder of fire in the sky that I had when I was a kid,” he said. 

Johnson Named National Coach of the Year 

NORMAN — University of Oklahoma head baseball coach Skip Johnson was named the 2026 National Coach of the Year after leading the Sooners to the 2026 NCAA National Championship, the American Baseball Coaches Association announced Wednesday. 

Johnson, who was also named the ABCA Central Region Coach of the Year, guided Oklahoma to the program's third national title with a 13-2 win over North Carolina Monday night. This is Johnson's first national coach of the year award. He was also named the Central Region Coach of the Year in 2022 after leading the Sooners to a runner-up finish at the College World Series. 

Oklahoma's incredible run to the 2026 national title included wins in the Atlanta Regional over No. 2 Georgia Tech (2-1), the Lawrence Super Regional over No. 15 Kansas (2-0), and College World Series victories over No. 7 Alabama (1-0), No. 3 Georgia (2-0) and No. 5 North Carolina (2-1). OU's nine wins over national seeds are the most by a team since seeding began in 1999. Georgia Tech (ACC), Kansas (Big 12) and Georgia (SEC) won their respective conference regular season and tournament titles. 

The Sooners completed the season with a 43-23 record, including an 11-2 mark in the postseason and a 5-1 record in the College World Series. OU earned a regional No. 2 seed and was unseeded nationally in the NCAA Tournament. 

In Johnson's ninth season as Oklahoma head coach, the Sooners reached the program's 12th College World Series and second in his tenure. OU has reached the NCAA postseason in five straight seasons and six of eight years (not counting the 2020 season that was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic). 

Under Johnson's leadership, Oklahoma is 28-14 (.667) in the NCAA Tournament and 8-3 (.727) in the College World Series. 

After going 4-9 in its final 13 games over the five weeks before Selection Monday, the Sooners won 11 of their 13 NCAA Tournament contests. Oklahoma won its first seven games of the season, and 17 of its first 20 (including a series win over eventual regional host Texas A&M and wins over NCAA Tournament teams Oklahoma State and Arizona State and then-No. 10 TCU). OU then went 14-16 in SEC play, losing four straight conference series and finishing 11th in the league standings, and lost in the opening round of the SEC Tournament. 

Oklahoma battled through the Atlanta Regional, rebounding from a 9-3 loss to Georgia Tech in the winner's bracket game to record nine straight victories. The Sooners defeated The Citadel 15-5, overcame an 8-2 deficit to defeat Georgia Tech 15-8 and won the regional final over Georgia Tech on a 10th-inning walk-off home run by Dayton Tockey. OU then tore through the Lawrence Super Regional, defeating Kansas by scores of 8-1 and 13-2, before beating Alabama 9-0 and Georgia 4-3 and 11-4 in Omaha to reach the CWS Championship Series. 

The Sooners stayed hot in the first game of the CWS finals by beating North Carolina 9-3 on Saturday. The Tar Heels forced the decisive third game with a 6-2 win on Sunday afternoon. In the national championship game, OU scored in five straight innings after a scoreless first to break open a 9-1 lead en route to the 13-2 championship victory.

 Since trailing 8-2 in the middle of the fourth inning of the first Atlanta Regional final game at Georgia Tech, OU outscored opponents 90-28. 

Oklahoma became the first program in CWS history to reach the championship round (and win the national title) by starting a freshman on the mound in every game. One of Cord Rager, Xander Mercurius and Nick Wesloski started each of OU's final eight games of the season. The trio combined to record 37 strikeouts in 31.1 innings over six starts in Omaha. The Sooners posted a 4.91 ERA for the season, but a 3.31 ERA in the NCAA Tournament and a 2.67 ERA in the College World Series. 

The Oklahoma bats also caught fire in the postseason, registering 47 home runs in their final 19 games of the season after hitting 48 homers in the first 46 contests. OU, which posted a .291 team batting average and averaged 7.1 runs and 9.6 hits per game for the full season, batted .331 and averaged 9.1 runs and 12.0 hits in the NCAA Tournament. Its 134 stolen bases were the sixth most in program history and most since 2022 (145 steals). 

Johnson recorded his 300th win as OU head coach this season and is 310-198 (.610) in his nine seasons. His teams have three seasons with at least 40 victories and have averaged 39.6 wins over the last five years.

By Craig Hall
Hall about it

I want to thank everyone who responded to my column about the back pain I have been dealing with.

More people offered suggestions, comments and advice than I expected, and I appreciate every one of you. I really try not to whine too often — I don't drink or like cheese, and most people have enough going on in their own lives without worrying about mine.

Trish the wife does a pretty good job keeping me going, to be honest, but let's not let her know that.

I do have some good news. I actually got to talk to a real person at my neurosurgeon's office in Tulsa and have an appointment set for the afternoon of July 7. I am hoping the surgery gets on the fast track so I can return to work.

I do not typically want surgery, but I would like to walk and do the other things I used to do without being in constant pain. That seems like a reasonable goal.

There is one silver lining in all of this — I have managed my diabetes better than ever. The day before my first visit to the neurosurgeon, I had my every-three-month A1C test. Given that I had not been as active as usual, I expected it to be bad. It was. An 8.6.

I had to get that number down to at least 7.5 before surgery would be approved. I did some research and was told it would take three months. Wrong. I cut out all sweets, stuck to two meals a day and had a snack only when necessary.

I woke up to low sugar alarms frequently, courtesy of my Dexcom, which sometimes reads my blood sugar accurately and sometimes has its own ideas about what is going on.

When I went back for another A1C test last week, I knew it would be better — I was expecting something around 8.0. Nope. It came back at 6.8, probably a record low for the Craigman. My pancreas thanks me. And I got clearance to move forward with the operation.

Again, I am not a fan of someone cutting into my back, but this is supposed to be a simple outpatient procedure where I actually get to go home the same day. There will be a recovery process, but the idea of being able to go somewhere and stand or walk without pain will be a big deal. I rarely leave the house as it is, and when I do, it is only for necessities — or I bring my walker, which greatly eases the pain and remains the best $40 I have ever spent.

To my favorite Martin — thank you for reaching out, offering to mow the yard and checking to see if I needed anything. You are one cool dude, as always.

Thanks again to all of you. Hopefully things are on the upswing.

Here's what's happening in LeFlore County today including the Chamber golf tournament and more.

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Friday

Poteau Chamber golf tournament

Funeral services for Rose Mary Jeffery

Funeral services for Patricia Ann Ogden

Elizabeth Ann Prall funeral service

See the upcoming calendar

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June 26 is a date packed with American milestones, global diplomacy, literary history and a landmark Supreme Court decision. Here's a look at what happened on this date throughout history.

On this date in history

In 1541, Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of the Inca Empire and founder of Lima, Peru, was assassinated at his palace by rival Spanish factions — a victim of the very ruthless political climate he had helped create.

In 1844, President John Tyler married 21-year-old Julia Gardiner, making her the youngest first lady in American history at the time. Tyler was 54 and a widower. It remains one of the most notable age-gap marriages in presidential history.

In 1945, delegates from 50 nations signed the United Nations Charter in San Francisco, establishing the world body with the goal of preventing another world war. The charter officially took effect on Oct. 24, 1945.

In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act, authorizing more than $30 billion for the construction of 41,000 miles of interstate highways — the largest public works project in American history at the time. The interstate system we drive today was born on this date.

In 1963, President John F. Kennedy delivered his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech before a massive crowd at the Berlin Wall, pledging American solidarity with the people of West Berlin during the height of the Cold War.

In 1976, the CN Tower in Toronto officially opened to the public. Standing 1,815 feet tall, it was the world's tallest freestanding structure until surpassed by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2007.

In 1997, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was published in the United Kingdom, quietly launching one of the most successful literary franchises in history. The book had been rejected by 12 publishers before finally finding a home.

In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex marriage cannot be banned in the United States, requiring all states to recognize same-sex marriages nationwide.

Notable births

Notable deaths

Graveside services for Doris Ann Yeats Goins, 91, of Tulsa, are 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 30, at Vaughn Cemetery in Gilmore under the direction of Evans & Miller Funeral Home of Poteau, where she will be laid to rest beside her husband and son.

Goins was born July 21, 1934, in Panama to Jefferson "Jeff" Hillary Yeats and Geneva (McCalip) Yeats.

She is survived by her companion, Donnie Cozort of Tulsa; niece-in-law Lynessa Yeats of Tulsa; and cousins and extended family in Oklahoma and California.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Verlan Leon "Dutch" Goins, who died March 4, 2011, after 54 years of marriage; her son, Gaylen Keith Goins, who died May 17, 2019; her brother, Ollie Gene Yeats; and her parents.

Online condolences may be made at evansandmillerfuneralhome.com.

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