Wind group requests eagle kill permit
Wind Capital Group, which is poised to start building a 94-turbine generation facility near Burbank and Shidler, has applied for a federal permit allowing it to kill bald eagles without facing prosecution for the deaths incidental to the operation of the wind farm. Although Oklahoma has several wind farms, the Osage County project, Osage Wind [...]
County road sets the stage for modern range war
The first of two hearings on requests to vacate county roads that oil producers want kept open to access drilling sites drew a crowd on Monday and took on the hue of a modern-day – and unarmed – range war. In February, less than a week after oil company BGI Resources asked permission and received [...]
Assistant chief: rape suspect is a ‘big teddy bear’
The assistant chief of the Osage Nation testified at a bond reduction hearing for a man charged in a brutal rape and kidnapping is “a big teddy bear” who has never been known to be a danger to anyone. Assistant Chief Scott BigHorse made his statements May 7 at a bond reduction hearing for Christopher [...]
Community responds to tornado disaster
She couldn’t get a hold of her sister, who lives with her husband and sons in Moore, after the tornado. Terri Buffalohead, the director of Head Start in Skiatook, posted on Facebook after the storm: “Asking for prayers for my sister Pam and her family. They live in Moore, Ok and they got hit bad. [...]
Never a dull moment in race weekend
Look at those wagons go! This was the common refrain at this weekend’s wagon racing event in Skiatook as wagons and teams of mules careened around the track for first place. Some may think wagon racing is a crazy sport, and they may be right. Tales of flipped wagons, running over outriders, tripped horses and [...]
Designer talks inspirations, lifestyle
He’s an Oklahoma native with big dreams and bigger ambition. Devon Gaines, the energetic 21-year-old entrepreneur who runs Townmaker Square, and interior designer to boot, is making plans to leave Oklahoma, but hopefully not forever. Gaines said he plans to open an interior design business in Dallas or New Orleans. “It’s still very up in [...]
Gun thief has no time
A man who was linked to a Hominy gun theft by DNA from spittle on a photo frame in 2010 pleaded guilty last week and received a 10-year suspended sentence as part of the plea deal but will serve 10 weekends in the Osage County Jail. Ronald Keith Gilley, 48, pleaded to the second-degree burglary [...]
Barnsdall state champs visit Capitol
The Barnsdall Panthers softball team, sponsored by state Rep. Sean Roberts and state Sen. Eddie Fields, were honored by the Oklahoma Legislature for their accomplishments this school year. The Panthers were undefeated in both district and regional play of slow-pitch softball and emerged victorious as the 2013 State Class 2A Champions. Photo submitted
Tribute band brings icon back to life
Country music’s greatest legend Hank Williams Sr. will come to life on the Historic Constantine stage as the band Hankerin’4 Hank performs on Saturday, June 1 at 7:00 p.m. Advance $10.00 tickets are on sell now and can be purchased at the Constantine Box Office Tuesday thru Friday noon to 5:00 p.m. or on line [...]
A cowboy to the end
John Tallchief was a lot of things: A World War II veteran twice injured in action, an Osage who served on the Tribal Council for 24 years, a father, a grandfather and a mentor for many in his hometown of Fairfax. But most of all, he was a cowboy and a steer roper who began [...]
Lawsuits pile up against former music minister
The number of people accusing a former Barnsdall music minister who also worked as a financial advisor of defrauding them is growing, with the latest accusations leveled by several Osage County businessmen. One couple in the burgeoning number of people who claim they were duped lost $343,500 to Dearman, and Bartlesville Realtor Marya Gray, the [...]
Former BIA regional director under investigation
Jeanette Hanna, the former regional director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs who oversaw the Osage Agency, is the target of a scathing report by the Department of Interior’s Inspector General that depicts the BIA as rewarding an employee who was under investigation. Hanna, who has been the subject of numerous complaints in eastern Oklahoma, [...]
Board cuts vice principal position, hears from mother about lost child
The Pawhuska School Board of Education voted, after much discussion, against rehiring Vice Principal Joel Witcher for the 2013-14 school year. Superintendent Landon Berry said they decided to cut the vice principal position for financial reasons. “Our [weighted] enrollment is down almost 78 kids,” Berry said. “And with the sequester, our federal funding is down [...]
Osage County Treasurer to retire
The Osage County Treasurer’s office is in for some changes. Treasurer Joyce Hathcoat announced her retirement, effective June 30, at Monday’s County Commissioners’ meeting. “My husband is fixing to retire, and I’ve been here for 30 years and I feel like it’s time for me to move on,” she said. Hathcoat was elected to County [...]
Run for the Health of it
The Osage Nation hosted a 5K run and Littlest Amazing Race during their ‘Run for the Health of it’ event in Pawhuska Saturday morning. The 5K started off at 8 a.m. followed by the Littlest Amazing Race. The even also had food, a dunk tank, music, climbing wall and bounce castle Cultural Park behind the [...]
Pawhuska Native crowned Miss Indian NEO
Robynn Rulo, a Pawhuska native and sophomore at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (NEO) was crowned 2013 Miss Indian Oklahoma after winning Miss Indian NEO. “I am so pleased with the way Robynn Rulo has represented Northeastern A&M College and the American Indian Center for Excellence as Miss Indian NEO,” said Claudia Little Axe, AICE cultural [...]
Wynona Seniors 2013
Senior Class Facts Valedictorian: Kailey Jo Parker Salutatorian: Jo Lilette Johnson Song: “You’re Gonna Miss This” by Trace Adkins Colors: Turqoise and Black Flower: Dandelion Sponsor: Lorrie Reeves
Graduations
These are some of our favorite photos from the Barnsdall kindergarten and high school and Hominy high school graduations! By Rachel Anne Seymour
Meet the Intern: Sally Asher
My name is Sally, and I promise I work for the Bigheart Times. I am the summer intern here at the paper, so you get to see my face around town for the next couple of months. Some of you have already seen me and have probably wondered who I am and why I’m saying [...]
School van kills 11 bison
At 11:20 p.m. Wednesday, workers at Ted Turner’s Bluestem Ranch had their hands full. One of the bison ranch’s fences had been breached, and about 100 yearling buffalo had streamed out in force and onto U.S. 60 about seven miles west of Pawhuska. According to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Bluestem ranch manager John Hurd called [...]
Calling in the Calvary: No longer trapped
Spending almost 30 years on her feet as a Pawhuska nurse finally took its toll on L.J. Collier. The steep stairs at her home were more like a locked gate than a pathway. “She bought a house with stairs that were almost keeping her trapped in the house,” her son Jake Collier said. “We knew [...]
Cops work unusual burlargies
Some unusual burglaries have been reported in Osage County in the past week, including the heist of a hefty gun safe containing an as-yet undetermined number of weapons and commercial burglaries in which the thieves took nothing. The gun theft occurred east of Barnsdall on State Highway 11 and was reported by a caretaker at [...]
Barnsdall hires a keeper for chief
Barnsdall, which suffered various public police embarrassments over the past several years, hired a new chief Tuesday that others in the legal community says is a real keeper: John Ferguson, a man with 31 years of law enforcement experience who is retiring as an investigator for the Osage County Sheriff’s Office. The City Council voted [...]
