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Editor's Picks

Wednesday, April 8, 2026 - 6:40am

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of a Native American woman, leaving in place an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that narrows how the court’s landmark decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma applies in civil matters, particularly state taxation of tribal citizens.

Wednesday, April 8, 2026 - 6:40am

Seminole County is no longer under a burn ban, thanks to recent storms that delivered heavy rainfall— plus a tornado—to the area late last week.

News

Apr 8, 2026 - 06:40

Water Bags

Members of Tinker Federal Credit Union (TFCU) elected two volunteers by acclamation at the credit union’s Annual Shareholders’ Meeting held virtually and in person on March 31.

It once attracted crowds of overnight campers, furious remarks, adoring praise, a middle finger and even an arrest.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of a Native American woman, leaving in place an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that narrows how the court’s landmark decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma applies in civil matters, particularly state taxation of tribal citizens.

Sports

SSC - The Seminole State softball and baseball programs are being recognized this week in the NJCAA DI National rankings.

The Little River Conference Softball Tournament started Monday afternoon at the Firelake Ballfields.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Michigan put an exclamation point on a historic season in Monday’s national championship game, defeating UConn 69-63. Cadeau was named Most Outstanding Player after finishing with 19 points.

Sports remain a popular extracurricular activity among modern students. Nearly six million students in the United States participated in high school sports during the 2021-2022 school year, according to an analysis of National Federation of State High School Associations data. In 2024, approximately 540,000 student- athletes participated in National Collegiate Athletic Association sports across the United States. More than 14,000 Canadian students participate in the U Sports system, which is the national governing body for university sport, and additionally around 3,160 Canadians participate in the NCAA, including in Division I sports.

Opinions

DEAR ABBY: A longtime friend recently accused me of lying about my education, and I’m still stunned by it. I completed my undergraduate studies in the U.S., earning a BA, and later earned a master’s degree from a French university. Recently, during an exchange on Facebook, my friend asserted, quite confidently, that I was lying about my academic history. When I corrected her, she doubled down and said that because of this, she wanted to cease contact with me. While this is upsetting given that the accusation is false -- I did finish college, and I do have a graduate degree -- I am less distraught by her ignorance than by the certainty with which she accused me and the implication that I’m dishonest. I’ve always been straightforward about my background, and I find it unsettling to have my integrity questioned by someone who has known me well for 30 years. My dilemma is this: Do I owe my friend proof or an explanation beyond what I’ve already said? Or is it reasonable to refuse to defend facts that are true? It seems crazy to lose a friendship of 30 years over something I consider to be so trifling and, quite frankly, stupid. And yet, I’m not sure I even want to be friends with someone who would treat me so callously. What should I do? -- WRONGLY ACCUSED IN NEW YORK DEAR WRONGLY ACCUSED: I am having trouble understanding why you would want to interact with the woman at all after this. (I know I would create some distance.) That said, you deserve to defend yourself from the unjust accusation. If you have access to the documents, photograph them with your phone and share them with her. Then ask where she got the idea that you hadn’t earned your degrees and why you would lie to her or anyone about it.

DEAR ABBY: I spent the morning at a close friend’s home. She is in her early 80s and starting to show some mental decline and memory problems. Her children are in their 30s and still live at home. Her husband is also in his 80s. While there, I noticed how, at every opportunity, the kids or husband would make some “innocent” remark about her hearing or mental alertness. It didn’t take long for me to notice how these remarks went from harmless teasing to mean-spirited. I could see by my friend’s expression that some of their remarks had hit the mark and hurt her feelings. She either played along with it or pretended she didn’t hear it. I made an early exit and proceeded to my next stop, where, to my dismay, the scene repeated itself with my own sister (also in her early 80s) as the target. Her daughter and husband were relentless with their teasing about her hearing, sight, word searching whatever they could find to demean her (no, this is not new). But after the way I saw my friend being abused, I had to get out of there. I am ashamed for not speaking up at the time. Abby, what should I have done then and in the future? -- LOUSY FRIEND AND SISTER DEAR ‘LOUSY’: When it happens in the future (and it will), feel free to speak up. Consider telling those “witty” individuals that their comments are not funny; they are hurtful. If they really believe what they are saying is true, their relative should be evaluated by a neurologist, an ophthalmologist or an audiologist to see what deficits can be remediated.

Apr 4, 2026 - 06:28

Coffeetime

When questioned by a dying patient about his religious beliefs, physician Francia Collins stammered out the words “I’m not sure.” Collins, who in the moment was unable to provide a coherent response, said that the exchange with his patient “haunted” him for several days. “I was confident,” Collins recalled, “that a full investigation of the rational basis for faith would deny the merits of belief, and affirm my atheism.” With that goal in mind, he set out to indirectly prove atheism true by disproving God. In the end, the exact opposite happened. Francis Collins eventually converted to Christianity because of the rational basis for the faith, along with an indescribable impression left by an overwhelming religious experience. Very well and good for his conversion, certainly! However, my interest here lies in his initial defensive attempt to “reaffirm” his atheism. Claims of truth are either positive claims or they are negative claims. A negative assertion of a truth claim is quite interesting and is based upon the adage: “You can’t prove something doesn’t exist just because you haven’t found it.” Now, since atheism makes the negative claim that God does not exist, and since the burden of proof falls on the person making the claim, the atheist must prove the negative claim that atheism is true and that God indeed does not exist. The premise of atheism is quite interesting because it is not a belief in something, but rather a belief in that something’s polar opposite: disbelief. In the case of atheism, it is the belief that there is nothing rather than something, namely God. Since there are only two options—either belief in God, or belief in nothing, then atheism is, in fact, belief in nothing, or rather a belief in something that does not exist, which is impossible. For example, if I wanted to prove the existence of horses, all that is required is for me to observe the existence of one horse and have that evidence corroborated by other witnesses.

Obituaries

Apr 8, 2026 - 06:40

Doolen Gwendylynne Ann (Krcha) “Gwen” Doolen, age 76 and former resident of Konawa, Oklahoma passed away April 6, 2026 at McLoud Nursing Center, in McLoud, Oklahoma.

Apr 8, 2026 - 06:40

Harris Seminole, OK resident Russell Dean Harris passed away onThursday, April 2, 2026 at his home at the age of 70. Russell was born on July 11, 1955 in Oklahoma City, OK to Patrick Horace Harris Sr. and Retha Aldean (Phillips) Harris. He grew up in Midwest City and moved to Seminole in 1975. He was a 1973 graduate of Star Spencer High School and attended Seminole State College. Russell enjoyed fishing, hunting and watching old movies.

Apr 7, 2026 - 05:27

Patterson Marvin Lee Patterson, age 84 and a former resident of Konawa, Oklahoma passed away April 3, 2026 at Oklahoma City Veterans Center.

Apr 3, 2026 - 05:15

Harjo The Lord gave Wany Harjo her first breath on May 10, 1951, to Reverand John and Nora Tebe in Wewoka. She gave the Lord her last breath and entered eternal rest on April 1st, 2026, at the age of 74.