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Data Source: Oklahoma Tax Commission. Mike W. Ray and Bryan M. Richter/Ledger Chart

Data Source: Oklahoma Tax Commission. Mike W. Ray and Bryan M. Richter/Ledger Chart

Top 5 cannabis sales days of 2021

Mike W. Ray Staff Writer
Thursday, January 13, 2022
OKLAHOMA CITY — The counterculture cannabis consumption “holiday” reportedly was the largest cannabis sales day ever last year. April 20, or 420, is known as “Weed Day” in some circles because the date corresponds with a numerical code for marijuana. Its genesis remains a mystery.
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Lawton police officers fired following 2021 shooting

Eric Swanson
Thursday, January 13, 2022
LAWTON – Two Lawton Police Department officers who were involved in a Dec. 5, 2021, shooting have lost their jobs. Officers Nathan Ronan and Robert Hinkle were terminated following an internal investigation, City Manager Michael Cleghorn’s office said Friday in a news release. On Dec.
From left, Municipal Judge Nathan Johnson swears in Ward 2 Councilmember Kelly Harris, Ward 1 Councilmember Mary Ann Hankins and Mayor Stan Booker. Hankins and Booker were sworn in for their second terms, while Harris was sworn in for his first term. Kaley Patterson Dorsey/City of Lawton

From left, Municipal Judge Nathan Johnson swears in Ward 2 Councilmember Kelly Harris, Ward 1 Councilmember Mary Ann Hankins and Mayor Stan Booker. Hankins and Booker were sworn in for their second terms, while Harris was sworn in for his first term. Kaley Patterson Dorsey/City of Lawton

Lawton council welcomes Harris, swears in Booker, Hankins for second terms

Eric Swanson
Thursday, January 13, 2022
LAWTON — Lawton City Council said goodbye Monday to an outgoing councilman and welcomed his replacement. The council hosted a swearing-in ceremony for Mayor Stan Booker, returning Councilwoman Mary Ann Hankins and incoming Councilman Kelly Harris in the City Hall Auditorium.
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High court: McGirt can’t be applied retroactively

Mike W. Ray Staff Writer
Thursday, January 13, 2022
OKLAHOMA CITY — The U.S. Supreme Court, providing some clarity to a controversial decision it issued a year and a half ago, upheld the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals’ opinion that the landmark McGirt ruling will not be applied retroactively to criminal convictions.
Data Source: Oklahoma Tax Commission. Mike W. Ray and Bryan M. Richter/Ledger Chart

Data Source: Oklahoma Tax Commission. Mike W. Ray and Bryan M. Richter/Ledger Chart

Oklahomans spent nearly $1B on Rx marijuana in ’21

Mike W. Ray Staff Writer
Thursday, January 13, 2022
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahomans spent nearly a billion dollars on medical marijuana products last year, Oklahoma Tax Commission ledgers show. Although MMJ tax receipts in November ($4.82 million) and December ($4.
Lawton Councilman Jay Burk

Lawton Councilman Jay Burk

Lawton councilman arrested Saturday

News Staff
Saturday, January 8, 2022
Lawton City Councilman Jay Burk was behind bars Saturday at the Comanche County Detention Center after an encounter with Lawton police resulted in his arrest.
One of the abandoned mine land reclamation projects completed by a contractor hired by the Oklahoma Conservation Commission was a project near Foyil, in Rogers County. The surface coal mine was operational in the 1950s and abandoned before 1960, records show. The site had 1,560 linear feet of dangerous highwalls piled to heights of 38 to 48 feet, plus a water-filled pit of nearly one acre. Photos courtesy Oklahoma Conservation Commission

One of the abandoned mine land reclamation projects completed by a contractor hired by the Oklahoma Conservation Commission was a project near Foyil, in Rogers County. The surface coal mine was operational in the 1950s and abandoned before 1960, records show. The site had 1,560 linear feet of dangerous highwalls piled to heights of 38 to 48 feet, plus a water-filled pit of nearly one acre. Photos courtesy Oklahoma Conservation Commission

Feds strip Oklahoma of control over coal mining, abandoned land reclamation in ‘Indian Country’

Mike W. Ray Staff Writer
Friday, January 7, 2022
OKLAHOMA CITY — The federal government has stripped the State of Oklahoma of its regulatory authority over coal mining and abandoned mine reclamation operations throughout “Indian Country” in eastern Oklahoma.
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