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LEDGER PHOTO BY MIKE W. RAY This abandoned well site northeast of Velma, off County Line Road, was once a pump station; crude oil was pumped from here into a pipeline or a battery of tanks somewhere. The site was approximately 90 years old. Inspecting the site in July 2019 were, from left, Roger Walkup, project leader, and Rodney Troglin, project manager, both with Beacon Environmental; and Steve Sowers, environmental director with the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board.

LEDGER PHOTO BY MIKE W. RAY This abandoned well site northeast of Velma, off County Line Road, was once a pump station; crude oil was pumped from here into a pipeline or a battery of tanks somewhere. The site was approximately 90 years old. Inspecting the site in July 2019 were, from left, Roger Walkup, project leader, and Rodney Troglin, project manager, both with Beacon Environmental; and Steve Sowers, environmental director with the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board.

States, feds concerned about idle oil, gas wells

Mike W. Ray Staff Writer
Thursday, July 8, 2021
OKLAHOMA CITY – In energy-producing states such as Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and North Dakota, a major concern is plugging oil and natural gas wells that are no longer productive and the responsible operator went bankrupt or cannot be found. The number of idled oil/gas wells in the U.S.
The political poll in Oklahoma is in...

The political poll in Oklahoma is in...

Poll: Stitt most popular elected official in state

Tim Farley
Thursday, July 8, 2021
OKLAHOMA CITY – It’s unlikely any other presidential face will join George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt atop Mount Rushmore, but if there were Oklahomans would prefer Ronald Reagan or Donald Trump.
LEDGER PHOTO BY CURTIS AWBREY Outside the Grady County Courthouse in Chickasha.

LEDGER PHOTO BY CURTIS AWBREY Outside the Grady County Courthouse in Chickasha.

Flooding shuts down Grady Co. Courthouse

Mike W. Ray Staff Writer
Thursday, July 8, 2021
CHICKASHA – The Grady County Courthouse remained closed Wednesday for a tenth consecutive day because of heavy rainfall late last month that flooded the basement. The building “will be closed until further notice, due to flooding issues,” a voicemail recording informs callers.
MEDICAL MARIJUANA TAX RECEIPTS IN SW OKLAHOMA

MEDICAL MARIJUANA TAX RECEIPTS IN SW OKLAHOMA

Medical marijuana sales in Okla. top $1.6B

Mike W. Ray Staff Writer
Thursday, July 8, 2021
OKLAHOMA CITY – Residents of the conservative, “red” state of Oklahoma – the state that has one of the highest, if not the highest, rates of incarceration of men and women alike – have spent $1.6 billion on medical marijuana since voters legalized it in 2018.
Recyclable materials in a cardboard box

Recyclable materials in a cardboard box

Recycler offers service in Lawton

Mike W. Ray Staff Writer
Thursday, July 1, 2021
LAWTON – A recycling company active in a dozen states is poised to provide service in Lawton. The City Council approved a recycling services agreement with Recyclops at the June 22 council meeting.
School grant chart

School grant chart

181 districts receive grants for School Counselor Corps

Staff Reports
Thursday, July 1, 2021
OKLAHOMA CITY – To help Oklahoma schools meet the needs of children in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Oklahoma State Department of Education is awarding grants to 181 school districts across the state – including a dozen in southwest Oklahoma – to hire school counselors and school-based...
Hands coming through jail bars

Hands coming through jail bars

Appeals court upholds revoked prison sentence

Mike W. Ray Staff Writer
Thursday, July 1, 2021
OKLAHOMA CITY – An appellate court recently affirmed a jurist’s revocation of a previously suspended 20-year prison sentence for a southwest Oklahoma woman who has admitted guilt in seven felony crimes in four counties over the past 15 years.
COURTESY OKLAHOMA BLOOD INSTITUTE During Oklahoma Blood Institute’s Spring Fling open house, Dr. Richard Boatsman, OBI co-founder and chairman of the board of directors, visits with staff and supporters of OBI’s mission. From left are Richard Allen, Terry Bell Charitable Trust; Christi Chambers, executive director of OBI’s Southwestern Oklahoma and Texoma region; and Dr. Boatsman.

COURTESY OKLAHOMA BLOOD INSTITUTE During Oklahoma Blood Institute’s Spring Fling open house, Dr. Richard Boatsman, OBI co-founder and chairman of the board of directors, visits with staff and supporters of OBI’s mission. From left are Richard Allen, Terry Bell Charitable Trust; Christi Chambers, executive director of OBI’s Southwestern Oklahoma and Texoma region; and Dr. Boatsman.

Boatsman recalls his 40-year medical career in Southwest Oklahoma

Curtis Awbrey – Editor
Thursday, July 1, 2021
Whether wrestling a “semi-tame” mountain lion in Mexico, making an emergency landing at an airport in Memphis, Tenn., or scuba diving within an arm’s length from a lamprey eel in the Caribbean, Dr. Richard Boatsman has quite a few personal stories to share.
LEDGER PHOTO BY CURTIS AWBREY

LEDGER PHOTO BY CURTIS AWBREY

It depends on how you define ‘shortage’

News Staff
Thursday, July 1, 2021
Cache Road Liquor and Wines in Lawton had supplies of beer Wednesday, just not as much as usual. The mid-week stock of domestic beer should have been almost double what’s seen here, according to one of the store’s sales associates.
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