Comanche County commissioners continue to wrestle with Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget

LAWTON - Comanche County commissioners discussed several options last Tuesday for closing a budget gap, but opted to ‘kick the can down the road’ for a few more days while they weigh the proposals.The Comanche County Detention Center — the county jail — is a major financial hurdle.During a...

Sazerac buys Kentucky distillery to expand spirits production

Sazerac has acquired a recently shuttered Kentucky distillery as the company looks to increase production capacity for its growing spirits portfolio.The Buffalo Trace owner purchased the Garrard County Distilling facility in Lancaster, Kentucky, for about $20 million through a court-ordered auction.

Cotton County employees to receive 6% COLA

WALTERS - Cotton County employees will see a 6% cost of living adjustment in their paychecks next month.The Board of Cotton County Commissioners voted Monday to extend the 6% COLA to employees who are paid out of the county’s highway unrestricted fund as well as employees who are paid out of the...

Cache updates open-records policies

CACHE - At the request of its insurance carrier, the City of Cache has updated its policies for handling requests for public records.The Cache City Council voted 3-0 Tuesday to approve an amended version of the ordinance detailing the city’s policies governing openrecord requests, including a fee...

Comanche County budget cuts appear to be inevitable

LAWTON - Nearly three months into Fiscal Year 202627, Comanche County elected officials again postponed a vote on adoption of a $12.5 million courthouse budget.The problem is reconciling expenditures with anticipated revenues.Yet another proposed budget was unveiled Monday morning.•Version 1 was...

PepsiCo to close Tulsa warehouse operations, affecting 184 workers

TULSA - PepsiCo plans to cease warehouse operations at its Pepsi Beverages production facility in Tulsa, resulting in the permanent layoff of 184 employees.According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act filing, warehouse operations are expected to end Nov. 15.

UPS announces higher holiday surcharges for 2026

UPS will increase its holiday surcharges for 2026 as the company prepares for a sharp rise in package volume during the peak shipping season.The added fees begin as early as Sept. 27 and will remain in effect through Jan. 16, 2027.