National Guard Center update

The Oklahoma National Guard (OKNG) Joint Operations Center (JOC) in Chandler is expected to be completed by December 2025, weather permitting.The facility is dried, and the company building it is working on the interior, according to LTC Kristin Tschetter, chief of public affairs for the OKNG.

Editorial

Oklahoma’s Open Meeting Law long ago was created for a purpose. It is to keep the public aware and informed of what entities are doing and about to do in their meeting.This goes for public bodies and those non-profit organizations when they receive any kind of public funding.

Gratitude

Next Tuesday, Pat and I will celebrate our wedding anniversary. We were married on July 1, 1978 at St. Gregory’s Chapel.I’m not sure what we are going to do on Tuesday but most likely we will probably work at least some if not most of it.

Youth Leadership Forum

Last week, I spent five days leading Oklahoma’s future leaders through team-building games, public policy debates, and an impromptu round of “Who’s Crawling Under My Stall?” Spoiler: it was a student asking if I was his mom. Not the mentorship moment I planned for, but I rolled with it.

Two felony charges for Harrah woman

A Harrah woman is facing two felonies and is scheduled to make her initial appearance at 9 a.m. June 26.Tara Kay Gentry, 47, was formally charged in Lincoln County District Court June 12, 2025, with trafficking in illegal drugs and possession of firearm after former felony conviction.

Town Talk

Afew more of Stroud’s neon signs have been installed. The latest installation was at First Assembly of God Church. If you noticedtheiconicSkylinerMotelneonsign was missing, you were not just imagining it. It was taken down this past Monday to be refurbished.

Gratitude

In this crazy world we live in these days, it’s really easy to get caught up in everything that surrounds us. If we lose focus, it can give us a negative outlook on life and draw us away from all the positives there are.Don’t know about you, but I find myself in a funk sometimes.

My dad’s the best dad

Father’s Day just passed and social media has been doing what it does best: turning every holiday into a slow-motion slideshow of annual father’s day posts, hot takes, and at least one picture of someone holding a fish.

Town Talk

Another Stroud Summer Fest has wrapped up. Congratulations to the Chamber of Commerce and the City of Stroud for a successful event. I was out of town, but I heard nothing but rave reviews about the event.

Father’s Day

This is a day set aside to honor the fathers, grandfathers, great grandfathers and great-great grandfathers.This coming Sunday is Father’s Day.It’s an honor and privilege to be the father of a beautiful young woman as our daughter Meghan is.