Scrooge Appears at Council Meeting

Scrooge came to the Grove City Council meeting Tuesday in the form of a rejected salary increase for the City Treasurer. Council voted 3-2 to go into executive session to discuss the matter, although it has been delayed for nearly two months for reasons not explained.
Voting to take the matter to a future Executive Session were Mayor Carolyn Nuckolls, Larry Parham, and Gary Bishop, while Dave Helms and Terry Ryan voted against taking the matter into closed session.
Council did, however, approve a Christmas Bonus, $150 per full time employee for 85 employees, and $50 for each of 50 part time employees, for a total of $15,250.
The Council governs the actions of the City Manager, City Treasurer and City Judge. All other employees report to the City Manager, although Council can still approve salaries through the budget process.
In other action at the rather brief meeting, council:
--Presented a Certificate of Appreciation to the Employee of the Month, Larry Prins of the Grove Police Department, who will retire Dec. 31.
--Approved the parade route for this Saturday's Grove Christmas Parade from the Civic Center to Cheapo Depo, being held from 6-7 p.m.
--Approved an $1800.00 contract for Horizon Engineering for an Environmental Impact Report on the proposed purchase of 59 acres of land west of the Grove Airport, although Councilman Terry Ryan said the land purchase has been delayed since the propery owner does not want to sell under the conditions laid out at the last council meeting. Acting City Attorney Ron Cates said the council will need to rescind a previous motion to move ahead with the purchase, since it may be impossible to carry out the action voted upon.
--Tabled bid proposals for a new outdoor baseball/softball scoreboard, being donated by Grand Savings Bank, to ask the bank to make the check out to a third party rather than the City of Grove, which had nothing to do with either the bidding or fundraising. Resident Glenn Sharp suggested that using the Grand Lake Association Federation would be appropriate since it was created as a 501 (c) (3) corporation for just that purpose.
--Approved a bid from Hollytree Landscaping of Grove to plant 106 trees along Main Street from Blockbusters to Radio Shack on the west side and from Rib Crib to Coburns on the east side, paid for by ODOT. The only bid was for $17,195, while the ODOT grant was for $23,000, city officials said. Work is to be completed by within 45 days. The bid was under the Highway Tree Beautification Project.
--Approved a bid from Casco Industries, Oklahoma City, for $14,430 for bunker gear for the Grove Fire Department.
--Approved a bid from Turn-Key Mobile, Jefferson City, MO. for $12,823 for three new laptop computers, printers and a palm pilot for the Grove Police Department.

Grove Veteran Recalls Kamakazi Attack

Memo to President George Bush:

Here in Grove, Ok. is a US Navy WWII survivor of the first Kamakazi attack on a Navy carrier, severely injured when his ship was blown to pieces, but to this day has never been paid for nearly 9 months of duty after the incident. The US Navy said he was dead and "they don't pay dead people." Stogner was part of the historic Battle of Leyte Gulf, where 3,000 sailors died.

With interest, his paychecks come to around $30,000.

John Stogner told his survival story to members of the Grove Rotary Club this week on the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, and you could have heard a pin drop as the silent audience listened.
It was Oct. 25, 1944, he recalled, and the St. Lo, a small aircraft carrier, part of the Taffy III Group, was on duty in the South Pacific near the Phillipine Islands, providing air cover. The alarm sounded for General Quarters just about sunrise and a huge Japanese fleet was seen coming over the horizon, eight battleships, 10 cruisers and 15 destroyers in all. The battleships could fire 18 inch shells while the St. Lo had only five inchers. (The St. Lo was formerly the USS Midway and had been recently renamed in honor of the men who died in St. Lo, France during the D Day Landing.)
"We zigged and zagged to avoid their shells and never got a direct hit. Our planes won the air battle but we lost four planes due to a landing accident and just as it appeared the Japanese were winning, they turned and left the area.
"But then came the suicide squadron, 24 in all…carrying two 550-pound bombs on each plane.
I got hit by a bomb blast that blew a huge hole in the side of the ship. Other explosions followed. I was knocked unconscious, covered in debris. I later woke up, telling my shipmates to go on and leave me there. I knew I was not going to make it.
"Suddenly my wife's face appeared in front of me saying 'you can make it.' I crawled out of the hole with twisted wreckage all around and got to the fantail. Then the ship rolled over and I slipped into the sea, covered in oil in 10 foot waves. It looked like it was raining toothpicks (timbers blown into the air and retreating to the ocean)."
The ship's sinking took only 30 minutes from the time the suicide bombers flew into it.
"There was not a sound, nothing in sight, so I swam for about an hour and came upon half of a raft with four other badly injured sailors. Then four Japanese planes came over us, low and fast and I figured we were going to get strafed so I slipped into the water and got away from the raft. There were sharks all around us and many died from shark attacks.
"At some point, the destroyer USS Raymond saw us but to make matters worse, an unexploded torpedo that had run out of fuel was too close so the ship could not move in for the rescue.
"After awhile the torpedo had moved to a safe distance away and the Raymond picked up everyone. (The Raymond eventually was taken to the Philadelphia Naval Yard)
"I passed out as they carried me aboard, my leg was badly blown up. I spent four days on another ship and then the hospital ship "Comfort." It took us to New Guinea and in the meantime my wife had been notified that I was killed in action. I wrote her and told her I was still alive and I was eventually taken to Brisbane, Australia. Another ship took us back to the States and the Great Lakes Naval Hospital near Chicago where I spent another 8 months recuperating and was united with my wife again," Stogner told the Rotarians.
He was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

About that paycheck, Mr. Bush:
"From Oct. 25, 1944 until the time I was discharged nine months later, I never got paid since I had been reported killed," said Stogner. "In a few months the war ended," he added.
Efforts by Congressman Dan Boren and his predecessor, Brad Carson, to obtain the paychecks for Stogner were unsuccessful; the US Government said the records for WWII were "closed."
But Stogner's memory of the event is easily recalled, a time long ago but not forgotten.
(In photo above, at right John Stogner talks with Kay Lynn Beauchamp, Rotary member.

The Followup File...

Right of way negotiations on Highway 59 from Leisure Lane to Sailboat Bridge are proceeding and the target date for acquisitions is Jan. 20, 2006. There are 122 property ownerships that ODOT is dealing with; the target date for Condemnations is April 20, 2006, according to ODOT. Percentages or progress is not available as negotiations are still in progress, said ODOT...

The Canine Corner...by Missy MacTavish

I see in the newspapers on the floor that some people want to use the words "Holiday Tree" instead of Christmas tree, or "Merry Holidays" instead of Merry Christmas.
Well I say Humbug to that idea.
Just what happened on Dec. 25, 0000 anyway?
The birth of Christ, which is why we call it Christmas in the first place.
There seems to be an assault on Christmas this year and I will have none of it. People say you have to be "culturally sensitive."
Some lawyers have gotten together to fight anyone who wants to eliminate Christmas.
I say good for them.
Anyone saying Merry Holidays around our house can expect a nip in the shorts from me.
On another matter, I want one of those new dog cell phones coming out next year...yes really. Remember you read it here first.
Until next time, Merry Christmas...Miss Missy.

Award Winning Author to Speak at Library

Robert J. Conley, Cherokee and award-winning author, will speak at the Grove Public Library Wednesday, Dec. 14, at 2:30 p.m. The public is invited to hear Conley. The occasion is the annual meeting of the Friends of the Grove Public Library.
Conley was born in Cushing, Ok. in 1940. He finished high school in Wichita Falls, Texas, then attended Midwestern University there where he received his bachelor’s degree in 1966 and his master’s in English in 1968. He has been assistant programs manager for the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, director of Indian Studies at Eastern Montana College, Bacone College in Muskogee, and at Morningside College in Sioux City.
He also was an assistant professor of English there and an instructor of English at Southwest Missouri State University and at Northern Illinois University.
Conley’s first novel, Back to Malachi, was published in 1986. Since then he has had 34 novels published. A member of Western Writers of America, he has won two Spur awards for his novels Nickajack and The Dark Island, and another Spur award for his short story Yellow Bird: An Imaginary Autobiography published in The Witch of Goingsnake.
In 1997, Conley was inducted into the Oklahoma Professional Writers Hall of Fame. His most recent book out this year is The Cherokee Nation: A History which the American Library Association’s publication “Choice” has selected as one of the outstanding academic books for 2005.
That book and his book War Woman: A Novel of the Real People are two of the books Conley will have with him at Grove. Conley lives now in Tahlequah with his wife, Evelyn, and writes full time. Following his talk, there will be a break for a social time, an opportunity to talk with the author, have books autographed, and enjoy the refreshments. After the intermission, Marsha Tackkett, Friends president, will reconvene the meeting for the business portion of the day and the election of directors.

Monkey Island Couple Celebrates 60 Years

John and Ruth Kirkpatrick of Monkey Island celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this week with an open house at Anna's Bananas Bistro, hosted by their children.
They have four children, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
The couple married Dec. 2, 1945 in Tulsa.

Eyesore of the Month

Last week's Eyesore of the Month, the empty building pictured at right at Main & Heffleman in Grove, failed to ignite the owner to come forth and admit it.
So we'll do it again.
Would the owner come forth and explain why he wont sell, fix up, tear down, or otherwise take care of this Grove eysore?

Monkey Island Hatters off to Joplin

Members of the Red Hot Flames of Monkey Island spent the day at the John Wise Home in Joplin for lunch and Christmas gift exchange, enjoying the Grove Trolley en route.
The John Wise Home is a historic home dating to 1894.

GRDA Seeks Comments on Docks

The Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) is seeking public comment as it considers whether to adopt a policy that would limit the total maximum length of all piers, wharves, landings, floating boat houses, docks, breakwaters and/or barges and other floating structures of a stationary or semi-stationary nature, commercial or private, extending in to the lands and waters of GRDA, including all attachments, such as stiff-arms, spars, approaches, walkways, gangplanks and/or ramps to one-third of the distance from the adjacent shoreline, measured across the land and water of GRDA to the nearest opposite shoreline. This would eliminate the 125 foot rule.
Also, to adopt a policy to allow parallel slip entry on docks. This would eliminate the requirement that all docks have perpendicular slip entry.
The GRDA will host two public meetings to solicit comments on the following dates, at the specified times and locations: December 15th, 2005 7:00 P.M.Grand Lake Association Visitor Center,Grove, OK. and January 3, 2006, 1:30 P.M.GRDA Board Room, Vinita.
In addition to the public hearings, interested members of the public unable to attend one of these meetings are encouraged to direct written comments and questions about this issue to Dr. Darrell Townsend, Superintendent of Ecological Operations, GRDA, Box 409, Vinita, OK.