DA Dismisses Charge Against Woodruff

Candyce Woodruff is out of jail today, free on charges of shooting with intent to kill her husband, former Delaware County Sheriff Lenden Woodruff. District Attorney Eddie Wyant dismissed charges against her on Thursday and Special District Judge Alecia Littlefield signed a release order shortly after.

The charges were filed June 17 after a domestic argument had escalated at their home near Colcord. Woodruff was treated at a Fayetteville hospital after being life-flighted and has since been released. Woodruff was to appear Monday in District Court to ask for a bond reduction, which had been set at $250,000. Woodruff said at the time that she was tired of the abuse she had suffered.

Wyant said that Mr. Woodruff has refused to provide a statement regarding the shooting; Mike Eason, investigator with the DA's office, said in a report that Mr. Woodruff has said only that it was accidental and has refused to provide further statements, requested several times by the DA's office.

Wyant said "we do not believe the State should proceed any further with this case, based on the fact that Mr. Woodruff has refused to provide us with a statement."

Grand Lake Flood Pool 90% Full

"But Honey, you told me the retaining wall was built to 755." Actual lake level when this photo was taken was 753.

Sunday update: Grand Lake crested at 754.54 at 8 a.m. Sunday; by 9 p.m. it had dropped to 754.47 with five gates open; 50,500 cfs was coming in, 57,665 cfs being let out via generation and the five floodgates. Barring further rain, the lake should slowly drop during the coming week, although the Corps has continued cutting back on releases to allow Lake Hudson and Fort Gibson to reduce their levels.


Saturday Update: Grand Lake was at 754.21 Saturday at 6 a.m. with releases of 70,435 cfs and inflow of 83,000 cfs, with 8 gates open 15 feet and full generation. The Corps had forecast crest on Monday at 754.20 but that has already been exceeded. At Miami, 67,000 cfs was still coming down Saturday morning with 57,770 cfs at Commerce.

Some Grand Lake Residents who did not purchase waterfront property suddenly found themselves the proud new owners of lakefront land, with this week's flood, expected to crest Friday at 754.10 according to the Army Corps of Engineers. On Wednesday, 135,000 cubic feet of water per second was entering the lake at Miami, with total releases of 105,000 via 14 floodgates and full generation. Barring additional rain, the lake should start to drop Friday night. Thursday morning the lake stood at 753.60.

Huge trees and logs, like a freight train, streamed down the lake to Shangri-La Point with rafts of small branches and junk. Waterfront property owners are going to have their hands full cleaning up the mess, while receiving mixed signals from GRDA as to what can be legally done.

Lake Hudson and Fort Gibson, below Pensacola Dam, are expected to be 100% full on Friday.

The 10 inches of rain over southeast Kansas last week sent the Neosho to a record 29 feet in Miami at 8 a.m. Wednesday with up to 146,000 cfs at one point this week. This was the second biggest flood in Miami history, rivaling one in 1951 when the river went to 31 feet.

A Look at GMSA's 07-08 Budget

(second of two parts)

The Grove Municipal Services Authority Budget for 2007-08 approved by City Council is even larger than the city's budget, with total expenses set at $13,326,498 and revenue of $13,706,203 and only $8400 in the General Fund's contingency and zero in the Capital fund. This is down from last year's expensed budget of $16,426,000 and income of $16,703,000 due to fewer capital improvement costs.

On the income side, biggest receipts will be from sale of gas, at $4,872,000, and water sales at $1,424,000. The City of Grove gets its water free, from the Grand Lake intake on Honey Creek.

Major expenditure administrative accounts are personal services (salaries, wages, etc) at $479,000; and contractual services at $822,000 including sanitation pickup of $328,000. Under water treatment plant, there is $139,000 in personal services and $152,000 in contractual services plus commodities of $142,000. Total water treatment plant expenditures are $461,000 with another $251,000 in the water distribution budget.

Sewer treatment personal services total $200,000 plus $83,000 under sewer collection; contractual services total $108,000 plus $36,000 under sewer collection; and commodities total $60,000 and 29,000 under sewer collection. Total sewer budget is $371,000 under sewer treatment and $151,000 under sewer collection.

Natural gas personal services totals $142,000 plus $4,385,000 in contractural services, $34,000 in commodities, and $11,000 for other charges, totaling $4,573,854.

The GMSA Capital Projects budget totals $833,544 including $100,000 for new water meters; 706,000 in transfers to the General Fund; and $19,000 for software lease. A Total of $89,000 is budgeted for water treatment capital projects including $67,000 for an emergency backup generator at the intake plant.

Revenues under GMSA Capital Projects are set at $3,720,544 with $2,100,000 of that under "2005 note drawdowns." Another $810,000 from ODOT reimbursements for the Highway 59 utility relocation project is included.

A total of $2,209,000 is budgeted for water distribution and $227,000 for sewer collection. Total expenditures for natural gas are budgeted at $340,000. Grand totals for water,sewer and gas expenditures are approximately $3,720,000.

Non departmental expenditures are set at $271,000.

A total of $377,000 was transferred to GMSA Capital from City Capital, to cover money lost when the June 1 utility rate increase was abated by a 4-1 vote of City Council. The GMSA board had voted 5-0 to allow the increase to take effect.

Two members of the Council and two members from GMSA have been appointed to "scrub" the budget of GMSA, looking for excess or waste.

Grove Beginnings...Part 8

The First Mayor
By Rose Stauber

In the first column in this series, I said that we don't know when Grove
was incorporated. Now we have some information which strongly suggests
that the year was 1897, the year that was a likely prospect.

The information comes from and about the first mayor, John Caleb
Starr, usually called J.C. or Cale. His father was James Caleb, or J.C.,
Starr, usually called Hickory. His mother was Emma J. Starr, daughter of John
and Rachel Smith Rider. Hickory Starr was born in 1832 in Tennessee. The
family is listed as Old Settlers, those who arrived in the west before
the 1835 Treaty of New Echota.

J.C. Starr, the son, was born in Flint District October 15, 1870. The
father brought the family north to Delaware District where Hickory
Starr was well-known in the community. The Starr School was on the site of what
is now the Cowskin Community Center on Hwy. 10 east of Grove. The family
is associated with the Cayuga community where they are buried in the
Cayuga Cemetery.

The son attended, it is reported, local schools and then attended and
graduated from the Cherokee Male Seminary in 1890. J.C. apparently was an
ambitious and studious young man. He next enrolled in the Commercial
College at Fort Smith where he graduated from the bookkeeping and
banking department, received his diploma from the shorthand and typewriting
department, and in June 1893 graduated in the plain and ornamental
penmanship department. He had also attended lectures at the college on
commercial law and read law. He then taught school for awhile before
becoming official stenographer for the Cherokee National Council. He
was later appointed assistant treasurer under E.E. Starr who paid what is
called the Starr Roll, the big payment for the sale of the Cherokee Strip.

Somewhere, along with his studies, J.C. met and married in St. Joseph,
Mo.,Elizabeth B. Zimmerman, on Oct. 16, 1894. She was the daughter of John
T. and Martha Zimmerman.
With the Starr Roll payment over, J.C. brought his wife home to Grove
where he opened a general store and was appointed postmaster April 2, 1895,
for the remainder of President Cleveland's term. Cleveland was elected in
1892 and served until 1896. Postmasters were a political appointment at
that time, and J.C. had certainly mingled with politicians during his time
in Tahlequah. From the records, it appears the J.C. was postmaster until
succeeded by George P. Dibble May 15, 1897.

"In February, 1897, the little town became incorporated and he (J.C.
Starr) was chosen mayor on the Democratic ticket, receiving fourteen of the
twenty-four votes cast at the polls."
(Joseph B. Thoburn and Muriel H. Wright, A History of the State and Its
People. New York. Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc. 1929.
174-175.)

This sentence gives an interesting insight on the first city election.
We have political parties that endure until today. And what seems a
surprisingly low number of voters. Keep in mind that women could not
vote.

During his time in Grove, Starr continued to pursue his law studies,
and in the spring of 1898 he is reported to have moved to Vinita where he was
admitted to the bar of the United States Court of the Northern
District. He spent the rest of his life in Vinita, eventually being admitted to
practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Starr died at his home in Vinita Nov. 23, 1930, having served as
Vinita mayor, been prominent in legal areas, the oil business, and farming.

With the loss of the Grove paper, except for a few issues. during this
period until late 1904, we have trouble confirming who served as mayor
to complete Starr's term which presumably was for two years. But we have
proof of who was mayor in 1899. That's another column.

Copyright © 2007 Rose Stauber

Seneca-Cayuga Tribe Files Suit Against Officer

Two Seneca-Cayuga tribal businesses filed suit Thursday in Oklahoma Circuit Court to enjoin a tribal officer from interfering with the corporations’ banking, employee and business relationships, accusing her of acting to harm the corporations while a corporate director.

“The plaintiffs -- the Seneca-Cayuga Tribal Gaming Corporation and the Seneca-Cayuga Tribal Tobacco Corporation -- were incorporated by the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe to operate as for-profit businesses, rather than to be manipulated as pawns in tribal politics,” said Paul Spicer , who as the Tribe’s chief serves as president of both corporations. “But that is precisely what Kay Ellison , the secretary-treasurer of the Tribe, is doing by telling the bank that she has day-to-day control over the corporation’s bank accounts, cash flow, and accounts payable.

“As one of the corporate directors, she has a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of the corporations,” Spicer said. “She has instead disrupted their operations, hurt employee morale, interfered with vital business relationships, lowered revenues, and put the companies in jeopardy of violating federal laws.”

The businesses were incorporated under tribal corporation laws. The Tribe holds the only shares issued by the corporations. An independent accounting firm recently completed audits of both corporations, Spicer said.

Ellison , although holding a tribal office, is not a treasurer or executive with either tribal corporation. The lawsuit alleges that Ellison told the corporations’ bank that she holds ultimate authority to approve all corporate expenditures, which includes checks issued to employees and vendors, daily transfers by the tobacco corporation to pay federal cigarette taxes, and employee payrolls. Her actions, according to the suit filed in Tulsa County, caused a short-term layoff at the tobacco company due to uncertainty as to whether Ms. Ellison had frozen the company operating funds; the inability of the gaming corporation to draw funds from its operating account with a corporate debit card; interruption of the tobacco company’s tax transfers to the U.S. Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; and violation of the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act when she, without authority from federal regulators, assumed control of gaming money.

The Tribe itself had filed suit in the Federal Court of Indian Offenses to enjoin Ellison from interfering with Tribal accounts. The request for the injunction is scheduled to be heard July 20 by an administrative judge in Miami , Okla.

Ellison demanded control over the corporations’ bank accounts after a tribal election challenge was filed in the Court of Indian Offenses. A tribal commission had certified the election results before an administrative judge could enjoin certification of the election results. The voting results showed Spicer winning over former chief Leroy Howard by a 2-1 margin.

Second Chief Katie Birdsong filed her own action in the Court of Indian Offenses, seeking to be named the Tribe’s chief.

Observations...

Our friends at AT&T have raised fees again with guess who paying the most…rural and small town residents. We got hit with a 15.5% increase, effective July 1 (they announced it July 3) while the big city folks in Tulsa and Oklahoma City only got a 4.7% increase.
Reason? Lack of competition in rural Oklahoma. Isn't that special. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission two years ago said it was OK for AT&T to raise rates by $2 a year for five years, a decision which has been upheld by the State Supreme Court. The little guy loses again…Isn't it about time someone raised the possibility of building a new dam on the Neosho River above Commerce? Seems it would reduce the possibility of flooding there and in Miami. The only other dam on the Neosho is John Redmond Dam way up there in middle Kansas…Congratulations to local citizen Ben Hynam on another great July 3 fireworks and entertainment show. A full 30 minutes of fireworks was presented in front of a large crowd at the city's sports complex on 13th street. We look forward to another one in 2008...Our neighbor says he saw a large tree floating down the lake with what looked like a coffin on top, but upon further review, discovered it was a large mattress sized piece of foam. We should capitalize on all of this tree debris...capture one of them and label it the Grand Lake Monster, sort of like the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland, which has made millions of dollars over the past hundred years from tourists that come to view it. We could do an entire ad campaign on the Grand Lake Monster and once in awhile, have a scuba diver make it move up and down from beneath to give it a live look. Another use for the tree debris would be to hold Tree Races, kids atop the trunk paddling across a set-up race course. Also, we can't wait for one of those go-fast loud boats to land topside of the tree destroying itself in the process. Only a certified nutcase would be out on the lake in conditions like this. Toto ain't in Kansas anymore, and neither is half their forests...

A Matter of Faith...

By Carol RoundFinding Your Place

“Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:6 (NIV)

I am not moving again! Unless, of course, God insists.

Because I have moved four times in the past six years, I have become quite adept at packing. My most recent move was less than five miles—from one neighborhood to another—but it still required finding boxes of different sizes to accommodate my belongings.

As I surveyed the pile of unpacked boxes containing my possessions, I sighed. “Not again, Lord,” I thought. I had downsized once before but now found myself facing another mountain of things.

Two years ago, when I moved from one town to another, I gave away, threw away, or sold stuff that I knew I could live without. During my recent move, my routine was the same—donate, toss or sell. However, I still have too much stuff.

That stuff included an Easter basket that belonged to my youngest son, now grown. My grandchildren discovered the basket during the move. Adding to the chaotic mess, the two had scattered the fake green grass and brightly colored plastic eggs from one end of my new house to the other. It was a reminder of how much I hated packing and moving.

It also triggered a memory of the way I used to pack when I was planning a trip. My girlfriends would tease me because I never traveled lightly. Prepared for any scenario, I toted more luggage and bags than Carter has liver pills. (If you haven’t heard that expression, you must be under 50.)

As each birthday passes, I realize that we go through life with too much baggage. If it’s not physical baggage, then it’s emotional baggage. We can choose, however, to unpack both kinds of baggage and lighten our loads. The first is easier than the latter.

For many years, I not only carried around too much physical baggage that hampered my life, I hung onto emotional baggage that hindered my growth. I was in my late 40s—not that long ago—before I began to unearth, examine, weed out and rid my life of those things that held me back from becoming the woman that God created me to be.

Until I let go of the past, I could not move on. When I was finally able to “unpack” all of that junk and dispose of it, I began to find my place in this world. However, I could not do it without the Lord’s help.

A friend in my new neighborhood recently commented about emotional baggage that a relative still toted after more than 30 years. She said, “I told her that she just needed to let it go and move on.”

Someday, as God’s offspring, we will move to a permanent place where we will reside eternally. No packing. No unpacking. I look forward to that final move. Do you?


A collection of Carol Round’s most popular faith-based columns is now available in book form. For more information, readers can reach her at carolaround@yahoo.com

Grove Chamber Banquet Set July 12

Members of the Grove Area Chamber of Commerce will celebrate the completion
of the business year at the Chamber’s Annual Banquet, set for 6 p.m. Thursday, July 12 at the Grove Moose Lodge.

Incoming Chairman Mike Blecha will announce newly appointed board members
and officers.
The banquet marks the official beginning of a new year of work for the chamber. Activities and accomplishments of the past year will be reviewed and plans for the 2007-08 program of work will be presented.

This year the theme for the event will celebrate Oklahoma’s centennial. Special guest speaker will be Michael Dean, Public Relations Director for the Oklahoma Historical Society.
Special recognition for service to the chamber will be made throughout the evening. The recipients of the Director of the Year and Bob Uttley Volunteer of the Year will be announced at the annual banquet.
More than 400 businesses and individuals hold memberships in the Grove Area Chamber of Commerce. Approximately 15 committees, some standing and some assembled for special needs, carry out the program of work each year through the use of community volunteers.
In addition to promotion of economic development, the chamber actively works to promote tourism, act collectively for local business, develop the community leadership, conduct special seminars and community events, sponsor the annual Grovefest, Home and Garden Show, Christmas Open House, Harvest Moon Cruise Night, and coordinate other activities with retail merchants.

Reservations may be made by calling the Grove Area Chamber of Commerce
(786-9079) or through email to lisafriden@sbcglobal.net Deadline for reservations is Monday, July 9.