New Web Site Replaces "the blog"

We've now launched a new web site replacing this blog.

Please go to:

http://www.thegroveobserver.com

This new version of The Grove Observer will be more mainstream, will offer the opportunity for you to get it emailed to you each week, make comments, send letters to the editor, purchase classified ads, banner ads, yellow page ads, and the "ad for $1 a day" reaching The World 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Many people expressed concerns that the blog was on hiatus since October. It was read even by our service people in Iraq and other countries, as a way to keep up with what is going on in Northeast Oklahoma.

We're pleased to bring it back, in the form of a true web site, not a blog. We hope you enjoy it.

Jim Mills
Editor

Fire Damages Grove Home

The Grove Fire Department responded to a house fire Tuesday around 11 a.m. at 114 N. Hazel with one tanker truck and two engine units, and extinguished the fire, confined mostly to the living room and front porch. Cause of the fire was an electrical problem. Also responding was a unit from the Cowskin Fire Department, which automatically responds every time there is a fire in Grove. "We had plenty of water available, water was not a problem," said Chief Lee Dollarhide. A fire hydrant is located one block away on Mill Street. The home belongs to J.D. Blackmore.

Music Festival Set for Labor Day Weekend

The Jana Jae Fiddle Camp and Music Festival brings musicians and
entertainment to the Grand Lake area over Labor Day weekend. All events at
Snider's Camp, located just south of Grove on the beautiful bank of
Grand Lake O' the Cherokees, are free to the public with great food and
entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights. The food line opens at 7:00
p.m. with delicious barbeque on Friday night and a fish fry on Saturday
night, food is $5 a plate. Bring your lawn chairs and enjoy good food
and great entertainment and jammin'!!

The Amateur Fiddle Contest highlights the evening on Saturday and is
always great fun for all. For those not enrolled in the Fiddle Camp,
registration for this contest is $5 with cash awards going to the top
three winners in six divisions.

Daytime fiddle workshops will be held at the Grove Civic Center on
Saturday and Sunday from
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Students can enroll at the Civic Center at 9:00
a.m. Fiddle instructors will demonstrate and teach various music styles
including Celtic, old-time, bluegrass and contest. There will be other
very interesting and entertaining sessions as the participants learn to
play in jams, put on a successful performance, compete in contests,
handle stage fright, play harmony for twin or triple fiddles and much
more. In addition to the fiddle workshops there will be a mandolin
workshop and guitar workshop on Saturday at 12:30. All participants will be
featured in the Fiddle Camp finale on Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. at
the Civic Center. There is an enrollment fee for the workshops but
the public is invited to the entertainment with free admission.

This Festival is made possible by volunteers of Grand Lake Festivals,
Inc., many local and area sponsors, the area media, with the assistance
of the Oklahoma Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts
and is a special event as the work of learning becomes fun as the
participants share their talents with each other and the spectators. Held at
the Grove Civic Center Sat. and Sun., Sept. 1 and 2, and at Snider's
Camp Fri. and Sat. evenings, Aug. 31 and Sept. 1
Call 918-786-8896 for information or visit www.grandlakefestivals.com

Schedule of Events -
Jana Jae Fiddle Camp & Music Fest - August 31, September 1 & 2, 2007
Special entertainment at various times throughout the weekend. Bring
lawn chairs to Snider's Camp.

FRIDAY, August 31 - at Snider's Camp - Free Admission
7:00 p.m. Barbecue Dinner ($5 a plate), Kick-off Party & Entertainment
Jam with old & new friends--enjoy!

SATURDAY, Sept. 1 - at Grove Civic Center
9:00 a.m. Registration
10:00-4:00 p.m. Group sessions
with Master demonstrations
and Group performances
12:30 Guitar & Mandolin Workshop

SATURDAY, Sept 1 - at Snider's Camp - Free Admission
7:00 p.m. Fish Fry Dinner - $5
Special Entertainment
8:00 p.m. AMATEUR FIDDLE CONTEST
10:00 p.m. Jamming


SUNDAY, Sept. 2 - at Grove Civic Center
10:00-4:00 p.m. Group sessions
with Master demonstrations
and Group Performances
3:30 p.m. Farewell Jam

8/8/07 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: Kathleen Pixley, Grand Lake Festivals, Grove, OK --
918-786-8896, 800-526-2523
www.grandlakefestivals.com

Precision Wi-Fi Continues to Expand

Two new towers offering wi-fi broadband internet service to parts of Grove will be activated by the end of August by Precision Wi-Fi of Grove. One is just west of Quail Road and will serve Wildwood and Camilla Estates and eventually Patricia Island; the other is at Governor's Retreat and will serve the Woodward Hollow area.

The new towers will be added to the 6 already in existence. Additional new towers will be going on the Vista Towers on Monkey Island, and the Blue Bluff Water Tower, which will make a total of 10 towers for the area.

We will have 85% coverage of Grove and surrounding lake area," Brent Malone of Precision Wi-Fi said. When the Grove area is completed the company plans to move into the Jay area, he said. Precision Wi-Fi currently has more than 300 customers since beginning service less than a year ago.

Grove Police Chief Resigns

Grove Police Chief Ivan Devitt III submitted his letter of resignation to new city manager Bruce Johnson Tuesday morning. Although he gave two weeks notice, he was asked to vacate his office immediately.

Sources said that the Fraternal Order of Police had threatened a "no confidence" vote on Devitt which might have interfered with his ability to perform effectively in the Chief's position. Devitt was appointed Chief of Police 15 months ago by then city manager Bill Galletly and since the election of three city councilmen in April his job stability has been in question.

Councilman Larry Parham has questioned Devitt's experience for the Chief's position, where Devitt spent 18 years on the Houston, Tex. police force. The council refused to give the police department the increased funding and four new officers Devitt had asked for in next year's budget; it refused to pass an ordinance banning smoking within 50 feet of an accident, suggested by Devitt; and it leaned on then acting city manager Debbie Mavity to ban uniformed policemen from council and trust authority meetings. Devitt had worked city meetings on his own time.

The FOP could have taken a vote on Devitt anytime the past year, but waited until a new city manager was on board.

One official who asked not to be identified said "this is nothing more than the council getting the FOP to do the dirty work, with a new city manager. The City Attorney and City Treasurer may be next. This is a travesty."

There are 19 policemen on the force, including the Chief, and he and assistant Mark Morris are the only two non-union members.

After being hired July 1, Johnson had visited with former chief Mark Wall and the FOP union president Mike O 'Herin before meeting with Devitt.

Devitt said that during his tenure on the force, a new Pet of the Day Program was begun; animal control policies were changed; internal procedures were revamped; patrols were made more visible; a radar trailer was purchased, school safety issues were re-worked; and two ESPN BASSmasters tournaments were handled 100% successfully. In addition, the courtroom was moved to city hall and new offices were added and remodeled for the first time in many years; a monthly crime report was put together and given to city hall, where previously there had been no such report; and the Canine officer was moved from night shift to day shift where the animal could be used in the schools as a drug deterrent. This caused some turmoil as the canine officer did not want to move to days so he was made a patrolman. The other canine officer did not want to work days either "so now we have a canine officer on the night shift without a canine." Both canine officers have retained attorneys and are threatening to sue the city for compensation for time spent in the care and feeding of the canine, even though they are already compensated for it, Devitt said.

Phone calls to City Manager Johnson and Mike O'Herin, President of the local FOP, were not returned. Sources said Johnson has named Mark Morris Acting Chief of Police and a search will be launched for a new police chief.

Devitt refrained from commenting on his resignation, other than to say it was official.

Cajun Festival Set for July 4

On July 4 Grand Lake Festivals will host its 11th annual Arts, Crafts, Music and Cajun Festival in the air-conditioned comfort of the Grove Civic Center. Beginning at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, July 4 the doors will open for a fun-filled day of wonderful arts and crafts booths, delicious Cajun food and entertainment throughout the day. Admission is free to the public. The food court will offer tasty Cajun food at affordable prices—come early and spend the day enjoying the delicious food, wonderful entertainment and shopping with our most talented arts & crafts vendors.

Louisiana’s hottest Cajun band, "Bayou Roots" will entertainment along with Jana Jae and Hotwire throughout the day on July 4th. Bayou Roots, along with bandleader, Chris Miller from Lake Charles, LA take their audience back to the musical roots of early Creole "la-la" music and stretches forward toward the more modern sounds of Zydeco with a bluesy chromatic accordian and saxophone speaking the language of swamp-pop. Miller and Bayou Roots were recently named Band of the Year, Best CD of the Year and won the People’s Choice Award at the 18th Annual Le Cajun Music Awards.


Jana Jae, international touring star and founder of Grand Lake Festivals, Inc. and her own exciting band, Hotwire, will also go CAJUN. Their diverse musical styles blends country fiddling, western swing, pop and the classics producing exciting entertainment and thrilling an audience of all ages. They, along with Bayou Roots and others will be performing on July 4 from 10 to 5 in the air-conditioned comfort of the Grove Civic Center.

Arts, crafts and food vendors will be participating assuring everyone of a choice that will suit them, from beautifully hand crafted jewelry to Native American art, along with some of their favorite Cajun dishes such as shrimp and crawfish jambalaya, sausage gumbo and Cajun corn on the cob. More traditional foods will also be available.

The Arts, Crafts, Music & Cajun Festival has proven to be successful and has become a major event in the Grand Lake area. This event devoted to good family entertainment is hosted by the non-profit organization, Grand Lake Festivals, Inc. with the assistance of the Oklahoma Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Local and area sponsors of this event include: The City of Grove, Cherokee Nation, ConocoPhillips, Thompson & Associates, Air Power Systems, Grand Savings Bank, Dairy Queen, First National Bank, Wal-Mart, Grand Bank, Bank of Grove, Best Western TimberRidge Inn,

First Class Collision and Limo Service, Grand River Abstract, Arvest Bank, Gallery Southwest, Snider’s Camp, Drake’s Restaurant, Lungren Chevrolet, Prairie Breeze, Ltd., Grand Rental Station, Jack’s Music Shack, Cathy Shaefer of Thompson & Associates, Richard & Dolores Graham Family, Dolphus & Mozelle Blevins, Gene & Shirley Sawyer, Java Dave’s, The Urban Table in Fayetteville, Arkansas, KGVE, The Grove Sun, The Grove Observer and Nowata Printing

Grove's Fireworks Display Set for July 3

The City of Grove Independence Day celebration is just around the corner for July 3. It promises to be a great show and fireworks event. The following is a list of events.

6:30PM Eddie Mcalvain and his Hall of Fame western swing band from
Wichita Falls, Texas. They will also do a tribute to our veterans.

7:50PM Lindsey Miller, Miss Grand Lake 2006 and Miss Oklahoma 2006 will
celebrate the Oklahoma centennial.

8:00PM The Brett Family Singers from their show in Branson, Mo. are an
exciting family group that will command your attention.

9:00PM City fireworks program (fantastic)

Also, Free watermelon and several non-profit concession stands will be put up to raise money for great causes.
From Ben Hynum, Chairman

American Heritage Festival Declared Huge Success

Jana Jae and the American Heritage Music Festival staff and volunteers have declared the 2007 event held last weekend a huge success. Kathleen Pixley, co-director of the festival said, “We are all so very pleased with the success of this year’s event. We had huge crowds for all events with great entertainment and the best talent on both the fiddle and the clogging stages.
We have a great staff and the most faithful and hard working volunteers---we could not
begin to do all the festival tasks without their untiring service.”

Brad & Shirley Adams announce the winners of the fiddle contests as follows:
OPEN:
1st Junior Marriott, Ava, MO
2nd Shawn Howe, Miami, OK
3rd Douglas Thompson, Rose, OK
4th Bill Jones, Chapel Hill, TN
5th Jake Duncan, Jenks, OK
6th Cody Marriott, Stoval, MO
7th Doug Fleener, Litchfield, KY
8th Kyle Link, Lebanon, MO
SENIOR
1st Kathy Kampschmidt, Willows, CA
2nd Gary Johnson, Nevada, MO
3rd John Blevins, Van, TX
3rd Sam O’Field, Claremore, OK
ADULT
1st Chris Stewart, Lebanon, MO
2nd Brad Hawkins, Cushing, OK
3rd Karen Harmon, Tulsa, OK
JUNIOR
1st Maddie Denton, Murfreesboro, TN
2nd Michael Thompson, Caney, KS
3rd Tori May Gilliam, Willows, CA.
JR. JR.
1st Emily Dickie, Paola, KS
2nd Paige Park, Caney, KS
3rd Adam Barton, Springfield, MO
PEE WEE
1st Brett Dudenhoeffer, Marshfield, MO
2nd Olivia Park, Caney, KS
3rd Regina Scott, Tulsa, OK
HOT FIDDLE
1st Eric Dysart, Disney, OK
2nd Shawn Howe, Miami, OK
3rd Maddie Denton, Murfreesboro, Tn
TWIN FIDDLE
1st Junior Marriott, Ava, MO & Cody Marriott, Stovel, MO
2nd Michael & Douglas Thompson, Rose, OK
3rd Cody Marriott, Stovel, MO & Bubba Hopkins, Spavinaw, OK
BANJO
1st Ken Plummer, Augusta, KS
2nd Benjamin Link, Lebanon, MO
3rd Seth Park, Caney, KS
FLATPICK
1st Ken Plummer, Augusta, KS
2nd Jerry Shadrick, Montreal, MO
3rd Carman Davanzo, Conway, AR
DOBRO
1st Richard Willis, Mack’s Creek, MO
2nd Ken Plummer, Augusta, KS
MANDOLIN
1st Russ Weeks, Long Lone, MO
2nd Marina Pendleton, Tulsa, OK
3rd Luther Park, Bartlesville, OK
JUKE BOX
1st Kyle Link & the Link Family, Lebanon, MO
2nd The Dickie Family, Paola, KS
3rd Emma Jane & Marina Pendleton, Tulsa, OK & Eric Dysart, Disney, OK
HONEY CREEK SPECIAL
Doug, Fleener, Leitchfield, KY
TAKE ME BACK TO TULSA
1st Shawn Howe, Miami, OK
2nd Junior Marriott, Ava, MO
3rd Gerry Lay, Hominy, OK
ACCOMPANIST
1st Gayle Hopson, Huntsville, TX
2nd Rex Gillentine, Graham, TX
3rd Eldon Combs, Lowell, MO
4th Bubba Hopkins, Spavinaw, OK

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our wonderful sponsors which include:
City of Grove, Cherokee Nation Enterprises, State Representative Dr. Doug Cox, ConocoPhillips, Grand Savings Bank, Wal-Mart, Air Power Systems, First Class Collision and Limo Service, Thompson & Associates, First National Bank, Arvest Bank, Grand Bank, Best Western TimberRidge Inn, Grand River Abstract, Jack’s Music Shack, Dolphus & Mozelle Blevins, Drakes Restaurant, Bank of Grove, Grand Rental Station, Cathy Shaefer—Thompson & Associates, Shirley & Gene Sawyer, Sanco Lumber, Lungren Chevrolet, Richard & Dolores Graham Family, Prairie Breeze, Ltd., Jana Jae’s Gallery Southwest, Snider’s Camp, Java Dave’s, The Urban Table of Fayetteville, AR, Grove Sun, KGVE, Grove Observer, Nowata Printing and with assistance of the Oklahoma Arts Council and the National Endowment for the arts.

The next event Grand Lake Festivals, Inc. will bring to the Grand Lake area will be the Arts, Crafts, Music and Cajun Festival to be held at the Grove Civic Center on July 4 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. This event is free to the public. Everyone is invited to enjoy great Cajun music, Cajun food and Cajun fun as well as many wonderful arts and crafts items for sell by local and area artists.

"Second Saturdays" Begin June 9

Beginning June 9, Grove merchants will be rolling out the red carpet for Grand Lake visitors and locals alike.
“Grove Second Saturdays” is a series of monthly events scheduled to bring crowds to downtown Grove every second Saturday for the summer and fall. The streets will be lined with musicians, interactive art, food vendors, and other festivities.
At the inaugural launch, a united group of Grove merchants, specialized boutiques, art galleries and eateries will extend their hours of operation for folks to enjoy shopping, art, food and fun.
"I think everyone should experience the creativity and fun downtown Grove has to offer,” said Larry Cole, Blazon Studio owner and founder of graphic design firm ColeCom.
The June 9 event is just the first in a series of events, which will draw lake visitors into the creative heart of Grand Lake. With the laid-back atmosphere, visitors and locals as well as budding and seasoned artists will be coming to downtown Grove.
The dates for the 2007 season are June 9, July 14, August 11, Sept 8 and Oct 13. Event hours are from 6pm to 8pm.