08/26/2022

Oklahoma executes James Coddington

By ADRIAN O’HANLON III EDITOR

James Coddington said he forgave Oklahoma’s governor before he was put to death in the first lethal injection since a federal trial over the state’s protocol.

Coddington, convicted of killing friend and co-worker Albert Hale in 1997 for refusing to lend him money for drugs, died by lethal injection at 10:16 a.m. Thursday and is the first of 25 men Oklahoma plans to execute through December 2024.

Sean Murphy, with the Associated Press and one of five media witnesses, said Coddington’s final words offered thanks to family, friends and lawyers before he forgave Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt who denied him clemency this week despite the state’s

parole board recommending clemency with a 3-2 vote earlier this month.

“I

blame you, and

Coddington said, according to witnesses.

Oklahoma prisons director Scott Crow told reporters Thursday the execution followed protocol “with no issues at all” as Coddington’s time of death came at 10:16 a.m. Witnesses said Coddington’s breathing did not seem labored.

Coddington was convicted of first-degree murder in 2003 and received a death sentence in the 1997 murder of Hale, who was a week away from turning 74.

Hale had befriended Coddington when they worked together at an auto parts shop in Choctaw for about three

By DERRICK JAMES STAFF WRITER

Coddington, in his final statement before being executed Thursday, forgave Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt for rejecting the state parole board’s recommendation to grant him clemency for killing Albert Hale in 1997.

Rev. Don Heath, Coddington’s spiritual advisor, called the parole process futile and said Coddington changed his life in the 25 years since his imprisonment.

“This was a gentle caring man,” Heath told the News-Capital. “It was senseless to kill him.”

Coddington was convicted of first-degree murder in 2003 and received a death sentence in the 1997 murder of Hale, a 73-year-old who had befriended and worked with Coddington.

Prosecutors said Coddington was on

DERRICK JAMES | Staff photo

PAUL BARBRE, of Oklahoma City, blows a shofar to call for justice Thursday outside the Oklahoma State Penitentiary during the execution of James Coddington.

don’t

I forgive you,”

James Coddington told his spiritual advisor minutes before his execution that he was disappointed turning his life around made no difference.

Oklahoma plans to execute 24 death-row inmates in a phased schedule through

December 2024.

“We can finally move on. It’s not going to heal anything, but it closes this chapter.”

MITCHELL HALE

Son of Albert Hale, who was murdered in 1997

DERRICK JAMES | Staff photo

REV. DON HEATH, right, James Coddington’s spiritual advisor and chairman of the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, speaks outside the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester following the execution of Coddington.

James Coddington

Friends of Library book sale to hold surprises

Friends of the Library of McAlester are hosting a book sale this weekend and even the people helping put it together were not sure what all will be available.

“We have a number of boxes donated and we don’t know what’s in them,” said Friends of the Library Treasurer David Beall. They won’t find out until they deliver the boxes to the library and open them, he said.

Beall expected plenty of boxes to open. He said the boxes full of materials were donated by an individual who is downsizing.

“We’re picking up a pickup truckload full of them,” said Beall.

The book sale is set from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27, in the McAlester Public Library’s Whiteacre Room. Many of the boxed mate-

rials will be placed on tables during the sale, while more books and items that will be available are already placed on library bookshelves. Friends of the Library sales are not limited to only books. Typically other items, such as DVDs, music CDs and magazines are also available.

MPL Manager Heath Stanfield said Friends of the Library book sales are important to the library. Beall said Friends of the Library members are glad to help.

“We’re always trying to make our library better,” Beall said. “We support the library in a multitude of ways.” That’s included everything from supporting library programs to purchasing new library materials. The Friends are also willing to help in other areas when needed.

“One of our previous book sale’s proceeds went

to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library,” Beall said.

Support for library programs goes beyond those already in place.

“We hope to bring more speakers and programs to the library,” Beall said. “There’s going to be a push to make more programs available.”

A variety of items are set to be on tables and shelves during Saturday’s four-hour book sale. Some of the materials and prices include:

• Hardback books and audio books, $1.

• Large format paperbacks, 50 cents.

• Small format paperbacks, 25 cents.

• DVDs, 50 cents.

• Misc CDs, 50 cents.

• Magazines, 10 cents.

• Book sets, $1 per book, excluding encyclopedias.

• Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com

Texas judge sides with AG Paxton in Biden abortion guidance policy

By ALI LINAN CNHI TEXAS STATEHOUSE REPORTER

AUSTIN A federal judge temporarily blocked a federal health guideline that requires hospitals to provide abortion services if the life of the mother is at risk in the Lone Star State.

Texas sued the Department of Health and Human Services in July after it issued the guidance in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that deemed that access to an abortion is not a constitutional right.

Under the guidance, federal health officials affirmed that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act protects providers when offering legally mandated life- or health-saving abortion services in emergency situations.

When announcing the lawsuit, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the federal guidance “seeks to transform every emergency room in the country into a walk-in abortion clinic.”

He added that the guidance forced physicians and hospitals to make a decision between following state law or losing federal funding.

He also claimed that “the EMTALA does not authorize and has never been thought to authorize the federal government to require emergency health care providers to perform abortions.”

“It says nothing about abortion,” Paxton said.

U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix agreed. In his ruling, Hendrix stated that the EMTALA does not mention abortion and the recent federal guidance goes beyond the scope of the act.

“Since the statute is silent on the question, the guidance cannot answer how doctors should weigh risks to both a mother and her unborn child,” the order said. “Nor can it, in doing so, create a conflict with state law where one does not exist. The guidance was thus unauthorized.”

The temporary block stops the government from enforcing the guidance.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called Hendrix’s ruling “(a win) for mothers, babies, & the TX healthcare industry,” in a Tweet.

The ruling comes one day before the Texas trigger law is set to take effect. The law bans all

abortions from the point of conception. It also toughen the punishment for those involved in performing an abortion with life in prison and fines no less than $100,000.

Texas lawmakers have also said they plan to add stricter abortion restrictions come next session, with some saying they want to impose additional civil and criminal sanctions on law firms and businesses that pay for abortions or abortion travel, as well as draft legislation that would allow shareholders of publicly-traded companies to sue executives for paying for abortion care.

Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement Wednesday that the state’s Republican stance against abortion “is not about being ‘pro-life,’” but “about forcing birth, even if it will literally kill women.”

“Let me be clear: we strongly disagree with this ruling – and we stand with the millions of Texans who have been dealt yet another blow to their fundamental freedoms and bodily autonomy,” he said.

FORECAST

Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 70. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the morning. Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. South wind around 5 mph.

McAlester

JAMES BEATY | Staff photo

LIBRARY ASSISTANT II Marilyn Smitherman looks over some of the books that will be available along with other items at the Friends of the Library Book Sale.

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OR PHOTOS

Caddo peanut and cotton field day approaching in September

By ALISA BOSWELL-GORE OSU AG COMMUNICATIONS

STILLWATER

The Caddo Research Station in Ft. Cobb will host a peanut and cotton field day on Sept. 15. Oklahoma State University and U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers will share crop information on their latest peanut and cotton research projects and discuss solutions to the challenges producers face.

“Like other field days, OSU researchers are trying to relay what they’ve found to growers with unbiased opinions,” said Bobby Weidenmaier, station assistant superintendent. “We deliver research-based facts to producers, so they can make the best decisions for their crops.”

The event will offer the following presentations:

Weed management in peanuts and cotton – Todd Baughman, OSU Extension weed management specialist

Cotton harvest aids – Seth Byrd, OSU Extension cotton specialist

Peanut variety development

– Kelly Chamberlin, USDA peanut geneticist

Disease evaluations of peanut cultivars and advanced breeding lines – Rebecca Bennett, USDA plant pathologist

Soil fertility project update

– Brian Arnall, OSU Extension

precision nutrient management specialist

Cover crop impacts on greenhouse gas emissions – Jason Warren, OSU Extension water and soil conservation specialist

Arnall will update participants on OSU’s soil fertility project, which tests the amount of nitrogen commercially available biological products add to soil. Researchers are currently testing eight products on cot -

ton.

“We have products that are supposed to create nitrogen or break down organic matter to release nitrogen or create a symbiotic relationship with the plants to improve uptake,” Arnall said. “The goal of the research is to quantify how much nitrogen that these products can add to the system.”

Arnall said producers have a lot of questions about biologi-

cal products, and he wants them to know researchers are working on the answers.

The Sept. 15 field day will be held 5-7 p.m. with hull blasting provided to peanut growers prior to the event at 2:30 p.m. Weidenmaier said producers unavailable at that time can bring peanuts for blasting in the morning hours. A dinner will be served at 7 p.m. Event coordinators recommend at -

tendees register in advance. OSU Agriculture Field Days are educational events presented by OSU Ag Research and Extensionto share research-based information and resources with Oklahomans. Field days showcase current agricultural research and relevant best practices through presentations, tours, hands-on workshops and discussion at little or no cost.

TODD JOHNSON | OSU Agricultural Communications Services

THE CADDO RESEARCH STATION Peanut and Cotton Field Day will take place on Sept. 15 with researchers sharing the latest research projects and discoveries for peanut and cotton crops. Cotton is Oklahoma’s fourth largest export behind oil, gas and wheat.

TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Friday, Aug. 26, the 238th day of 2022. There are 127 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY:

On Aug. 26, 1968, the Democratic National Convention opened in Chicago; the four-day event that resulted in the nomination of Hubert H. Humphrey for president was marked by a bloody police crackdown on antiwar protesters in the streets.

ON THIS DATE:

In 55 B.C., Roman forces under Julius Caesar invaded Britain, with only limited success.

In 1910, Thomas Edison demonstrated for reporters an improved version of his Kinetophone, a device for showing a movie with synchronized sound.

In 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing American women’s right to vote, was certified in effect by Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby.

In 1939, the first televised major league baseball games were shown on experimental station W2XBS: a double-header between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field. (The Reds won the first game, 5-2, the Dodgers the second, 6-1.)

In 1944, French Gen. Charles de Gaulle braved the threat of German snipers as he led a victory march in Paris, which had just been liberated by the Allies from Nazi occupation.

In 1957, the Soviet Union announced it had successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile.

In 1958, Alaskans went to the polls to overwhelmingly vote in favor of statehood.

In 1972, the summer Olympics opened in Munich, West Germany.

In 1978, Cardinal Albino Luciani (al-BEE’-noh looCHYAH’-nee) of Venice was elected pope following the death of Paul VI; the new pontiff took the name Pope John Paul I. (However, he died just over a month later.)

In 1985, 13-year-old AIDS patient Ryan White began “attending” classes at Western Middle School in Kokomo, Indiana, via a telephone hook-up at his home -school officials had barred Ryan from attending classes in person.

In 2018, a gunman opened fire on fellow gamers at a video game tournament in Jacksonville, Fla., killing two men and wounding 10 others before taking his own life.

Playwright Neil Simon, whose comedies included “The Odd Couple” and “Barefoot in the Park,” died at the age of 91.

In 2020, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse was arrested in Illinois in the shooting deaths of two people and the wounding of another during a third night of protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, over the police shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake. (Rittenhouse, who said he was defending himself after the three men attacked him, would be acquitted on all charges, including homicide.) All three scheduled NBA playoff games were postponed, with players choosing to boycott in their strongest statement yet against racial injustice. (The games resumed three days later, after players and owners agreed to expand initiatives, many tied to increased voting awareness and opportunities.)

Uvalde school board fires Chief over shooting response

■ He calls vote a ‘public lynching’

By BRIAN LOPEZTHE CNHI NEWS SERVICE

UVALDE The Uvalde school board agreed Wednesday to fire Pete Arredondo, the school district’s police chief broadly criticized for his response to the deadliest school shooting in Texas history, in a unanimous vote that came shortly after he asked to be taken off of suspension and receive backpay.

Arredondo, widely blamed for law enforcement’s delayed response in confronting the gunman who killed 21 people at Robb Elementary, made the request for reinstatement through his attorney, George E. Hyde. The meeting came exactly three months after a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary. Arredondo didn’t attend the meeting.

“Chief Arredondo will not participate in his own illegal and unconstitutional public lynching and respectfully requests the Board immediately reinstate him, with all backpay and benefits and close the complaint as unfounded,” Hyde said in a statement.

About 100 people showed up to the meeting Wednesday. Many chanted “coward” and “no justice, no peace.”

Four people spoke during a public comment period before the board went into closed session to deliberate Arredondo’s employment.

Arredondo was one of the first law enforcement officers to respond to the shooting at Robb Elementary on May 24.

Nearly 400 local, state and federal law enforcement officers waited more than an hour to confront the 18-year-old gunman after he entered the school.

The board began deliberating his fate behind closed doors shortly before 6 p.m. Trustees faced intense public pressure to fire Arredondo, whom many state leaders have publicly blamed for the delayed response to the shooter.

Hyde asked school officials to read a statement on Arredondo’s behalf at the meeting. They did not comply with the request.

After board members began discussing Arredondo, Felicha Lopez, whose son Xavier James Lopez was killed in the massacre, told people attending the meeting that

the school board needed to “protect our kids” as she wiped tears from her face.

Arredondo has been on leave since June 22. Superintendent Hal Harrell recommended that Arredondo be fired “for good cause,” according to an agenda of the 5:30 p.m. school board meeting.

A Texas House committee report released in July said the responding officers lacked clear leadership, basic communications and sufficient urgency to more quickly confront the gunman, who was shot and killed after a U.S. Border Patrol

tactical team entered the classroom where most of the victims were shot.

Arredondo was listed in the district’s active-shooter plan as the commanding officer, but the consensus of those interviewed by the House committee was that Arredondo did not assume that role and no one else took over for him, which resulted in a chaotic law enforcement response.

In a June 9 interview with The Texas Tribune, Arredondo said he did not think he was the incident commander on the scene. He said he never gave any order, instead only called for assistance.

Arredondo did not have his police radio while he was inside Robb Elementary because he wanted both of his arms free to engage the shooter, he said.

Arredondo testified to the House committee that he believed the shooter was a “barricaded subject” instead of an “active shooter” after seeing an empty classroom next to the one where the shooter was hiding.

“With the benefit of hindsight, we now know this was a terrible, tragic mistake,” the House report stated.

Fall books a broad mix of literary and commercial favorites

By HILLEL ITALIE AP NATIONAL WRITER

NEW YORK Anticipation for one of the fall’s likeliest bestsellers has been growing all year.

For months, Colleen Hoover’s millions of fans on TikTok, Instagram and elsewhere have been talking up and posting early excerpts from her novel “It Starts With Us.”

By summer, the author’s sequel to her bestselling “It Ends With Us” had already reached the top 10 Amazon.com. It might have climbed higher but for competition from other Hoover novels, including “Ugly Love,” “Verity” and, of course, “It Ends With Us,” the dramatic tale of a love triangle and a woman’s endurance of domestic abuse that young TikTok users have embraced and helped make Hoover the country’s most popular fiction writer.

Hoover’s extraordinary run on bestseller lists, from Amazon.com to The New York Times, has been Beatle-esque for much of 2022, with four or more books likely to appear in the top 10 at a given moment. “It Starts With Us” had been so eagerly desired by her admirers CoHorts, some call themselves that she broke a personal rule: Don’t let “outside influences” determine her next book.

“I never allowed myself to entertain a sequel, but with the amount of people emailing me every day and tagging me in an

online petition to write about (those characters), their story began to build in my head in the same way my other books begin,” she told The Associated Press in a recent email. “Eventually I craved telling this story as much as I did my other stories, so I owe the readers a big thank you for the nudging.”

Hoover’s new book should help extend what has been another solid year for the industry. Booksellers are looking forward to a mix of commercial favorites such as Hoover, Anthony Horowitz, Beverly Jenkins and Veronica Roth alongside what Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt calls a “really strong” lineup of literary releases, including novels by Ian McEwan and Kate Atkinson.

The fall also will feature new fiction from Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and Pulitzer Prize-winners Elizabeth

Joe Concha’s “Come On, Man!: The Truth About Joe Biden’s Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Presidency” is the most colorfully named of the latest round of books attacking an incumbent president a long and profitable publishing tradition. But the most high-profile works of political reporting dwell on Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, among them “Confidence Man,” by The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, and “The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017–2021,” by Peter Baker of the Times

Michelle Obama’s “The Light We Carry” is her first entirely new book since her worldwide bestseller from 2018, “Becoming.” Benjamin Netanyahu’s “Bibi” is the first memoir by the former Israeli Prime Minister, while American politicians with new books include Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke.

Celebrity books include Bono’s “Surrender,” Matthew Perry’s “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing” and Geena Davis’ “Dying of Politeness.” Bob Dylan reflects upon an art form he helped reinvent in “The Philosophy of Modern Song,” while the title of Jan Wenner’s memoir invokes the Dylan classic that helped inspire the name of the magazine he founded, “Like a Rolling

Stone.”

History books will cover the famous and the overlooked. Among the former are Pulitzer-winner Jon Meacham’s “And There Was Light,” the latest entry into the canon of Abraham Lincoln scholarship, and Pulitzer-winner Stacy Schiff’s biography of Samuel Adams, “The Revolutionary.” Fred Kaplan, who focused on Lincoln’s prose in “Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer,” now assesses Thomas Jefferson in “His Masterly Pen: A Biography of Jefferson the Writer.”

Releases highlighting those less remembered include Kevin Hazzard’s “American Sirens: The Incredible Story of the Black Men Who Became America’s First Paramedics,” and Katie Hickman’s “Brave Hearted: The Women of the American West.” With the overturning last summer of Roe v. Wade, Laura Kaplan’s “The Story of Jane” is a timely reissue of her 1995 book about the underground abortion counseling service founded in Chicago in 1969, four years before the Supreme Court’s historic Roe ruling.

Bruce Henderson’s “Bridge to the Sun” centers on the recruitment of Japanese-Americans, some of whom had been in internment camps, to assist in U.S. intelligence gathering during World War II.

“It was really hard to research because many of them had been working on top secret projects, and, even after they had been discharged, were reminded that they were under the National Security Act and that military secrets had to be kept,” Henderson says. “We had to do a lot of digging and contact families and see what the veterans had left behind. Of the six guys that I follow in my book, only one was still alive.”

EVAN L’ROY | for CNHI PETE ARREDONDO, former chief of the Uvalde school district police, on a dirt road on the outskirts of Uvalde on June 8. He was fired by the school board exactly three months after a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary.

Strout and Andrew Sean Greer. Celeste Ng’s “Our Missing Hearts” is her first novel since “Little Fires Everywhere.” Story collections are expected from George Saunders, Andrea Barrett and Ling Ma, along with novels by Percival Everett, Barbara Kingsolver, Kevin Wilson, N.K. Jemisin, Lydia Millet and Yiyun Li.

and Susan Glasser of The New Yorker.

McAlester Devotional

Attention local pastors!

If you would like to submit a “Manna” (sermon) article to be published here on this page. Please submit to: composing@mcalesternews.com

*It will be sumbitted to our Editorial board for approval before publishing.

Any questions please call Adrian @ 918-421-2022

FIRST UNITED METHODIST

13th & McArthur • 918-423-6136 Sunday School: 9:45 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Worship Service: 10:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Nursery Provided for all services. Dr. Matt Judkins, Pastor FirstMethodistMcAlester.org

Daily Verse

Psalm 116:1-2

I love the Lord. He heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH

Pastor: Rusty McMullen

Worship Service: 9:30 a.m.

Sunday School: 10:45 a.m. 100 E. Washington Ave, McAlester Ph: 918-423-0990

No One Is Cast Aside

By PRIMUS M. MOORE ELDER, TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH

In recent times, there has been an alarming resurgence of anti-Semitism, or hate for people of Jewish ethnicity. Old prejudices have returned against those who by birth are descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. One would think that the events of the twentieth century, especially the Holocaust during World War II, would have finally brought about ever again.” But in recent times, even elected representatives in the US congress have spoken out against those who are Jews.

When Paul wrote his Letter to the Gentile Christians that the grace of God, previously available to the Jews, was no longer for them but was now only for the Gentiles. The number of Gentile Christians was growing. It was tempting to think that the Jews were no longer God’s favored people. In Gentile eyes it appeared God hand former d rejected Israel. In Romans, Paul, a Jew and former Pharisee now called by God to be the “apostle

ABBA’S HOUSE CHURCH OF GOD

Pastor: James Hail

Worship Service: 10:45 a.m.

Wednesday Bible Study: 7:00 p.m. 900 E Comanche Ave, McAlester Ph: 918-558-0678

to the Gentiles,” responds emphatically, “May it never be!” For God rejects none but bestows his gifts on all who turn to him and believe.

Although Israel was disobedient in the past, God’s plan for them remained.

God’s grace is for all people. The Jews sinned by rejecting God’s grace and relying on a righteousness of their own making. Theirs had become works of the Law. By their works, they were unable even to acquire God’s grace for themselves, it’s a free gift of God through Jesus Christ. It turned out, though, that the rejection of Israel brought salvation to the nations. Gentile Christians who repented of their sins, especially of the pagan idolatry that was so much a part of their Roman world, and who turned in faith to Christ were now recipients of God’s free grace.

God’s gifts and calling are irrevocable. God works out his plan one way or another to fulfill his desire to show mercy to all.

This mercy shown to us compels us, like Paul, earnestly to pray and to preach and proclaim Christ to all people, so that all may believe and be saved. Amen.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. en you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12:2

ASSEMBLY OF GOD

CHURCH

First Assembly of God 1800 Hardy Springs Road 918-423-4827

Northside Assembly of God 3430 North Hwy. 69 Bypass 918-423-5392

BAPTIST

Adamson Baptist Church 7513 E. Adamson Rd, Hartshorne 918-297-3861

Blocker Baptist Church East of McAlester on Hwy. 31 918-469-2349

Calvary Baptist 429 South Ninth 918-423-4532

Life Church McAlester

1300 S. George Nigh Expwy 918-423-7773

Pastors: Terren & Shinista Anderson

Wednesday Service: 7:00 p.m. Sunday Services: 9:30 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.

Apostolics of McAlester

300 E. Carl Albert Pkwy • McAlester 918-413-4859

Pastor: Joel Price Wednesday Service & Youth Service: 7:00 p.m. Sunday School: 2:00 p.m.Worship Service: 2:45 p.m.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

Cornerstone Baptist Church Hwy 69 & Gene Stipe Blvd. 918-426-4005

Community Baptist Fellowship Church 600 S. 14th

Emmanuel Baptist 2625 North Hickory 918-426-1109

Fellowship Free Will Baptist 500 East Lincoln 918-423-1111

First Baptist, Haileyville 1st & Horine, Haileyville

First Baptist, Krebs 275 Southwest First, Krebs 918-423-5742

First Baptist, McAlester 100 East Washington 918-423-0990

First Free Will Baptist 332 West Carl Albert Parkway 918-423-5914

First Indian Baptist Church 608 W. Tyler

Frink Baptist South 69 Bypass, McAlester 9198-423-5230

Hartshorne 1st Baptist 1023 Lehigh 918-297-3931

High Hill Baptist Church 33 Church Rd. (High Hill to 33 Church) 918-423-3495

Hillcrest Baptist 601 South C Street 918-423-0329

Mekko Baptist Hwy 113 on Mekko Rd.

Call Matt at 918-421-2018 to Subscribe.

Missionary Baptist Church 2200 W. Hereford 918-423-7000

Mount Nebo Baptist 404 S. 7th St., Hartshorne, OK

Mount Triumph Baptist 408 East Wyandotte 918-423-4249

New Bethel Baptist 1215 East Jefferson 918-423-4958

North McAlester Free Will Baptist 500 West Ashland 9198-423-0904

Northgate Baptist Church 1110 N. Hickory 918-423-2027

New Bethel Baptist

1215 East Jefferson 918-423-4958

Richville Baptist 918-423-7442

Second Baptist N. 5th & Smith St. 918-423-4385

Shady Grove Missionary Baptist Church HWY 113 N., 918-426-2830

Victory Park Baptist Sixth and Harrison 918-423-3120

West Bethel Baptist 605 West Cherokee 918-916-7663

East Star Baptist Church 1000 E Cherokee 918-470-0525

Tannehill Freewill Baptist Tannehill Rd., (N of McAlester) 918-421-9316

CATHOLIC

Holy Rosary 912 E. Cherokee, Hartshorne 918-297-2453

St. John’s Catholic 300 East Washington 918-423-0810

St. Joseph’s Catholic 290 Northwest Church, Krebs 918-423-6695

CHRISTIAN

Central Christian 920 East Central 918-423-1995

Lakewood Christian 840 George Nigh Expressway 918-423-2736

CHURCH OF CHRIST North A Church of Christ 2120 North A Street 918-423-3445

North Town Church of Christ 2400 North Main 918-423-7332

Main and Oklahoma Church of Christ 1700 South Main 918-423-4743

C & Tyler Church of Christ Corner of C & Tyler 918-423-2482

CHURCH OF GOD ABBA’S HOUSE Church of God (Cleveland, TN) 900 E. Comanche abbashousecog.com

Church of God, Seventh Day 5 East Taylor 918-423-4248

EPISCOPAL All Saints Episcopal 325 East Washington 918-423-1915

CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST LATTER-DAY SAINTS Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints 405 West Electric 918-423-3762

LUTHERAN

Trinity Lutheran Highways 270 & 31 E. Krebs 918-426-4544

METHODIST

Grace United Methodist (Krebs) 918-426-1666

First United Methodist Church 13th & McArthur 918-423-6136

Ward Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church 623 East Cherokee 918-423-6352

CHURCH OF NAZARENE

Friendship Church 2011Friendship Church Rd. Stuart, OK 74570 918-758-7031

NON-DENOMINATIONAL

Kiamichi Country Cowboy Church 1000 Gloryland, McAlester Phone: 918.421.9057

Ash Creek Union Church NE of McAlester off Hwy 31

PENTECOSTAL

Apostolics of McAlester 3rd & Carl Albert 918-423-4492

Blue Holiness Church 6 1/2 miles West 270 918-302-3855

Abundant Life Church 221 West Monroe 918-423-7228

Faith Tabernacle Holiness Church 1 W. Kiowa St.

Family Worship Center Hwy 270 E. • 918-426-2636

Hilltop Christian Fellowship Full Gospel 3100 N. Ash Pathway to Truth Church

SE 3rd St., between Monroe & Lincoln, Krebs

Pentecostal Church of God 309 West Miami 918-423-4330

Faith Fellowship 803 B. Electric 918-916-1671

PRESBYTERIAN First Presbyterian ird and Washington 918-423-2186

SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST

Seventh Day Adventist Church 620 East Delaware 918-423-7765

Seventh Day Adventist Church Friendship 300 West Jackson 918-423-4202

OTHER

Deliverance Temple Holiness Church

905 N. Jackson 918-432-5486

GracePoint Church located at McAlester Good Samaritan Outreach, 20 E. Cherokee 918-470-5731

Life Church 1300 South George Nigh 918-423-7773

Living Word 103 West Taylor 918-426-4580

New Beginnings Church 1402 Tanglewood (behind Patriot Auto) 918-423-8383

New Life Assembly of Faith 101 E. Monroe 918-423-5500

NEWLIFE 313 Worship & Ministry Center 420 N. Main 918-423-5433

e Church Of Nazarene 700 W. Adams 918-423-7999

e King’s House 124 V Hubert Smith Dr. 918-423-3630

Tabernacle of Praise Worship Center 1121 E. Chickasaw 918-715-3123

e Worship Place

Tannehill-Scipio Rd. (McAl/ Tannehill 918-389-4259

ARPELAR

Arpelar Baptist Church 918-424-6155

Arpelar Faith Assembly of God 918-389-4305

Church of the Nazarene 918-389-4383

Cornerstone Community Church of Arpelar 918-429-3944

Double Springs Missionary Baptist Church 918-302-0053

CANADIAN Canadian Methodist 918-339-2387

Canadian Church of Christ CROWDER Church of Christ 918-334-3577

Crowder Freewill Baptist Church 918-916-6515 Full Gospel 918-334-6140 First Baptist 918-334-6194

Lakeside Assembly of God 918-334-3191

DOW

Dow Baptist Church East of McAlester on Hwy 270 405-684-1863

HARTSHORNE

Sts. Cyril & Methodius Ortho-

dox Church 501 ird St.

INDIANOLA

Canadian Shores Free Will Baptist 918-823-4461

Choate Prairie Baptist Church 918-823-4243 First Baptist 918-823-4583

Indianola Church of Christ 918-470-1798 or 918-650-8652 North Mt. Homa 918-826-4502

New Hope Free Will Baptist 918-823-4423 Ulan Baptist 918-826-4441

PITTSBURG AND KIOWA

1st Assembly of God, Kiowa 918-432-5159

Church of Christ, Kiowa 918-432-5479

Deliverance Temple Holiness Church, Kiowa 918-432-5486

First Baptist, Kiowa 918-432-5304

First Baptist, Pittsburg 918-432-5500

Full Gospel Lighthouse 918-432-5160

Harpers Valley Baptist 918-421-5452

Kiowa Assembly of God 918-421-0166

Kiowa United Methodist 918-432-5715

Pentecostal Holiness 918-432-5900

Pittsburg United Methodist Pittsburg Pentecostal Church of God Indian Mission 918-432-5559

QUINTON First United Methodist 918-469-3479

Jesus Name Pentecostal Church 918-469-3840

Greater Refuge United Pentecostal Church Hwy 31 & Hwy 71 918-469-3850

SAVANNA Assembly of God 918-318-0868 First Baptist 918-548-3552

Friendship Bible Baptist Church Savanna, OK 74565 918-916-1325

SCIPIO Scipio Baptist Church 918-429-8691

LIST your Church Here For FREE!!! Call: 918.421.2015 or 918.421.2016

gardening Success of plants directly related to soil

Gardening takes several elements working together to ensure success. While proper care, irrigation and light are important, don’t forget about the basics – soil. Good soil is vital to a prosperous garden.

People often think of soil as, well, just dirt. But did you know soils are alive? They’re filled with plant roots, bugs, earthworms, bacteria and fungi. They’re basically a whole ecosystem underground. Ideally, soil is composed of half solids, including minerals and organic matter, along with pore space, which is filled with air or water. A lot

Hillock OSU EXTENSION HORTICULTURIST

of the soil found in Oklahoma is compacted red clay soil. Hard, compacted soil like this has lost pore space due to compression. Plant roots need

oxygen, water and space to grow, and compacted soils don’t allow for this. Healthy soils provide adequate water and nutrients to plants and protect against losses due to runoff and erosion.

Gardeners who are dealing with clay and compacted soils should incorporate organic matter into the soil. Organic matter is decomposed plants that holds nutrients and water, loosens the soil and feeds the life in the soil.

For those who have already planted a fall garden but are still dealing with less-than-desirable soil, start adding organic material once the last of

the fresh produce is picked later this year. You might even want to start a compost pile or bin to create rich, organic material that can be used next spring. It won’t be long till those fall leaves hit the ground and they are good for the compost bin, too. Also, toss in any organic material you may remove from the garden following the last fall harvest.

Another tip to help with compacted soil is to use a ground cover. Having plants on the soil surface prevents erosion, soil crusting and compaction. It also helps reduce pesky weeds.

It’s important to know what

is beneath the soil, especially if you live in a newer neighborhood. Soil is often changed during construction. The site is graded, filled, compacted and possibly contaminated. It’s always a good idea to have a soil test done through the local Oklahoma State University Extension county office. Once gardeners know what type of soil they’re dealing with, plan and plant accordingly.

• David Hillock is an Associate Extension Specialist/Consumer

These are dry, stressful days for lawns. Some tips to help.

By JESSICA DAMIANO ASSOCIATED PRESS

Much of the country has experienced drought and extreme heat this summer, and turfgrass lawns are feeling the pain.

There are steps we can take, however, to mitigate the damage while still trying to conserve precious water resources.

KNOW YOUR LAWN

There are two classifications of turfgrasses: cool-season grasses, which include Kentucky bluegrass, perennial rye, fine fescue and tall fescue, and warm-season tropical types like Bermuda, St. Augustine, centipede and zoysia, which are considered heat- and drought-tolerant.

Warm-season grasses, used throughout much of the South, fare better over summer and go dormant when the weather cools.

Cool-season grasses, grown in four-season climates, enter dormancy under the scorching rays of the summer sun, and the excessive watering needed to break that dormancy would be a wasteful endeavor. Instead, provide just enough water to keep the beige, straw-like groundcover alive about a half-inch every other week. Avoid foot traffic until the grass recovers and provide a dose of fertilizer when it regains its green hue.

Interplanting native groundcovers with grass and tolerating some weeds, which tend to remain green under the harshest of conditions, can provide a semblance of lawn during drought. It really doesn’t have to be perfect.

DON’T MOW TOO MUCH

Growth tends to slow during drought, so mowing may not be necessary. But if your lawn needs a trim, don’t cut it too short.

In general, keep mower blades set to 3 inches and never remove more than one-third the height of

the lawn in a single mowing session. That will minimize stress, and allow the grass to keep itself cooler and less vulnerable to dehydration.

Mowing too short weakens grass and exposes soil to sunlight, which hastens moisture evaporation.

Mowing the lawn is a lot like performing surgery. Just as a sharp scalpel is preferable to a dull knife, well-honed mower blades are kinder to grass than dull ones, which rip and fray rather than cut cleanly. That leads to browning, and makes the lawn more susceptible to disease and infestation.

If possible, mow early or late in the day to avoid exposing freshly cut grass to the strongest heat.

WATER THOUGHTFULLY

Less-frequent, deeper watering that reaches roots is preferable to a daily surface sprinkle. Deep watering promotes vigorous plants that can better withstand hot, dry spells.

Follow any local watering guidelines, of course, if you live in a drought-stricken area where authorities have urged or required reductions in outdoor watering.

Most grasses need about 1 ½ inches of water per week, including rainfall. If you have an automatic sprinkler system, determine how much water you’re applying by setting a tuna can or similar container on the lawn and running a typical cycle. Measure the depth of accumulation in the can. Next, do the math, dividing the depth in inches by two or three weekly sessions to determine how long to run the sprinkler each time.

Sprinkler systems vary widely in output, depending on such things as make and model, your home’s water pressure, and missing or broken sprinkler heads.

If you’re not sure whether to water, step on a patch of grass and lift your foot; if it springs back, it’s well hydrated. If

your footprint remains compressed, the lawn is thirsty.

Set sprinklers to run in the morning, ideally between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m., and not after 4 p.m. Watering when the sun is at its strongest diminishes the amount of water that can reach roots before it evaporates; doing so later in the day increases the risk of mold and fungal diseases.

DON’T KILL IT WITH KINDNESS

When the lawn is struggling, your instinct may be to give it a nutritional boost, but fertilizing during hot, dry spells can do more harm than good.

Fertilizer applications stimulate growth that requires more energy than stressed grass can afford. Instead, allow clippings to remain on the lawn.

If you don’t have a mulching mower, remove the bag and mow over the expelled clippings to chop them. As they decompose, the clippings will return

a natural (and free!) form of nitrogen to the soil.

CAREFULLY CONSIDER ALTERNATIVES

If you’re tempted to give up grass altogether, artificial turf might seem like an eco-friendly option. It doesn’t need water, fertilizer or mowing, and many of today’s fake lawns have variegated colors and textures that look real. Some are made of recycled plastic bottles or other seemingly “good” materials. But, as with most things, the devil is in the details.

For starters, plastic is plastic, whether it’s newly manufactured or recycled, and it’s not biodegradable. Eventually, it will end up in a landfill.

In addition, a 2017 Arizona State University study found that plastic grass absorbs and holds more heat than brick or asphalt and retains that heat longer. That’s bad news for pets, bare feet, and the soil and microbial and insect life that lives within it. The

generated heat also radiates into the air, increasing the temperature around your house.

Although artificial lawns require less attention than living ones, they aren’t maintenance-free. They occasionally need to be cleaned, and must be hosed down when they get too hot. The toxic chemicals the “lawn” exudes may run off into storm drains and elsewhere, potentially impacting ground water, just as fertilizers and pesticides do.

Instead, consider replacing the lawn altogether: Native flowers, shrubs and trees thrive with less water than turfgrass, don’t typically need fertilizer amendments, and provide food and habitat to wildlife.

LOOKING AHEAD

If heat and drought lead to bare spots, re-seed the lawn when the weather cools. Water deeply once, then lightly every day until new growth is 3 inches tall. Don’t let seeds dry out even once, or you may have to start over.

Next year, start watering deeply early in the season to establish a deep and robust root system more able to withstand severe weather. Even better, consider planting short-growing native grasses like Pennsylvania sedge and groundcovers like clover that can handle some foot traffic while remaining lush and green throughout the dog days of summer.

• Jessica Damiano writes regular gardening columns for The Associated Press. Her Gardening Calendar was named a winner in the 2021 Garden Communicators International Media Awards. Her Weekly Dirt Newsletter won a Society of Professional Journalists PCLI 2021 Media Award. Sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice.

Horticulturist/State Master Gardener Coordinator in the Dept. of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture for Oklahoma State University.

David

Jessica Damiano via AP

provided by Jessica Damiano shows the heat-induced dormancy of a cool-season lawn in Glen Head, N.Y.

Support McAlester Public Library

Another book sale this weekend brings a chance for a surprising find and way to support the local library.

Friends of the Library is hosting a book sale from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27, in the McAlester Public Library’s Whiteacre Room.

Previously-boxes materials will be placed on tables during the sale, while more books and items that will be available are already placed on library bookshelves. Friends of the Library sales are not limited to only books. Typically other items, such as DVDs, music CDs and magazines are also available.

Proceeds from the book sale go toward support for library programs.

McAlester Public Library is a vital resource in our community and continues moving forward with ways to expand services.

A major project to renovate and expand the existing building at 402 N. Second St. is moving forward with construction to begin in the summer or fall of 2023 and to be completed by 2024.

McAlester city councilors, the Puterbaugh Foundation and the Southeast Oklahoma Library System Board each pledged $1.5 million to the project that brought the total to $4.5 million.

Officials said more than a third of the total fundraising goal of $12 million was already committed to the project focused on expanding the library’s service to the community.

Plans call for additional square footage, more meeting and study rooms, additional shared workspace areas, and more room for children and teen services. The renovation will also replace and modernize original building components, such as plumbing, electrical, lighting and HVAC to meet today’s standards and ADA guidelines.

SEOLS also recently unveiled its new Bookmobile that will carry 1,600 books and bring services to people who need it across the seven counties it serves in our part of the state.

These are just some of the biggest recent examples of how McAlester Public Library and SEOLS play essential roles in providing access to information and other resources for our community.

And the library provides more than books — offering free internet access, a bevy of free services, classes, and safe spaces for children.

We applaud everyone involved with SEOLS and our local library for their continued work to serve our community.

So if you’re looking for a new book, want to support the library, or just need something to do Saturday, check out the Friends of the Library book sale.

It’s an easy, fun way to support people investing in our community.

• McAlester News-Capital Editorial Board

AREA LAWMAKERS

District 7 State Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-MCCURTAIN: 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Ste. 513-B, Oklahoma City, OK, 73105, 405-5215604, warren.hamilton@oksenate.gov.

District 17 State Rep. Jim Grego, R-MCALESTER: 501 State Capitol, Oklahoma City, OK, 73105, 405-557-7381, jim.grego@okhouse.gov

District 18 State Rep. David Smith, R-MCALESTER: 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Room 250A, Oklahoma City, OK, 73105, 405557-7376, david.smith@okhouse.gov

U.S. Sen. James Inhofe 1924 S. Utica, Ste. 530, Tulsa, OK, 74104, 918-748-5111; 215 E. Choctaw, Ste. 106, McAlester, OK, 74502, 918-426-0933, www. inhofe.senate.gov

U.S. Sen. James Lankford

The Remington Tower, 5810 East Skelly Drive Suite 1000, Tulsa, OK 74135, 918-581-7651

316 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510, 202-224-5754

U.S. District 2 Rep. Markwayne Mullin 1113 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20515, 202-225-2701; 918423-5951; markwayne.mullin@mail.house.gov

COMMENTARY

Finding the road to better roads

Germany Kent once said, “We are all on the road to success. Some people just act like they want it more than others.”

It is rare that I visit a community where “roads” are not a hot topic. Every community believes they have the worst roads in their state, or even the country. When someone makes a “roads or potholes” post on social media, it is sure to contain one of the longest string of comments that week. Suffice it to say, roads are usually a topic that brings out the passion in everyone.

Not long ago, I was on social media where someone had posted how bad the roads were in their community. As is predictable, dozens of comments followed, all chiming in with comments mirroring the original author of the post. Ironically, in the very next post, one of the commenters on the previous roads post was indicating how they were looking for things to do that upcoming weekend and thought they would be going to a community 45 minutes away for dinner, shopping, and maybe a show. Others from the previous “roads post” chimed in with like sentiments.

The answer, while simple, is not very well known. In many states, fixing the roads within the state or within the communities comes down to a very basic equation. The equation is this. The funds used to repair and maintain roads typically come out of the sales taxes generated in those communities, counties, and state. As go the sales tax revenues, so goes the road upkeep. Nothing more, nothing less. Yes, the allocation of road funds is subject to debate within local governments, balancing the need for police, fire, and so forth is never easy. But it is still very

basic, spend local, improve your roads. Spend out of town, pave the roads of where you are spending your money. Want better roads, find ways to spend more dollars locally. When we factor in the 3X compounding impact of locally spent dollars, the impact is huge. If each resident in a community of 20,000 people spent just $25 additional dollars locally each month, that would equate to an additional $18,000,000 circulating through the community each year. With a 10% local sales tax, that is $1,800,000 additional dollars for police, fire, AND roads. Not to mention how many jobs that will help to save or create. Certainly, there is a little more to it than this simple example, but the point remains – want better roads, spend more locally!

There is a catch. Most of us aren’t wired in such a way to be constantly thinking about spending locally or building our internal local DNA. With that being the case, we really can’t place the blame on the residents for not spending enough locally. The blame lies with the community leaders in that they are failing to educate the community about this critical component needed to have a successful com-

munity. City leaders, Chambers, Main Streets, Media, and others should be constantly educating 24/7, year-round. Studies indicate a person must hear a marketing message at least seven times before it really begins to resonate internally. Most convey this message once or twice and believe the job is complete. Nothing is further from the truth – the job has only just begun.

Every community must begin communicating more effectively. Every community must begin to market the various messages that are needed to change the mindset of each resident. Every community must start thinking how they can encourage business growth, after all that is the foundation of your sales tax dollars. Communities that communicate a strong local message, are business-friendly, and work to grow their business base. Those unwilling or unable to do those simple things are simply biding their time on the road to oblivion.

Let me close with a quote by Oscar Bimpong, he said “Where you are coming from doesn’t matter but where you are going does. Hence look forward and not backwards. Your eyes are placed in front of you for a reason. Your eyes only look backwards for special references. Keep your eyes on the road.” May each of us choose to keep our eyes on the path of success as we build better communities, and roads.

• John Newby is a nationally recognized Columnist, Publisher, Community, Business & Media strategic consultant & speaker. His “Building Main Street, not Wall Street,” column runs 60+ communities around the country. As founder of Truly-Local, he assists community leaders, businesses and local media to build synergies creating more vibrant communities. He can be reached at: info@Truly-Localllc.com.

FIRST AMENDMENT: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

John A. Newby GUEST COLUMNIST

cocaine when he asked Hale to loan him money for more drugs, but Hale refused and Coddington beat him in the head with a hammer.

Heath, also chairman of the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, said Coddington turned his life around in prison and voiced frustration from the death chamber that it didn’t matter in the final hour before his execution.

“He was talking about how he didn’t understand why Stitt didn’t even give a reason for denying clemency,” Heath said.

Coddington also requested forgiveness, expressed his love for his fiancé and her children

and his family members, and thanked Heath and attorneys.

Heath is a practicing attorney who co-pastors the Edmond Trinity Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) with his wife. He said several people with various backgrounds reached out to him this week in support of Coddington.

“There’s a community out there,” Heath said.

“This doesn’t speak for the state of Oklahoma.”

Protestors blew a shofar and rang a bell outside the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester before Coddington became the first of Oklahoma’s plan to execute 25 death-row inmates through December 2024.

Members of anti-death penalty groups and faith leaders gathered outside the prison to hold vigil for Coddington.

For Whom The Bells Toll, a national project Sister Dorothy Briggs founded in the 1990s to oppose executions, started ringing a large bell outside the prison gates at the scheduled execution time.

Abraham Bonowitz, executive director of Death Penalty Action, said the project’s name comes from the John Donne poem “For Whom the Bell Tolls.”

Bonowitz helped revive the project this year and brought the bell that protestors previously tolled during executions at prisons nationwide.

“Sometimes, in some places, it can be actually heard inside the prison,” Bonowitz said. “And along with the shofar, it is literally calling for justice from the heavens.”

Rev. Janie Koch, of the All Saints Episcopal

Church in McAlester, joined the protestors and called for unity.

“For all our differences, our faith, our politics, and where we live, we are human,” Koch said. “We are unified in the community of our humanity and life is precious.”

She said executions also wrought collateral damage.

“While James Coddington is no longer on this planet, there are others who are in grief,” Koch said. “For the victim’s family, for James’ family; there is collateral damage and execution is not right and needs to be stopped. There are other ways and we as the community of humanity need to explore those other ways.”

• Contact Derrick James at djames@mcalesternews.com

years.

Coddington testified he was on drugs when he robbed six convenience stores in three days leading up to Hale’s murder.

Prosecutors said Coddington asked Hale to loan him money for more drugs, Hale refused, and Coddington beat him in the head with a hammer.

Witnesses said Coddington did not mention Hale or his family in his final words. Hale’s son, Mitchell, told reporters Thursday that the exclusion showed Coddington’s remorseful apology during the clemency hearing wasn’t genuine, but the family was ready for closure.

“Today’s not a good day; it’s not a bad day; it’s just a new day for our family,” Hale said. “We can finally move on. It’s not going to heal anything, but it closes this chapter.”

Emma Rolls, Coddington’s attorney, said Coddington suffered years of alcohol and drug abuse starting with his father adding alcohol to his bottles as a child. Rolls said Coddington showed remorse for his actions and exhibited outstanding behavior while in prison.

Oklahoma Attorney General John Connor’s office said Hale’s death had “an immeasurable ripple effect” and his family waited 25 years for justice.

“Justice is now served for Albert Hale and the people of Oklahoma,” the AG’s office said in a release. “Our office recognizes that nothing can fill the void left by the loss of a loved one, and our hearts and prayers are with the Hale family.”

Oklahoma halted executions in 2015 following a series of problematic ones that brought international scrutiny on the state’s protocols.

Clayton Lockett took 43 minutes to die as he writhed and seemed to be conscious at certain points during his 2014 execution. A state investigation later found an IV to administer drugs in Lockett’s leg came loose. Prison workers used a non-approved drug during the January 2015 execution of Charles Warner.

The U.S. Supreme Court in 2015 upheld Oklahoma’s execution procedure and use of midazolam, but the attorney general at the time agreed to halt all executions pending the outcome of the federal trial.

Oklahoma ended its moratorium in October 2021 with the execution of death-row inmate John Grant, who convulsed and vomited on the gurney before his death by lethal injection.

Attorneys for 28 deathrow inmates challenged the state’s execution protocol and alleged the use of midazolam the first part of Oklahoma’s threedrug lethal injection mixture causes a risk of serious pain and violated their Eighth Amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment.

Oklahoma paused executions again pending the federal trial.

A federal judge ruled in June that the challenge fell short of proving Oklahoma’s lethal injection protocols violate constitutional rights allowing the state to move forward with executions.

“The plaintiff inmates have fallen well short of clearing the bar set by the Supreme Court,” U.S. District Judge Stephen P. Friot wrote. “Consequently, the Eighth Amendment, as construed and applied by the Supreme Court in its lethal injection cases, does not stand in the way of execution of the Oklahoma inmates in this case…”

Friot also wrote in his 45-page judgment that Grant’s vomiting during his execution was not surprising as the state executed him with a full stomach. He also wrote Grant’s convulsions likely stemmed from his tongue obstructing his airway after falling unconscious.

Death row inmate Richard Glossip was scheduled to be next in Oklahoma’s plan to execute 25 men through December 2024 before Stitt issued a 60-day stay for review.

Glossip, 59, was convicted twice of first-degree murder in a 1997 murder-for-hire plot that accused him of hiring Justin Sneed to kill his boss, motel owner Barry Van Treese.

But the case gained notoriety and Houston-based law firm Reed Smith conducted an independent review at the request of an ad hoc committee comprised of 34 Oklahoma state lawmakers, mostly Republicans and led by State Rep. Kevin McDugle who said he would fight to end the death penalty in Oklahoma if Glossip is executed.

The independent review raised questions over lost evidence, if investigators asked Sneed leading questions, a letter Sneed wrote expressing desire to recant testimony, and more.

Benjamin Cole, 59, faces an Oct. 20 execution date after being sentenced to death in the 2002 killing of his 9-month-old daughter in Rogers County but public defenders seek a competency hearing over his deteriorating mental state.

• Contact Adrian O’Hanlon III at aohanlon@mcalesternews.com

DERRICK JAMES Staff photo

FR. BRYAN BROOKS, right, of the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma, leads a prayer outside the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester during the execution of James Coddington.

mccarty erik 1

LOCAL CALENDAR

Aug. 26

HS FOOTBALL

• Broken Bow at McAlester, 7:30 p.m.

• Canadian at Ketchum, 7 p.m.

• Gore at Wilburton, 7 p.m.

HS SOFTBALL

• Kiowa at Wister, 4:30 p.m.

• Pittsburg at Grandfield, 4 p.m.

• Haileyville at Quinton, 4:30 p.m.

HS BASEBALL

• Indianola Tournament, TBA

• Colbert Tournament, TBA

• Crowder at Stuart, 4:30 p.m,

Aug 27

HS BASEBALL

• Indianola Tournament, TBA

• Colbert Tournament, TBA

• Stuart at Battiest, 12 p.m.

Aug. 29

HS SOFTBALL

• Will Rogers at McAlester, 5 p.m.

• Quinton at Keota/Webbers Falls, 5:30 p.m.

• Pitt 8 Festival, TBA

HS BASEBALL

• Stringtown at Kiowa, 4 p.m.

• Moss at Stuart, 4:30 p.m.

Aug. 30

HS SOFTBALL

• McAlester at Wister/ Cameron, 4 p.m.

• Pittsburg at Allen, 4:30 p.m.

• Moss at Kiowa, 4:30 p.m.

HS BASEBALL

• Pittsburg at Braggs, 4 p.m.

• Whitesboro at Kiowa, 4 p.m.

HS VOLLEYBALL

• McAlester at Pryor, 6:30 p.m.

Sept. 1

HS FOOTBALL

• Quinton at Wetumka, 7 p.m.

HS SOFTBALL

• Indianola Tournament, TBA

• Tushka Tournament, TBA

• Eufaula Tournament, TBA

HS BASEBALL

• Cameron at Kiowa, 4 p.m.

• Preston Tournament, TBA

HS VOLLEYBALL

• McAlester at Tulsa Webster, 6 p.m.

Sept. 2

HS FOOTBALL

• Hartshorne at Wilburton, 7 p.m.

• Warner at Savanna, 7 p.m.

HS SOFTBALL

• Indianola Tournament, TBA

• Eufaula Tournament, TBA

• Tushka Tournament, TBA

HS BASEBALL

• Smithville at Kiowa

• Indianola at Crowder, 4:30 p.m.

• Preston Tournament, TBA

Sept. 3

HS FOOTBALL

• McAlester vs. Scotlandville, Shreveport, La., 11 a.m.

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

McAlester’s McCarty ready for one last ride

By DEREK HATRIDGE SPORTS EDITOR

Erik McCarty loves the game of football.

The McAlester senior got his passion from the game at an early age, and that love has only grown with every yard he’s recorded.

But now as he’s looking at his final season in the black and gold, he’s found himself reflecting on the journey to this point.

“I can’t even describe how (fast) high school’s gone. It’s insane,” McCarty said. “I’m a senior now, here for one more semester, and then I’m gone.”

McCarty smiled when recollecting all of his milestones and moments as a Buff, all the way back to his first high school touchdown in 2019 in a game against Durant. Now, he’s hoping he and his McAlester teammates can complete the mission that

was just within their grasp just one season ago.

“This is the final drive,” McCarty said. “It’s the big high school that everybody gets you ready for when you’re little, it’s finally coming to an end.

“Every year, we’ve taken a step (toward a state championship). Now we’ve just got to finish it,” he added.

McCarty said he had many people to thank for molding him into the person he is today, including his parents. He said that he’s always had a strong support system, and it’s helped him to find success.

At the end of this season, the Buffalo will be hanging up his black and gold jersey as he prepares for his next chapter in football joining the football program at the University of Oklahoma. And that’s a fact that McCarty said still occasionally catches him by surprise.

OU FOOTBALL

“Sometimes I’ve got to take a break and take a step back for a second and realize I’m doing what I dreamed of doing,” he said.

No matter how far he goes in his football career, McCarty said he’s always going to remember his roots that are firmly planted in McAlester.

But even as he prepares to try to reach that final goal, McCarty also recognized that the work never stops including for the next generation of Buffs that will be filling he and his teammates’ shoes.

“The work’s going to suck, but it’s all worth it,” McCarty said. “You’ll see in certain teams and certain guys those guys that embrace the work and embrace the grind are the teams that are winning.

“It’s going to suck either way, ” he laughingly added. “But the reward’s better.”

While Gray leads the group, coaches excited about running back room

By JESSE CRITTENDEN CNHI SPORTS OKLAHOMA

All signs point to Eric Gray being Oklahoma’s starting running back to open the season.

The senior has by far the most experience on the team and was a productive running back last season, finishing second on the team in rushing yards and touchdowns behind Kennedy Brooks. He’s been operating as the lead back during practices in the spring and fall, regularly taking first-team snaps alongside quarterback Dillon Gabriel.

But there should be plenty of opportunities for other running backs to carve out roles in Jeff Lebby’s offense. For one, the OU offensive coordinator’s system is predicated on a fast tempo Ole Miss, Lebby’s previous coaching stop, ranked fourth in plays per game each of the past two seasons. Lebby also heavily incorporates the run in his offenses, as Ole Miss ran the ball on over 56 percent of its plays during his twoyear stint.

Despite Brooks’ departure to the NFL, the Sooners have a few viable candidates outside of Gray that could see the field this season. Here’s a look at a few of the other RBs on the OU depth chart.

MARCUS MAJOR

The redshirt junior has emerged as more than a backup running back during fall camp.

He’s seemingly asserted himself as the No. 2 player on the depth chart. In recent weeks, he’s been regularly running immediately behind Gray and alongside quarterback Davis Beville, the favorite to become Gabriel’s backup, during practices.

He’s got a few things going for him. He’s been on the roster since 2019 and has carried the ball 60 times for 298 yards and three touchdowns for his career. His main issue has been staying on the field he missed most of 2019 due to an injury and was ruled academically ineligible for the first half of last season.

But entering this year, he’s healthy and has im-

pressed his coaches.

“Marcus has had a really good offseason,” OU running backs coach DeMarco Murray said. “He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do. You talk about a guy who’s extremely fresh. He hasn’t got a bunch of game reps, but he’s had a lot of practice reps.

“We’re expecting big things from Marcus Major. He’s put himself in a great position to go in and compete. He’s done a really good job at picking up the offense and working his tail off every day.”

That work during the offseason has paid off since the beginning of fall camp. OU head coach Brent Venables mentioned Marcus as a player that’s impressed in the month of August.

“Marcus is having his best couple of weeks since we’ve been here,”

OKC THUNDER

Venables said. “Coach Murray will be the first one to tell you that he’s practicing his best. [He’s] showing up with the right mindset more than he has at any other time since he’s been here.”

He has impressed his teammates, too, including Gray.

“He’s a very powerful runner,” Gray said. “His speed to size is a great ratio, being as strong as he is but also as fast as he is. He’s definitely doing a great job.”

JOVANTAE BARNES

The true freshman quickly made an impact since arriving in Norman. The former 4-star recruit ran for nearly 600 yards and 11 touchdowns in six games his senior year and was rated as one of the top running backs in the 2022 class.

Murray said he’s learned a lot since he arrived as mid-year enrollee.

“Jovantae has done an unbelievable job since he came here in January,” Murray said. “I’m very proud of him and where he’s at. He’s a big, fast, strong-looking kid and he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do. He’s put on some great muscle mass and he handles himself.

“He’s a quiet guy but he has a chip on his shoulder at all times. But he works extremely well with others and I’m

just happy to have him here.”

OTHERS

While Gray and Barnes could be in line for the most opportunities, the coaching staff has expressed excitement about the other running backs.

Gavin Sawchuck and Tawee Walker join Barnes as the underclassmen in the room. Walker particularly impressed during the spring game back in April, running 13 times for 52 yards and a touchdown.

The Sooners have other upperclassmen options in redshirt seniors Bentavious Thompson and Jaden Knowles, as well as redshirt junior Todd Hudson.

Either way, Venables is excited about the running back room.

“I love the group,” Venables said. “We feel incredibly good about that group. They’re a group that’s shown up every day. They’ve stayed healthy… [It’s been] a great competition. Love our depth there. A lot of physicality. You’ve got game-breaking strength and speed, guys know how to run behind their pads and make plays in space and stick their face in there in pass [protection]. Smart guys, very competitive. We’ve got a really excellent group of running backs.”

Chet Holmgren ruled out for entire 2022-23 season due to foot injury

By CLEMENTE ALMANZA CNHI SPORTS OKLAHOMA

The 2022-23 NBA season hasn’t started yet, but the Oklahoma City Thunder already has a significant issue.

The team announced Thursday that Chet Holmgren, the No. 2 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, will miss the entire 202223 regular season due to a Lisfranc injury on his right foot.

The injury occurred this past weekend during a Seattle Pro-Am League game held by former NBA player Jamal Crawford. After contesting a drive to the rim from LeBron James, Holmgren came up gimpy and left the game soon afterward. The

game was eventually called off before halftime due to unsafe and slippery court conditions.

While the condensation on the court didn’t help things, Thunder general manager Presti referred to the injury as a one-off thing and also said the Pro-Am was sanctioned by the NBA.

During his press conference with the media Thursday, Presti revealed that Holmgren’s injury is a rupture of the tendon and not a fracture.

“I’m obviously really disappointed for Chet because [he] was just having a monster summer,” Presti said. “He’s been playing with tons of NBA players over the course of the summer and getting better and

better and better. In this case, we are just going to have to wait a little bit longer for his presence to actually take the floor for us.”

While the injury is certainly a tough blow to the Thunder’s upcoming season, Presti said the injury won’t have any long-term repercussions.

Presti also pushed back a bit when asked whether Holmgren’s lanky 7-foot-2, 190-pound frame played a role in the injury.

“[The foot specialists] are in agreement that this is kind of like a wrong place, wrong time situation and he’s going to make a full recovery,” said Presti. “...[Blaming Holmgren’s frame is] a figment of the alternate reality that is the inter-

net. But that’s not where reality resides… There’s opinions and there are facts, and we are dealing with the facts.

“If there’s one thing I could say to our fans and this is important [is] this is Chet’s first experience, really, in Oklahoma City,” Presti said.

“I think that it’s a very special place to play. And I would just tell our fans, let him know that you care. Let him know that you have his back, because this is the type of guy that’s going to have your back, and he’s going to have your back for a long time.”

KYLE PHILLIPS | CNHI photo

OU’S MARCUS MAJOR runs with the ball during practice earlier this month at OU football complex.

JEFF SWINGER | AP file photo

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER FORWARD Chet Holmgren (7) runs the court against the Memphis Grizzlies during an NBA summer league basketball game.

NORTHERN EXPOSURE OPERATION

By Charles

| THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

A SEARCH FOR SOLITUDE ENDS IN BLOODSHED

In 1983, factory worker and Army Green Beret Randy Weaver, his wife, Vicki and their children left their home in Iowa and built a small homestead on a beautiful but remote ridge in north Idaho, just 30 miles or so from the Canadian border.

Their aim: To create a place where they could practice their particular blend of white separatism, anti-government conspiracy beliefs and apocalyptic-driven old Testament literalism — and to do so free of schools or any other government influence.

In many ways, the Weavers were like the various groups of separatists, skinheads, neo-Nazis, tax protesters and white supremacists that were flooding into the region during those days. But Weaver felt no particular kinship to the other groups — even the area’s largest and most prominent, the Aryan Nations. He attended a few of their gatherings and made friends among its members. But he kept a certain distance from them.

Meanwhile, these people who harbored such paranoia about the U.S. government were being watched closely by — and, on occasion, secretly infiltrated by — the U.S. government.

In 1989, an undercover agent talked Weaver into selling him illicit sawed-o shotguns. A year later, government agents used that transaction to try to coerce Weaver into becoming an informant. When Weaver refused, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms filed charges against him.

Then came a mix-up about Weaver’s court date. Two di erent dates were set, and one document even erroneously cited a third date a month later. Weaver saw all this as evidence the ATF was out to frame him. He failed to report to court, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Realizing Weaver’s beliefs, lifestyle, Green Beret training, stash of guns and his family well-drilled in use of firearms could pose a problem for agents simply knocking on his door to arrest him, federal agents put the Weaver property on Ruby Ridge under heavy surveillance. They called it Operation Northern Exposure.

There’s protesting. And then there’s taking up arms

ALCATRAZ ISLAND

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 1969-71

Eighty-nine Native American protesters occupied the former federal prison in San Francisco harbor to draw attention to repeated breach of treaties by the U.S. government.

STANDOFF: Just under 19 months

DEATHS: 1 accidental

BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS

WASHINGTON, D.C. 1972

Members of the American Indian movement ended what they called a Trail of Broken Treaties by taking over o ces of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

STANDOFF: 6 days DEATHS: None

WOUNDED KNEE

WOUNDED KNEE, SOUTH DAKOTA 1973

Members of the American Indian movement seized the town built on the site of an infamous 1890 Indian massacre.

STANDOFF: 71 days DEATHS: 2 Native Americans

While checking their motion-activated cameras on Aug. 21, 1992, a team of marshals attracted the attention of the Weaver family dog. When Weaver, his 14-year-old son, Sammy, and family friend Kevin Harris — all armed — went outside to investigate, one of the agents shot and killed the dog.

This outraged Weaver’s son, who returned fire. This triggered a gunfight that left a federal marshal and Weaver’s son dead and sent Weaver

RUBY RIDGE 1992

BRANCH DAVIDIANS

WACO TEXAS 1993

Members of a religious sect fired on agents attempting to arrest their leader on weapons charges. The stando ended when the compound caught fire, killing all inside.

STANDOFF: 51 days DEATHS: 4 federal o cers and 82 civilians — including 25 children

MURRAH FEDERAL BUILDING BOMBING 1995

MONTANA FREEMEN

JORDAN, MONTANA 1996

O cials attempted to evict, from their compound on a 940-acre ranch, an antigovernment group that refused to pay property taxes.

STANDOFF: 81 days

DEATHS: None

REPUBLIC OF TEXAS

ALPINE, TEXAS 1997

Six men who claimed Texas illegally had been annexed by the United States took two hostages and sheltered in a trailer.

STANDOFF: 7 days DEATHS: None

and Harris scurrying back to the family cabin. The next day, Ruby Ridge was full of ATF and FBI agents and state o cials. When Weaver went out to visit his son’s body in the barn where he had placed it, a government sniper wounded both Weaver and Harris. But the bullet that passed through Harris also hit Vicki Weaver in the head, instantly killing her. She was holding the Weavers’ 10-month-old baby, who was unhurt.

Over the next 10 days, local and national media and anti-government protesters flooded into the area. Negotiators made repeated e orts to engage Weaver and kept asking about Vicki and the baby. Randy viewed this as even more dirty tricks by the government. In fact, o cials were not yet aware Vicki had been killed.

On Aug. 31, a noted anti-government activist and former Green Beret was brought in to mediate a surrender. Weaver and Harris were taken into custody and were put on trial on multiple counts the next spring. During that trial, a 51-day stando developed between ATF and FBI agents and an apocalyptic church in Waco, Texas.

Just as its e orts to coerce Weaver as an informant and then to arrest him in had gone awry, the trial also went poorly for the government. The FBI was found to have not properly turned over documents to defense lawyers. Its use of force in the sniper incident that killed Weaver’s wife failed to justify the use of deadly force. Later still, an FBI agent would destroy a report critical of the agency’s actions at Ruby Ridge.

Harris was acquitted of all charges. Weaver was convicted on one charge — his failure to show up for his original firearms court date. He was fined $10,000 and sentenced to 18 months in prison — much of which he already had served by then.

Weaver and his daughters filed a wrongful-death suit against the federal government. In a 1995 settlement, he was awarded $100,000, and his three daughters each received $1 million.

Randy Weaver died in May of this year. He was 74.

ED AND ELAINE

BROWN PLAINFIELD, NEW HAMPSHIRE 2007

O cials attempting to take a couple into custody for tax evasion ran into armed supporters at their barricaded and boobytrapped home.

STANDOFF: 8 months DEATHS: None

BUNDY RANCH

BUNKERVILLE, NEVADA 2014 About 300 weaponscarrying supporters joined rancher Cliven Bundy after he refused an order to move his cattle from federallyowned land and to pay $1 million in usage fees.

STANDOFF: 9 days DEATHS: None

MALHEUR NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

BURNS, OREGON 2016

A group of protesters led by a son of Cliven Bundy took over a wildlife refuge, demanding the U.S. turn over all federal public land to state governments.

STANDOFF: 40 days DEATHS: 1 protester

Angry neighbors protest the stando along the road leading to the Weaver cabin.

The Weaver cabin on Ruby Ridge, 10 miles from Bonners Ferry, Idaho, as it looked in 1992.

SHAWN JACOBSON/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

SHAWN JACOBSON/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

Shall Bow: The Truth and Tragedy of Ruby Ridge & the Randy Weaver Family” by Jess

The Spokesman-Review, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Guardian, CNN, NPR’s “All

Two anti-government extremists protest raids at Ruby Ridge and Waco by using a truck bomb to blow up a federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people — including 19 children.

against federal law enforcement o cials. Here’s a look at nine other notable anti-government armed stando s over the past 53 years:

A man and his family, living without electricity or other public utilities on a remote hillside in north Idaho, expecting the biblical apocalypse and nursing a growing paranoia about Blacks, Jews and the federal government caught the notice of federal agents, who began conducting operations against the man — actions that only fueled more paranoia. How could this situation get any worse?

The nation would find out on Aug. 21, 1992 — 30 years ago.

Apple

U.S. MARSHAL SERVICE VIA COURT FILES

LEFT TO RIGHT: Sammy Weaver, Kevin Harris and daughter Sara Weaver outside the Weaver cabin on Aug. 21, 1992.

In the moments after claiming the checkered flag for the Sunoco Go Rewards 200 at the Glen Saturday afternoon, Kyle Larson smiled and conceded he was a bit fortunate.

“I got lucky,’’ he told the USA Network television audience.

Or perhaps more accurately, he was in the right place at the right time.

Running third on a restart with five laps remaining in the Xfinity Series race at historic Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, he shot to the front when his Hendrick Motorsports teammate –and race polesitter - William Byron and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs spun out at the front of the field while dicing it up for the race lead.

Byron, who set a track record in qualifying earlier in the day and led a race best 36 of the 82 laps, and Gibbs, who led the second most laps (25) collided in a door-to-door battle in the famed “bus stop” portion of the 3.366mile road course. And Larson bolted through to take the lead.

Still, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion had to hold off the sport’s all-time best on road courses, A.J. Allmendinger in the remaining laps to claim the day’s trophy - ultimately taking his 11th series win by a slight .273-seconds in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

“I think my only shot was if the 17 and 54 – Willy and Ty got really racing,’’ conceded Larson, who spent much of the race just behind his Hendrick Motorsports teammates Byron and Gibbs.

“The seas parted and I was able to get through but then I had A.J. (Allmendinger) behind me so just trying to hit my marks best I could. He definitely made me nervous with me being out in front of him.

“So cool to get a win here and Rick Hendrick is here too. Wish William and I could have fought for the win there though.’’

Rookie Sammy Smith, an 18-year old from Iowa in only his fourth Xfinity Series start finished a career best third place in the No. 18 JGR Toyota and led an impressive – also career high – seven laps midway through the race.

JR Motorsports’ driver Noah Gragson finished fourth, followed by Kaz Grala. Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, Sheldon Creed, who was the highest finishing rookie, Josh Berry and Jeremy Clements rounded out the top 10.

Byron and Gibbs, who had contact again farther back in the field during the final laps, ultimately finished 25th and 27th, respectively.

On the cool down lap after the race Byron told his crew, “Sorry guys, I wish we could have won that one. We were in position and got wrecked.’’

Allmendinger’s runner-up showing, combined with Gibbs rough day and an early exit by Justin Allgaier – who wrecked only four laps into the race –really boosted Allmendinger’s lead atop the Xfinity Series standings. With four races remaining to set the 12-driver 2022 Playoff field, he now holds a 61-point advantage over five-race winner Gibbs and is 70-points up on fellow three-race winner Allgaier.

Xfinity Series returns to action Friday at Daytona. Kaulig Racing’s Justin Haley is defending race winner.

Once again, Larson turns up the heat on ‘The Glen’ turns

For the second-consecutive day Kyle Larson took his first lead of the race with five laps remaining and held off road course ace and fellow Californian A.J. Allmendinger for a trophy.

Larson completed the rare weekend sweep at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International Sunday afternoon with a clutch win in the Cup Series Go Bowling at the Glen.

Larson made a dramatic pass on his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott on a restart with five laps to go on the historic road course. As the race leader, Elliott got to choose where to lineup alongside Larson for the green flag and chose to start on Larson’s outside, setting up the dramatic contention for position.

Larson maneuvered past Elliott in the wide-sweeping turn with both Allmendinger and Joey Logano able to get around Elliott as well. Allmendinger gave chase to Larson, but for the second day in a row, Larson, the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet again proved too much.

It was the second-consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victory for Larson, 30, at Watkins Glen - finishing .882-seconds ahead of Kaulig Racing’s Allmendinger. It’s Larson’s 18th career win and second of the 2022 season for the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion.

Team Penske’s Logano finished third just ahead of Elliott, who could take some considerable consolation in officially securing the 2022 Regular Season Championship – his first – at the end of Stage 1 on Sunday.

Larson immediately addressed the winning move.

That was really my only opportunity (to go for the lead), I’m not proud of it,’’ Larson said, “But being in the inside lane, the right lane, being the leader, choosing the left lane, it definitely wins out. But when it gets late in the race, it’s definitely risky.

“I knew that was my only opportunity to get by him. I feel like our cars were pretty equal today. Had a lot of fun after rate green flag cycle trying to chase hi down. Kind of burned my stuff up a little bit.”

Larson said he anticipated having a conversation with Elliott and reiterated that he was only making a move, he felt necessary, to go for the victory. Something he thought Elliott would have done as well.

“We have a competition meeting tomorrow.,’’ Larson said. “I think if I was in his shoes, I would understand the risk that

THE GLEN WINNER QUOTE

“The restarts kept me in it and kept our team in it. I’m proud of my guys. Good to get another win here at Watkins Glen and get some more bonus points going into the Playoffs, we haven’t had a lot here this year.’’ - Kyle Larson, who took Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen after some slick maneuvering

I’m taking, taking the left lane also. I’m not proud of it but I did what I felt like I had to do to get the win.’’

For his part after the race, Elliott said only, “Congratulations to Kyle and everybody on the 5 team and at Hendrick Motorsports for getting the win.’’

Elliott - who led a race high 30 of the 80 laps - again took the company line when asked what he would say to Larson, “Congratulations. … always good to see HMS win. The boss [Rick Hendrick] deserves all the great wins that come for this company.’’

Trackhouse Racing driver Daniel Suárez finished fifth, followed by Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell, who led 14 laps.

Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell, RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher and Petty GMS Racing’s Erik Jones rounded out the top 10.

German driver Mike Rockenfeller – a sportscar ace and former Rolex 24 at Daytona winner – posted the best finish (30th) among a series-high seven international entries at Watkins Glen.

Formula One world champion Kimi Räikkönen had a solid effort in his Cup Series debut – running as high as eighth place in Stage 2 before pitting. His day in the No. 91 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet came to an early end, however, when he was nudged off-track and into a tire barrier while racing among a large group of cars on the ensuing restart.

Räikkönen 41, of Finland, climbed out of his car and appeared fine physically. Although disappointed with the finish to what looked like a promising day, he said he was still overall happy with his debut in NASCAR’s big leagues.

With one race remaining in the regular season and one spot still to be settled for the 16-driver Playoff field, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney holds a 25-point advantage over Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. for the final transfer position should no new winner emerge next week. They finished 23rd (Truex) and 24th (Blaney) on Sunday and both drivers are still looking for their first victory of the year.

Blaney heads into the regular season finale Saturday at Daytona as the defending race winner. The Coke Zero Sugar 400 starts at 7 p.m. ET and finalizes the 16 drivers qualifying for the 10-race Playoffs that begin Sept. 4 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

ABOUT

• Location: 1801 West International Speedway Blvd, Daytona Beach, Florida 32114

• Capacity: 101,500-167,785 (w/in eld, depending on con guration); 123,500 (grandstand capacity)

• The history of Daytona International Speedway began in 1953 when Bill France Sr. realized the days of racing on the beach were numbered due to spreading land usage of a rapidly growing population and huge race crowds. France put his plans for the future of racing in Daytona Beach in motion on April 4, 1953 with a proposal to construct a permanent speedway facility. On Aug.16, 1954, France signed a contract with City of Daytona Beach and Volusia County of cials to build what would become Daytona International Speedway, the “World Center of Racing.” In 1957, land clearing began for the Speedway. The famous 31-degree highbanks were included in the design of the track so higher speeds could be achieved and to make it easier for fans to see the cars race around the 2.5-mile tri-oval. The dirt for the banking was taken from the in eld and resulted in a 29-acre space that is known as Lake Lloyd.

• Racing moved from the beach-road course to Daytona International Speedway in 1959 and the rst DAYTONA 500 took place on Feb. 22 in front of a crowd of over 41,000. Car entries included both hard tops and convertibles (it was the only DAYTONA 500 that included convertibles). The nish of the inaugural DAYTONA 500 was too close to call. Johnny Beauchamp went to Victory Lane, but 61 hours later Lee Petty was declared the of cial winner after a clip of newsreel footage showed that Petty nipped Beauchamp at the line by approximately two feet.

• On July 5, 2013, ground broke on the $400 million DAYTONA Rising frontstretch renovation project that would transform the speedway into a state-of-the-art facility. The Speedway now has approximately 101,500 permanent, wider and more comfortable seats, 40 escalators, 17 elevators, twice as many restrooms, three times as many concession stands and three concourse levels that span the nearly mile-long frontstretch. In addition, the Speedway features over 60 luxury suites with trackside views and a completely revamped hospitality experience for corporate guests. The projected was completed in January 2016 and was awarded the SportsBusiness Journal’s Sports Business Award for Sports Facility of the Year.

• The approximately 500-acre motorsports complex boasts the most diverse schedule of racing on the globe. In addition to at least nine major event weekends, the Speedway grounds are also used extensively for events that include concerts, civic and social gatherings, car shows, photo shoots, production vehicle testing and police motorcycle training.

Cup bonus photo

Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet, leads the field on a misty fog pace lap prior to the Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International Sunday. (Chris Graythen/Getty

WINNER: KYLE LARSON

Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International Sunday. (Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Xfinity bonus photo: Kyle Larson, driver of the #88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the Sunoco Go Rewards 200 at The Glen Saturday. (Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Kyle Larson in Victory Lane Sunday.

CHRIS GRAYTHEN/ GETTY IMAGES

NEXT: COKE ZERO SUGAR 400

Daytona International Speedway 7 p.m. ET Saturday, NBC

Study: Pfizer COVID pill showed no benefit in younger adults

WASHINGTON Pfizer’s COVID-19 pill appears to provide little or no benefit for younger adults, while still reducing the risk of hospitalization and death for high-risk seniors, according to a large study published Wednesday.

The results from a 109,000-patient Israeli study are likely to renew questions about the U.S. government’s use of Paxlovid, which has become the go-to treatment for COVID-19 due to its athome convenience. The Biden administration has spent more than $10 billion purchasing the drug and making it available at thousands of pharmacies through its test-and-treat initiative.

The researchers found that Paxlovid reduced hospitalizations among people 65 and older by roughly 75% when given shortly after infection. That’s consistent with earlier results used to authorize the drug in the U.S. and other nations.

But people between the ages of 40 and 65 saw no measurable benefit, according to the analysis of medical records.

The study has limitations due to its design, which compiled data from a large Israeli health system rather than enrolling patients in a randomized study with a control group the gold-standard for medical research.

The findings reflect the changing nature of the pandemic, in which the vast majority of people

already have some protection against the virus due to vaccination or prior infection. For younger adults, in particular, that greatly reduces their risks of severe COVID-19 complications. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently estimated that 95% of Americans 16 and older have acquired some level of immunity against the virus.

“Paxlovid will remain important for people at the highest risk of severe COVID-19, such as seniors and those with

compromised immune systems,” said Dr. David Boulware, a University of Minnesota researcher and physician, who was not involved in the study. “But for the vast majority of Americans who are now eligible, this really doesn’t have a lot of benefit.”

A spokesman for Pfizer declined to comment on the results, which were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized Paxlovid late last

year for adults and children 12 and older who are considered high risk due to conditions like obesity, diabetes and heart disease. More than 42% of U.S. adults are considered obese, representing 138 million Americans, according to the CDC.

At the time of the FDA decision there were no options for treating COVID-19 at home, and Paxlovid was considered critical to curbing hospitalizations and deaths during the pandemic’s second winter surge. The

drug’s results were also far stronger than a competing pill from Merck.

The FDA made its decision based on a Pfizer study in high-risk patients who hadn’t been vaccinated or treated for prior COVID-19 infection.

“Those people do exist but they’re relatively rare because most people now have either gotten vaccinated or they’ve gotten infected,” Boulware said.

Pfizer reported earlier this summer that a separate study of Paxlovid

in healthy adults vaccinated and unvaccinated failed to show a significant benefit. Those results have not yet been published in a medical journal.

More than 3.9 million prescriptions for Paxlovid have been filled since the drug was authorized, according to federal records. A treatment course is three pills twice a day for five days.

A White House spokesman on Wednesday pointed to several recent papers suggesting Paxlovid helps reduce hospitalizations among people 50 and older. The studies have not been published in peer-reviewed journals.

“Risk for severe outcomes from COVID is along a gradient, and the growing body of evidence is showing that individuals between the ages of 50 and 64 can also benefit from Paxlovid,” Kevin Munoz said in an emailed statement.

Administration officials have been working for months to increase use of Paxlovid, opening thousands of sites where patients who test positive can fill a prescription. Last month, U.S. officials further expanded access by allowing pharmacists to prescribe the drug.

The White House recently signaled that it may soon stop purchasing COVID-19 vaccines, drugs and tests, shifting responsibility to the private insurance market.

Under that scenario, insurers could set new criteria for when they would pay for patients to receive Paxlovid.

STEPHANIE NANO | AP Photo

DOSES OF the anti-viral drug Paxlovid are displayed in New York, on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022. Pfizer’s COVID-19 pill may provide little benefit for younger adults, while still reducing the risk of hospitalization and death for higher-risk seniors, according to an Israeli study published Wednesday, Aug 24, 2022.

Gene Larew Lures

Slowly simmering over cooking club

DEAR ANNIE: I am part of a cooking club that meets the second Tuesday of each month. Each member buys food and we cook a recipe chosen by the host. There are 15 members. Each has to host once every 15 months. We are all females in our 50s or 60s.

There’s a handful of members who always attend and a larger group that rarely (like never) attend. The ones that attend would like to get rid of the ones that never attend.

Annie, how do we diplomatically get rid of the nonattendees? We’ve tried asking in email and face to face if they want to be a part of the group and they always enthusiastically assure us that they do, but still they do not RSVP, or they RSVP with a yes and then don’t come.

It’s very annoying, and we are just ready to drop them. For what it’s worth, these ladies do host when it’s their turn. —

Bakers’ Dozen

DEAR BAKERS’ DOZEN: The key ingredient here is communication: Communicate to these women the concrete ways in which their spotty attendance impacts the rest of the club. For example, maybe it makes it impossible for the month’s hostess to anticipate how many stations to set up; or maybe it means those who do show up need to bring more ingredients, and costs go up. Write out an email explaining these factors. Then say something along the lines of, “For these reasons, we’re asking if everyone can commit to coming to 10 meetings per year, and RSVP for each meeting a week in advance,” adjusting

ASTROGRAPH

BY EUGENIA LAST

FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2022

Creative insight will help you flourish. Put together a plan that excites you. Develop new ways to use your attributes to reach your goal. Don’t rely on others when you can handle matters yourself. Organization and precision will be essential if you want to avoid mistakes. Be wary of people who slow you down. Do your own thing.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — You’ll discover something or someone interesting if you have fun and venture out. Adapt something you enjoy doing into a moneymaking venture. A change in how you do things will change your beliefs.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) — Be careful with whom you associate and share information, or you will put yourself at risk. Ask questions to clear up confusing information before you proceed with your plans. Put safety first.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) — Distance yourself from the hustle and bustle, and you’ll gain clarity and a better understanding of what’s best for you. A change to how you live will affect your health.

those specifics to whatever is acceptable to your club.

There’s a good chance some of these women had never thought through the inconvenience they’d caused and, now that they’re aware, will make amend their behavior.

DEAR ANNIE: My husband reads your column every day, so I thought you could address this issue. He is retired but doesn’t have much interest in any hobbies. We’ve had many discussions on things he can do, including volunteering. Nothing seems to motivate him. He has started drinking daily at the neighborhood bar with the other retired guys. It is interfering with any plans we’ve made. Talking about it only causes more arguments and problems. I’m spending more time with my gal pals, which also adds to the problem. This should be the best time of our lives, not the worst. Help! — Worried Wife

DEAR WORRIED: You can’t control your husband, and the more you try, the more desperate you’ll feel. I highly recommend checking out a support group such as Al-Anon (http://al-anon.org), Families Anonymous (https://www.familiesanony-

mous.org), or SMART Recovery Family & Friends (https://www.smartrecovery.org/ family).

I know you might think, “It’s not so bad that I need to join a support group,” or that you’ll wait to attend one of these meetings if your husband’s drinking gets worse. But the fact is that there’s never been a better time to go than now. Take a chance. All of the meetings are free. You have nothing to lose and peace of mind to gain.

DEAR ANNIE: I have been an organ donor all of my life. But now that I am 88 years old, I wonder if any of my body parts are still of use. If so, what can be utilized, please? — 88-Year-Old Organ Donor

DEAR ORGAN DONOR: You can be an organ donor at any age. According to the U.S. government’s official website for organ donation information, one of the oldest organ donors in the U.S. was a 92-yearold man whose liver saved the life of a 69-year-old woman. So rest assured that it’s never too late for you to save a life. Visit OrganDonor.gov for more information.

“How Can I Forgive My Cheating Partner?” is out now! Annie Lane’s second anthology — featuring favorite columns on marriage, infidelity, communication and reconciliation — is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit http://www.creatorspublishing.com for more information. Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.

NEA CROSSWORD PUZZLE

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) — Personal growth is favored. Try something new, and it will open a window of opportunity that gives you the freedom to follow your heart and do something that makes you feel passionate.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Make a mental adjustment before pursuing a physical change. An impulsive move will lead to regret. Focus on your finances and budget. Change is good but will require planning.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Push forward. Be the powerhouse who gets things done on time. Make promises, follow through and build a name for yourself. Put your heart and soul into your beliefs.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) — A steady pace forward is your best path to success. Say what’s on your mind and work to achieve your goal. Quick thinking will help you outmaneuver anyone who wants to compete with you.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) — Don’t overthink your plans. It’s what you do, not what you say, that counts. Don’t waste time trying to change the impossible. Trust yourself and your beliefs, and commit.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) — Size up situations and move along. Refuse to let anyone corner you or bait you into an argument. Focus on what matters most to you and forgo trying to please others. Choose your battles wisely.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) — You’ve got the right idea; now you must put your plan into motion. Let your intuition guide you and your energy carry your ideas to completion. Get together with people who make you think.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) — Be creative and search for an idea that offers a good value. Don’t feel you have to go over and above for someone who does little in return. Put your effort into something you want instead of trying to please others.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) — Clutter will cause you to fall behind. Assess your situation, make a to-do list and get started; you will feel pride and accomplishment. Don’t stop until you are ready to start something new.

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