news-star.com Shawnee News-Star
YEAR IN REVIEW
Sunday, January 1, 2017 • 1C
GAY KETCHUM STAFF DESIGNER
Budget impacts SPS, 34 positions cut; $32M bond issue set for April ballot The end of April, Shawnee Public Schools administrators began notifying staff and parents of positions and resources being cut across the district — just weeks after voters passed a $32 million bond issue to make district-wide improvements, including building a new elementary school.
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Veterans Memorial gets final piece of project The 11-year Veterans Memorial project to honor fallen Oklahoma veterans was completed in Shawnee in December as 10 black granite panels inscribed with names of Oklahoma military members who have died in combat since the Spanish-American War were installed in Woodland Veterans Park.
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Local, state, national elections There was no shortage of political tension in 2016, with elections going on from the White House down to Shawnee City Commission. Whether it be President of the United States, State Legislators or local offices, months of campaigning took its toll on voters.
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Deputies arrest man sought since 1980s A 70-year-old fugitive — Warron Big Eagle, actually Ronald Lee Paulson — on the run since the 1980s from the state of Washington was arrested in Shawnee in May where deputies say he had been living a normal life in plain sight as a well-known member of the community.
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Earthquakes shake central Oklahoma A 5.0 magnitude earthquake rattled central Oklahoma about one mile west of Cushing on Nov. 6, just a couple days after a 4.5 magnitude earthquake shook near Pawnee Nov. 4. Scientists have linked Oklahoma’s increase in earthquakes to the underground disposal of wastewater from oil and gas production. Oil and natural gas regulators in Oklahoma ordered operators of 70 disposal wells to either shut them down or reduce disposal volumes.
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SHS graduation venue changes In January, Shawnee High School’s graduation venue for the Class of 2016 was changed from longtime venue in Raley Chapel at Oklahoma Baptist University to the new FireLake Arena, a move that many praised because it allows more family members of seniors to attend.
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Moving day arrives for health care staff of St. Anthony Shawnee Hospital In March, St. Anthony Shawnee Hospital finished an extensive construction project that tripled the square footage of its campus without adding a single licensed bed to its facility; the hospital began moving three departments into its brand new west tower.
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Oklahoma Baptist University gives corner facelift Oklahoma Baptist University traded in its iconic OBU hedges for a herd of galloping Bison sculpted from nails — along with a brick wall and lighted lettering, at the intersection of Kickapoo and MacArthur.
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Shawnee gets new School Superintendent, Chief of Police In May, Shawnee’s Board of Education put Dr. April J. Grace in place as their new superintendent. Also in May, Shawnee welcomed its new Police Chief Mason Wilson, who replaced Russell Frantz after he retired.
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Shawnee back-to-back baseball champions Shawnee baseball won their second straight Class 5A State title last May with a strong returning cast from the 2015 team.
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