OKLAHOMA –– Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has said he will not renew standing hunting and fishing compacts with tribal governments after they expire this year. The agreements with the Cherokee and Choctaw Nations, which the governor has previously praised for generating funding for state conservation efforts, have been in place since 2016, but have now been terminated effective Dec. 31, 2021. The governor previously approved the compacts in 2019 and 2020.

CHOCTAW COUNTY –– The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) arrests a 17-year-old in connection with the murder of Phillip Jones on Nov. 15, 2021. Sacarious Holman is charged as an adult with first degree murder. He was arraigned last week in Choctaw County and taken to a juvenile detention center to await trial.

CHOCTAW COUNTY –– A Rattan, Okla., man was injured after a pursuit Friday night, approximately six miles north of Sawyer on County Road 4310. According to reports from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Josh Smith, 27 of Hugo, was performing a vehicle safety check when he came into contact with a 2007 Chevrolet driven by Donald Burkham, 51 of Rattan.

An existing medication for drug overdose may have a second life-saving benefit: as a treatment for the most common heart valve disease, a study led by an Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientist has found.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Interim Commissioner of Health Keith Reed issued the following statement regarding the identification of the Omicron variant in additional states across the country over the weekend:

There’s a very good chance this program could help you. Individuals in Oklahoma who are engaged in livestock, crop or forest production whose land use includes cropland, rangeland, pasture and private non-industrial forestland are eligible to apply for the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP). The deadline for applying in the current fiscal year is Jan. 7, 2022.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced an investment of nearly $25 million for 50 grants supporting Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FSRAN) State Department of Agriculture projects. The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry was awarded $500,000 to allocate to our state partners.

The Iris Garden Club of Hugo met Nov. 22 at Burnside Estates community room.

Hugo Elementary School announces it has received a $3,690 Classroom Enhancement grant from the Carolyn Watson Rural Oklahoma Community Foundation administered by the Oklahoma City Community Foundation. The grant will be used to assist in funding our music program with a Soprano Glockenspiel, Alto Glockenspiel, several variations of xylophones, and two different metallophones, which will allow Hugo Elementary School to provide educational opportunities that will expand its students’ horizons.