HUGO –– Kiamichi Tech honored students who recently completed their career training with a graduation ceremony on May 14 at the Hugo campus. The ceremony included congratulatory remarks from Shelley Free, Kiamichi Tech Superintendent, a presentation of certificates and a special recognition of Kiamichi Tech Distinguished Graduates.

Happy 44th Birthday to Jason Pruitt on June 1! On June 8, a community fun day will be held at Sawyer Community Center, with a light meal beginning at 5:30 p.m. and then at 6:30, they will begin yard darts, dominoes and possibly karaoke.

Justice and Mercy, Not Fasting 1 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev. 2 The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat the Lord 3 by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, “Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?” 4 Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: 5 “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? 6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves? 7 Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?’ ” 8 And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: 9 “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.

Jamie Roth-Meredith, of Valliant, has been named to Southern New Hampshire University’s (SNHU) Winter 2024 President’s List. The winter terms run from January to May.

• Communities invited to apply for free paint and supplies OKLAHOMA CITY –– Keep Oklahoma Beautiful (KOB) will open applications for its Paint Oklahoma Beautiful program June 1, 2024. This initiative supports community beautification projects by providing organizations with paint donated by HIS Paint and stipend checks for supplies.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Survivors should be aware that con artists and criminals may try to obtain money or steal personal information through fraud or identity theft after a disaster. In some cases, thieves try to apply for FEMA assistance using names, addresses and Social Security numbers they have stolen from survivors.