Beaver County
Charges have been filed against the suspect in the murder of a Beaver County teenager which occurred during the early morning hours of July 14, the Oklahoma State of Bureau Investigation (OSBI) reported this week.
Last week, 28-year-old Dalton Creed was arrested in connection with the murder of 17-year-old Logan Busby. Creed is charged with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm after a felony conviction, the OSBI reported.
At about 12:30 a.m., July 14, the Beaver Police Department requested assistance from the OSBI after a shooting occurred in the 300 block of Avenue N in Beaver, Oklahoma. Dispatch received a 911 call saying Busby had been shot. He was taken to the hospital where he later died, the OSBI reported. Creed is currently in the Beaver County Jail on a $500,000 bond, the OSBI reported.
Oklahoma City
A federal judge has ruled Oklahoma’s Model Tribal Gaming Compact automatically renewed January 1, a significant blow to Gov. Kevin Stitt’s controversial efforts to renegotiate gaming compacts with the more than 30 federally recognized tribes that operate casinos in Oklahoma, nondoc.com reported this week.
Gov. Kevin Stitt had been sued regarding Part 15 (B) of the 2005 gaming compacts by the Chickasaw Nation, Choctaw Nation, Cherokee Nation, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, the Quapaw Nation, the Delaware Nation, the Seminole Nation, the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes. The tribes had argued while the provision in the compacts said the compacts expired, it also said they automatically renewed because the state had taken certain action to license racetracks nondoc.com reported. While it is possible the Stitt administration will appeal his decision, DeGiusti ultimately agreed with the tribes the gaming compacts automatically renewed, nondoc.com reported.
Stillwater
People may have seen news reports of people receiving seeds from China they did not order, the Weatherford Daily News reported this week.
During the weekend, Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, (ODAFF) received reports of Oklahomans receiving seeds in the mail from China. The seeds are sent in packages usually stating the contents are jewelry. Please be aware unsolicited seeds could be invasive, introduce diseases to local plants or be harmful to livestock, the WDN reported.
If someone receives unsolicited seeds from another country, do not plant them and if they are in sealed packaging and do not open the sealed package. This is known as agricultural smuggling. Report it to the United States Department of Agriculture, (USDA) and maintain the seeds and packaging until USDA instructs you what to do with the packages and seeds, the WDN reported.
Claremore
Since July 1, 62 residents and 21 staff members at Claremore Veterans Center have tested positive for COVID-19, the Weatherford Daily News reported this week.
Of those residents, 34 are either asymptomatic or demonstrating mild symptoms, 18 are demonstrating moderate to severe symptoms, three have fully recovered and 10 residents are deceased, the WDN reported.
Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs (ODVA) Executive Director Joel Kintsel said COVID-19 was not necessarily the cause of death for the 10 deceased residents, only they had previously tested positive for the virus.
ODVA has directed, in accordance with the OSDH and Center for Disease Control and Infection best practices, the third floor of Claremore Veterans Center has been converted to a COVID-19-only ward to isolate those residents from the rest of the population. Residents also have been taken to local hospitals in the Claremore area as well as VA hospitals in Muskogee and Oklahoma City, the WDN reported.
Vinita
A new date has been set to hold a Black Lives Matter rally at the Craig County Courthouse, the Vinita Daily Journal reported this week.
The rally is being held to protest against the June 25 shooting death of Robert D’Lon Harris, 34, of Tulsa who was shot by a state trooper during an 8:56 a.m. traffic stop on I-44 at the mainline toll plaza near Vinita, the VDJ reported.
Local leaders in the black community are distancing themselves from Saturday’s planned Black Lives Matter rally being held in Vinita, the VDJ reported.
Cicley Downing, a representative of the black community in Vinita, reached out to the Journal Tuesday and explained local efforts seeking unity and reconciliation are already being organized, the VDJ reported.
“I do want the city of Vinita to know we do not support the rally,” Downing said. “We stand with the city of Vinita. Our city is close-knit and everybody knows everybody. Our mindset is moving forward and working toward the betterment of our community and reconciliation.”