Area News

Driver falls asleep at wheel, crashes into guardrail on I-40 By Ken Childers ONL Editor An Okemah man was injured in a single-car crash last week when he fell asleep at the wheel while driving on Interstate 40. According to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, 32-year-old Matthew Underwood was westbound in a 1996 Chevrolet when he…

Local teenager charged in tractor theft case By Ken Childers ONL Editor A local teenager was arrested last week and faces multiple felony charges, two of them drug-related, for his alleged role in the theft of a tractor. Matthew Joseph Rice, Jr., 18, has been charged with grand larceny, malicious injury to property, possession of…

Courthouse opens back up with restrictions By Ken Childers ONL Editor It’s official. The Okfuskee County Courthouse is once again open to the public, albeit with several rules and restrictions in place. In its regular meeting Tuesday morning, the Okfuskee County Board of County Commissioners approved a resolution to reopen the courthouse, which had been…

No campsites available, but you can still enjoy Okemah Lake this weekend By Ken Childers ONL Editor Memorial Day weekend often marks the first big exodus to the outdoors, and judging by the campsite reservations taken by Okemah Lake Ranger Bryan Prince, this year is no exception. All RV campsites at the lake are booked…

Courthouse expected to reopen Tuesday, district court to remain closed By Ken Childers ONL Editor The Okfuskee County Courthouse, which has been closed to the public since March 19 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is expected to reopen on Tuesday, May 26. As reported in the May 14 edition of ONL, Sheriff Jim Rasmussen last…

City to get tough on code violations By Ken Childers ONL Editor The City of Okemah is cracking down on code violations by hitting offenders in the pocketbook. In Monday evening’s regular meeting of the Okemah City Council, a resolution setting a fee schedule for certain violations of the city code was adopted by a…

Summer Courses at SSC Set to Be Conducted Online   Seminole State College has decided to extend the online delivery of courses through the summer term in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are optimistic that our society and our campus may be able to return to some normalcy in the coming months but understand…

Rasmussen draws challenger for sheriff post By Ken Childers ONL Editor The candidate filing period for county offices closed on Friday, resulting in a two-way race this fall for the office of Okfuskee County Sheriff. Four posts were up for grabs, including that of the county sheriff, county clerk, county court clerk and district two…

City, county tax coffers take double-digit hits By Ken Childers ONL Editor February sales tax collections were distributed to city and county governments across Oklahoma last week, and the amount deposited into the City of Okemah’s coffers was down nearly 35 percent from this time last year. According to the Oklahoma Tax Commission (OTC), the…