Staff Photo
By Karen West

The Stigler Kiamichi Technology Center Business and Information Technology class wash Stigler Police Department vehicles Sept. 8. Students honored the police for the first responders in the 9/11 disaster by washing the police vehicles, cleaning the department offices and presenting the officers with a certificate of appreciation to thank them for their dedication and service.

Submitted photo
The Jeremy Collins Band knocks it out of the park during the Texaco Country Showdown state finals at the Oklahoma State Fair in Oklahoma City Sept. 22.

Rising Stars

By Doug Russell
News Editor

By Doug Russell
News Editor
With just two songs allowed, the pressure was on. The lights, the stage, the sound system — it was a setup that could be overwhelming for many performers, but for a handful of men from Haskell County, the stage of the Oklahoma State Fair was just the thing they needed to springboard themselves to a larger spotlight.
Not only was The Jeremy Collins Band a competitor at the state fair, it was the walkaway winner, as the band performed two original songs and smashed aside its competition.
"It was tough, there was no doubt about it," said Gray Hunt, lead guitarist and unofficial spokesman for the group. "There was a lot of good talent there, and that would have made it worth the trip even if we hadn't won. I got to rub elbows with some great musicians. The stage — the stage and lights were awesome. And the sound system — it was the best sound you could possibly get. It was all very professional."
Of the band's four members — five if you count Justin Henderson, the group's sound technician and someone the performing band members are sure to include in everything they do — Hunt is the only one who has any real experience with the music industry. He's played on a professional level since he was a teen, including on the stage of The Grand Ole Opry, and he said he's never seen a better stage and sound system than the one on which the band competed in Oklahoma City.
"Jeremy's kind of shy, but when he got on that stage he really came alive," Hunt said.
"We all did. We did our best performance ever on that stage."
They had to. The band was competing for the state title and a $1,000 prize in the Texaco Country Showdown, a long-running country music talent search that has been a springboard for the careers of such stars as John Michael Montgomery, Miranda Lambert, Garth Brooks and Leann Rimes.
Performing two original songs, "Cowboy Speed" and "Carnival Ride," the band members wowed the judges and walked away with the title and the money, but it's not money they plan to spend just yet. They plan to use it to help pay their expenses when they travel to Raton, N.M., for the regional contest on Nov. 5. (more on this story in this week's Stigler News Sentinel)

Burn ban lifted

By Doug Russell
News Editor

The phones at the commissioners' office may be a little quieter now. Governor Mary Fallin lifted a burn ban over much of the state, so people calling to complain about the ban may stop ringing in.
Fallin modified the governor-imposed ban at 1 p.m. Tuesday, lifting it in much of the state but leaving it in place in 28 counties. In the immediate area, the ban has been lifted in Haskell, LeFlore, Latimer, McIntosh and Pittsburg bounties. The burn ban remains in effect for Atoka, Beaver, Beckham, Bryan, Carter, Choctaw, Cimarron, Coal, Comanche, Cotton, Garvin, Greer, Harmon, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnston, Kiowa, Love, Marshall, McCurtain, Murray, Pontotoc, Pushmataha, Roger Mills, Stephens, Texas, Tillman and Washita counties.
Burn bans can be imposed by the governor or county commissioners. Commissioners can not override a governor imposed ban to allow burning in their individual counties.
For a current map of all burn bans and guidelines on allowed activities, citizens should visit www.forestry.ok.gov or check with local officials.