Jelly Palmer, Sara Fenton and Heather Gray watch the results screen as precincts begin reporting the vote tallies on the special election for the Stigler school bond issue Sept. 13.

The 'no's' have it

Voters reject classroom funding plan

by Karen West Staff writer
The unofficial results are in. The 'no's' have it.
With strong opinions on both sides of the issue, voters in Haskell County were asked to decide whether or not to increase property taxes by 13.11 percent to pay for a new wing at the Stigler Grade School.
Of 3,485 registered voters in Haskell County, just 1,208 cast their votes in this special election; with 521 people voting for the bond issue and 687 voting against it.
At Precinct 27, located at the Stigler Public Library, 291 citizens cast their vote, 151 for the proposition and 140 against it.
At Precinct 30, located at Stigler High School, 119 citizens voted for the proposition with 96 against, a total of 215 votes. (more on this story in this week's Stigler News Sentinel)

Water Wars, Federal court rules in favor of Oklahoma

By Doug Russell
News Editor

Texans wanting to drain Southeast Oklahoma of its water ran into a snag on Sept. 7 when the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of The Sooner State.
The court ruled in favor of Oklahoma in two different lawsuits that, if successful, would have sent billions of gallons of water to Texas. Both lawsuits sought to invalidate certain Oklahoma statutes governing water.
Governor Mary Fallin called the court's decision a victory for Oklahoma and said the state would continue to defend its right to the water to which it is entitled under the Red River Compact between Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana.
"Given the choice, it is always our preference to work with our neighboring states to resolve differences," Fallin said. "In these cases, however, we were forced to defend our state laws, federal obligations, and precious water resources by parties that chose the more aggressive course of litigation."
In one of the cases released Sept. 7, Tarrant Regional Water District v. Rudolf John Hermann et al, the appeals court upheld a lower court ruling that the case should be dismissed since the water Texas seeks is already apportioned by the Red River Compact. The same day that Tarrant Regional Water District filed the lawsuit in 2007, it filed permit applications to divert more than 460,000 acre feet (about 150 billion gallons) of water from tributaries to the Red River. (more on this story in this week's Stigler News Sentinel)

"Not a proud day'

Few local signs of 9/11 remembrance visible

By Doug Russell
News Editor

The memories are there, with images aired again and again through television and over the Internet, but locally there were few visible signs that people remembered 9/11 or its victims.
Phyllis and Presley Browning know that firsthand. The couple regularly displays a flag at their home in Stigler's Stonegate addition, and Sept. 11 was no different in one respect. They put up the flag that morning, but with one change from many other days. The Brownings put theirs at half staff, in honor and in memory of the thousands who died in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Then a neighbor came over and gave them some disturbing news. He "let us know how much he appreciated us for having our flag at half staff," Phyllis wrote in an email. "He said no one in town had their flags at half staff, so we took a little drive through town."
What they found shocked them.
Many United States flags were on display, but only four were at half staff. "Only four," Presley said. "That's a shame. I know it was a Sunday, but there should have been someone go out and put the flag to half staff, especially at the county courthouse." (more on this story in this week's Stigler News Sentinel)