Newkirk Herald Journal

Newkirk FFA members attend 93rd Oklahoma FFA State Convention By Haley Merhoff Newkirk FFA Reporter OKLAHOMA CITY Members of the Newkirk FFA Chapter attended the 93rd Oklahoma FFA State Convention at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma on April 30 and May 1. This year, the chapter was recognized for major awards on both the state and national level. These awards include: a National Three-Star rating, a Top 10 National Premier Chapter Finalist for an outstanding FFA Act...Continue reading

School Board welcomes new faculty By Everett Brazil, III The Newkirk Herald Journal NEWKIRK The Newkirk Public School Board of Education convened for a special meeting Tuesday evening, April 30 and voted to hire several new faculty members for the 2019-2020 school year. Faculty hired include Megan Karsten, Drew Faulkner, Brandie Choate and Lesley Engle.... Karsten will serve as a Spanish teacher and coach. Originally from Michigan, she and her husband moved to Oklahoma three years ago as her husband earned a master’s degree at Oklahoma State University. Previously she served as a Spanish teacher and softball coach at Hennessey High School for the past three school years. Faulkner is the brother of NPS band instructor Josh Faulkner. He previously taught music one year at Turpin Public Schools. He will assist with the Newkirk High School band. Choate will be assistant principal at Newkirk Elementary School. Raised in Ponca City, she previously taught three years at McCord Public School. Engle is the spouse of NHS Principal Kevin Engle and will serve as an elementary school teacher. She has worked for numerous northern Oklahoma schools, including a teacher at Tonkawa four years and the librarian at Adams Elementary School in Enid. She has also taught at Ponca City, Mounds and Warner. See more

Houses, buildings damaged following overnight tornado By Everett Brazil, III The Newkirk Herald Journal NEWKIRK Tracee Forbeck leans over a cooler behind the counter at the Char-Ron Lounge on North Main Street, pulling bottles of beer outside the cooler which no longer functions, and placing them in a container to be iced down. The broken cooler is only one form of damage to the structure following a heavy overnight storm, which also blew out windows in the front and back u...Continue reading

Heaven gained an angel on May 5, 2019. Darien Elijah Monhatwa, beloved son of Jeffery Monhatwa and Pearl Walton went to meet the creator following a motorcycle accident in Oklahoma City. Darien was born Oct. 11, 1999 at Southwest Medical Center in Oklahoma City. From the time he was born he had a smile that was mischievous and could steal your heart. Darien was very athletic, he lettered in football, wrestling, track and cheer at Newkirk High School. Number 12 could be seen o...Continue reading

Veva Joe Spore, longtime Newkirk resident, died Sunday evening, May 5, 2019 in Ponca City at her son and daughter-in-law’s home. She was 97. The daughter of Ashby DeBard and Velma Mae (Ash) DeBard, Veva Joe was born April 8, 1922 at Glencoe, Okla. Her earliest years were spent in Glencoe. The family moved to Stillwater, Okla. where she attended first and second grades. While in Stillwater, her mother married Joe Lucksted, and eventually Veva Joe had two sisters, Gail and Pat...Continue reading

Newkirk FFA members attend 93rd Oklahoma FFA State Convention By Haley Merhoff Newkirk FFA Reporter OKLAHOMA CITY Members of the Newkirk FFA Chapter attended the 93rd Oklahoma FFA State Convention at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma on April 30 and May 1. This year, the chapter was recognized for major awards on both the state and national level. These awards include: a National Three-Star rating, a Top 10 National Premier Chapter Finalist for an outstanding FFA Act...Continue reading

School Board welcomes new faculty By Everett Brazil, III The Newkirk Herald Journal NEWKIRK The Newkirk Public School Board of Education convened for a special meeting Tuesday evening, April 30 and voted to hire several new faculty members for the 2019-2020 school year. Faculty hired include Megan Karsten, Drew Faulkner, Brandie Choate and Lesley Engle.... Karsten will serve as a Spanish teacher and coach. Originally from Michigan, she and her husband moved to Oklahoma three years ago as her husband earned a master’s degree at Oklahoma State University. Previously she served as a Spanish teacher and softball coach at Hennessey High School for the past three school years. Faulkner is the brother of NPS band instructor Josh Faulkner. He previously taught music one year at Turpin Public Schools. He will assist with the Newkirk High School band. Choate will be assistant principal at Newkirk Elementary School. Raised in Ponca City, she previously taught three years at McCord Public School. Engle is the spouse of NHS Principal Kevin Engle and will serve as an elementary school teacher. She has worked for numerous northern Oklahoma schools, including a teacher at Tonkawa four years and the librarian at Adams Elementary School in Enid. She has also taught at Ponca City, Mounds and Warner. See more

Houses, buildings damaged following overnight tornado By Everett Brazil, III The Newkirk Herald Journal NEWKIRK Tracee Forbeck leans over a cooler behind the counter at the Char-Ron Lounge on North Main Street, pulling bottles of beer outside the cooler which no longer functions, and placing them in a container to be iced down. The broken cooler is only one form of damage to the structure following a heavy overnight storm, which also blew out windows in the front and back u...Continue reading

Heaven gained an angel on May 5, 2019. Darien Elijah Monhatwa, beloved son of Jeffery Monhatwa and Pearl Walton went to meet the creator following a motorcycle accident in Oklahoma City. Darien was born Oct. 11, 1999 at Southwest Medical Center in Oklahoma City. From the time he was born he had a smile that was mischievous and could steal your heart. Darien was very athletic, he lettered in football, wrestling, track and cheer at Newkirk High School. Number 12 could be seen o...Continue reading

Veva Joe Spore, longtime Newkirk resident, died Sunday evening, May 5, 2019 in Ponca City at her son and daughter-in-law’s home. She was 97. The daughter of Ashby DeBard and Velma Mae (Ash) DeBard, Veva Joe was born April 8, 1922 at Glencoe, Okla. Her earliest years were spent in Glencoe. The family moved to Stillwater, Okla. where she attended first and second grades. While in Stillwater, her mother married Joe Lucksted, and eventually Veva Joe had two sisters, Gail and Pat...Continue reading

Wind farm meeting to be held at Senior Center By Everett Brazil, III The Newkirk Herald Journal NEWKIRK Area residents are voicing concerns about a proposed wind farm, which is planned to be constructed near Newkirk and Kildare. Several concerns have been named, including health issues and proximity to Newkirk City limits. Residents now have a forum to receive information concerning the farm, as Duke Energy Renewables, the developer of the wind farm, will hold a special mee...ting at the Senior Citizen’s Center at 5 p.m. April 3. The wind farm, known as Frontier Wind Power II, is an extension of the Frontier Wind Power I, situated between Newkirk and Blackwell. Frontier Wind Power I is located several miles southwest of Newkirk, but the new farm will be much closer to City limits. Under state regulation, wind farms must be located at least one and one-half nautical miles from any school, hospital and airport. Newkirk Public Schools is located on the south end of the community, making it easier for wind turbines to be situated near town. Some residents would like the City to pass an ordinance pushing that distance further several miles. We want to increase the setbacks and have a conversation on it, and just introduce it to the people, because the people don’t know what’s going on, Frank Cain said. The City currently has an ordinance prohibiting wind turbines within the community. If the turbines are close to town, some fear it may prevent future growth for many years, as well as lower property values near turbines. One factor is our property value, and the growth of Newkirk, in general, Willits said. Health effects have also been identified as problematic, as the flickering lights and shadows may cause problems for those living near a wind turbine. There are a few states that have determined a number of hazards to having wind turbines too close, Cain said. There is a lot of nausea, not being able to sleep at night; those are some of the things being identified. The meeting will be held at the Senior Citizen’s Center April 3 at 5 p.m. and will feature representatives from Duke Energy Renewables. Everyone is encouraged to attend to learn more about the proposed wind farm. We’re not trying to push the wind farm out completely, but we believe there should be some push in our area, Willits said. It just takes the peace out of everything. See more

Ashley Butler, front, Newkirk 2018 State Champion Cheerleader coached by Kim Wilson, signed last week with Northern Oklahoma College, Enid for a cheer scholarship with NOC Jets, coached by Josh Quintero. A huge thank you to Coach Wilson for coaching these young Ladies the past four years and opening a new chapter in these Ladies lives. Proud to be an Alumni of Newkirk Coed Cheer. Also shown are Peggy Butler, mother, left; Lexi Bascue, former Newkirk alumni and current Jets Cheerleader; and Jay Butler, father.

Mackenzie Keeler, front, Newkirk 2018 State Champion Cheerleader coached by Kim Wilson, signed last week with Northern Oklahoma College, Enid, for a cheer scholarship with NOC Jets, coached by Josh Quintero. A huge thank you to Coach Wilson for coaching these young Ladies the past four years and opening a new chapter in these Ladies lives. Proud to be an Alumni of Newkirk Coed Cheer. Also shown are Martha Keeler, grandmother, left; Pam Keeler, mother; Lexi Bascue, former Newkirk alumni and current Jets Cheerleader; and Mick Keeler, father.

Newkirk Main Street holds candidate forum By Everett Brazil, III The Newkirk Herald Journal NEWKIRK The Newkirk Municipal Election is quickly approaching, set for Tuesday, April 2, and Newkirk Main Street held a special candidate forum Tuesday evening, March 19 to offer voters a chance to meet the candidates and find out where they stand on a variety of issues. Participating were Mayoral candidate Brian Hobbs, and Jack Bagg, who is running unopposed for City Council. Not pr...Continue reading

Mary Ann Wilson, longtime Newkirk resident, went to be with the Lord Saturday morning, March 23, 2019 at her home. She was 103. The daughter of John Harvey and Emma (Massey) Mefford, Mary Ann was born Feb. 5, 1916 in Winfield, Kan. She spent her first 12 years living on a farm in Kansas just north of the Oklahoma state line. The family then moved to a farm south of Newkirk. She attended Newkirk High School where she graduated with the class of 1932. She then furthered her ed...Continue reading

Everett Brazil, III/The Newkirk Herald Journal Cameron Barnes throws a pitch during the Newkirk Tigers 2-0 victory over Ripley March 15. The Tigers compete in Ripley agin this week at their annual tournament.

Area residents concerned over proposed wind farm By Everett Brazil, III The Newkirk Herald Journal NEWKIRK Kay County is one of the leading wind power counties in the state, with two located near Newkirk alone Kay Wind north of the community, and Frontier Wind, between Newkirk and Blackwell. Duke Energy Renewables began operation of the Frontier Wind Farm in 2016, and a planned second phase, Frontier Wind II, is in the opening stages to expand toward Newkirk and Kildare. ...Continue reading

NES Exceeds reading challenge By Everett Brazil, III The Newkirk Herald Journal NEWKIRK Newkirk Elementary School (NES) works tirelessly to promote reading to all their students, which sometimes includes creative reading challenges to spark their interest in picking up a book. They recently wrapped-up a new challenge, and were amazed at how much the students exceeded their goal. The NES Library held the Word Count Reading Challenge for three weeks in February with students... in grades first through fourth. The students were encouraged to read 4.5 million words. However, Feb. 22, they realized they had actually read 5.6 million. To keep track of the actual number of words the kids read, they took accelerated reader quizzes, which counted all the words in each book. The program was held in February to help increase reading in the second semester. Sometimes, coming off Christmas Break, the kids struggle with making their goals, so this gives them something to motivate them, Said NES Principal Pam Hunter. One of the motivations was a dodge ball game with their teachers. We came to their P.E. classes and played dodge ball. The older kids beat their teachers, Hunter said. The educators plan to hold another reading challenge in February 2020. The administrators and teachers are thrilled with the response, and see the program as a successful way to encourage the students to read. I’m extremely happy, said Librarian Cara Barnes. The kids seem really motivated and excited about the challenge. Hunter added, The fact they beat the goal over 1 million words is really great. Everybody won because we got kids to read. See more