Governor Henry will be here Nov. 10; Shawnee Spaghetti Day slated Oct. 22

Gov. Brad Henry is coming to Shawnee next month to address a joint gathering at the Heart of Oklahoma Exposition Center.
The governor’s appearance here is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 10, and the luncheon event will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The three noon day civic clubs, Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions, along with the Greater Shawnee Area Chamber of Commerce, are jointly hosting his appearance.
Civic club members planning on attending should make reservations with their respective civic clubs. Chamber members and others should contact the Chamber of Commerce, 405-273-6092, to make reservations.
Seating will be limited, so civic club members and others planning to attend must make reservations by Monday, Nov. 2.
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Mike Jackson, operations director at the Heart of Oklahoma Exposition Center, tells me the Saturday performance of next year’s International Finals Youth Rodeo officially has been set for 10 a.m.
Prompting the change is the National High School Finals Rodeo next year will be in Gillette, Wyo.
Jackson has pointed out it’s at least a 16-hour drive from Shawnee to Gillette, and holding the IFYR Saturday finals at 2 p.m. doesn’t allow enough time for contestants here who are also going to there to compete.
For the past several years the 11th and final performance of the rodeo has been on Saturday afternoon.
That followed several years of it being on Saturday evening beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Contestants competing in the NHSFR are expected to be checked in by noon on Sunday, the day after our IFYR finishes on Saturday.
The last two years the NHSFR has been held in Farmington, N.M. Jackson has worked it out with the NHSRA officials to allow contestants competing in our Saturday finals to have an additional three hours to check in there.
He has confirmed the same arrangement for those contestants going from here to Gillette next year.
With the final performance starting at 10 a.m, that should allow contestants competing here sufficient time to check in for the NHSFR.
Shawnee Civic and Cultural Development Authority members recently discussed moving the finals to Saturday morning. SCCDA Chairman Karl Kozel mentioned the Saturday morning finals also might draw a larger crowd due to cooler weather.
Jackson had tossed out possibilities of either starting next year’s IFYR on Sunday night or having the Saturday morning finals instead of it in the afternoon.
He said if the initial performance were held on Sunday evening check-in would probably need to begin on Thursday.
SCCDA members have been sensitive to the hundreds of volunteers, though, indicating starting check-in on Thursday, with a Sunday night performance and finishing Friday night would be too much of an imposition on the volunteers. And Jackson and the Authority members have emphasized the rodeo would be impossible without the volunteers.
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Mark down in your calendars Thursday, Oct. 22. That is the annual Shawnee Spaghetti Day sponsored by the Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary.
Times are from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Salvation Army gym. Adult tickets are $6 and children under 12 eat for $3. Donations are tax deductible.
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Justin Erickson, Community Development Director, recently mentioned that the addition of a part-time code enforcement officer to augment current City staff “has allowed us to do pro-active code enforcement for the first time in a long time.
The caseload figures back up this success,” he said.
Erickson added, “we are focusing now on dilapidated buildings and are working through the backlog with the intent of improving neighborhoods and cleaning up eyesores.”
Erickson said the part-time code enforcement officer, who began work in early spring, will continue through January.
At that time, city officials are expected to assess budget figures and determine if that position will continue to be funded.
Personally, I hope they find a way to ensure it does continue, because it’s making a difference in the number of violations the city has been able to pursue.
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Shawnee’s Airport Advisory Board will hold a special meeting at noon Monday in the terminal building at the local airport.
They have one item on the agenda, consideration and recommendation regarding a proposal to lease a portion of the Army Reserve Building to Allegiance Communications.
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Shawnee’s Trick or Treat night has been set for Saturday night, Oct. 31. Police Chief Russell Frantz says it will be from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., same as last year.
That is considered Halloween night. However, occasionally, in previous years, Trick or Treat has been set for a different evening.
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Debra McGee, wife of the late Mark McGee who was killed in May while operating his lawn tractor in front of his house, has advised a trial date has been set for the man accused of causing Mark’s death.
It’s been set for Jan. 18 with a pre-trial conference scheduled for Dec. 7 at the courthouse in Idabel, the McCurtain County seat.
Stacy Sloan Whiteley, 29, of Wright City, is charged with first-degree manslaughter in connection with Mark’s death.    
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If you have ideas or something of interest for this column, call 214-3922 or e-mail michael.mccormick@news-star.com. Include name and phone number for contact purposes.