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A: Main, news
October 9, 2024
Bless the press during Oklahoma Newspaper Week
By Mark Thomas EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OKLAHOMA PRESS ASSOCIATION

It is impossible to count the number of times we stop each year to celebrate and commemorate special occasions.

It happens every holiday, anniversary, birthday blessings, and graduation. We salute

This year I hope you’ll add veterans, toast friends, host one more celebration to your neighbors, praise children list. Oklahoma Newspaper and glorify grandchildren. Week is October 6-12, 2024. God-fearing folk pray with- Take a few moments and out ceasing, thankful for their pause to appreciate the work of your local newspaper.

Reflect on the times the local newspaper covered local events, helping you commemorate the good and bad times we experience together. In the same way, celebrate an important part of our republic and a founding principle of democracy – a free and independent press.

It is too easy to forget that citizens of this country are constitutionally protected every day by the five freedoms of the First Amendment. Those five freedoms – speech, press, worship, petition and assembly – are not known in much of the world.

In this country some people take these freedoms for granted without thinking about the challenges they face every day. We must cherish all five with the same celebration and commemoration as other important events in our life.

It is unfortunate when these freedoms are abused. Social media platforms, in the hands of a responsible individual, can be a force for good. However, often these platforms are tools of destruction for communities, families and relationships. Who hasn’t experienced this situation with social media posts and pages that abuse the freedoms of press and speech?

Research has shown algorithms embedded in social media platforms create addictive behavior. Social media companies capture your online behavior and feed you information to keep you under an undetectable fog of fear, greed and hate.

It is no coincidence that Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has joined 41 other attorneys general to ask legislators to require the U.S. surgeon general to put a warning on algorithmic- driven social media platforms. There is growing scrutiny and understanding that social media companies are playing a role in generational harm to young people’s mental health.

Free speech and free press must be used responsibly. To do otherwise invites legal action. Social media users and page administrators would be well advised to stop allowing or publishing false and libelous statements because lawsuits are now being filed in Oklahoma and elsewhere.

In the past year I attended the memorial service for several longtime Oklahoma journalists. I am saddened for their families, and I lost friends. I never want to forget that we lost true journalists who worked to make the community a better place to live and work, not a purveyor of algorithmic addictive behaviors and statements harming the world around them.

Local journalists at your newspaper understand the immense responsibility that comes with free speech and press. They are responsive to their communities and are there to help commemorate and celebrate events and activities in your town.

As events in our life pass, we celebrate with fond and familiar phrases. We write ‘Happy Anniversary’ or ‘Happy Birthday.’ We say ‘thank you for your service’ and ‘sorry for your loss.’

During Oklahoma Newspaper Week, I hope we all will pause to celebrate and commemorate free press and free speech and make a personal commitment to use those freedoms responsibly. Just once during the week I hope you will celebrate your local newspaper with one simple phrase, “Bless the press.”

School Board Association honors Pippenger, Madewell
A: Main, news
School Board Association honors Pippenger, Madewell
September 17, 2025
OKLAHOMA CITY - Eufaula School Board President Jeff Pippenger and Checotah School Superintendent Monte Madewell were honored for their contribution to education during the annual Education Leadership ...
A: Main, news
Brace yourself for traffic disruptions
September 17, 2025
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation will begin its long-awaited street project on Main Street (SH 9) in downtown Eufaula next week. An ODOT spokesman said traffic control will begin Monday, Sept...
A: Main, news
McIntosh is Candidate for 2025 Miss Indian Oklahoma
September 17, 2025
Miss Janaya McIntosh of Eufaula is a candidate for the upcoming 2025 Miss Indian Oklahoma pageant. The Oklahoma Federation of Indian Women (OFIW) pageants offer young Native American women a chance to...
A: Main, news
Ford holding food drive
September 17, 2025
Ford dealers around the world are joining together to conduct the World’s Largest Ford Dealer Food Drive, now through Sept. 25. The local dealership where you may drop off food is Sam Wampler’s Freedo...
A: Main, news
LEA 2025 Golf Tournament Sept. 26
September 17, 2025
The 2025 Lake Eufaula Association Golf Tournament is just a week away, to be held Friday Sept. 26 at Arrowhead Golf Course, 3657 Main Park Rd., Canadian. Registration is at 8 a.m., shotgun start is at...
A: Main, news
POW/MIA Ceremony is Friday
September 17, 2025
On Friday, Sept. 19 the VFW Post 8798 Auxiliary will host a dinner in honor of soldiers who have not returned home from battle. The event will begin at 6 p.m. in the Post dining room on SH 9 east.
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A: Main, news
Lake Eufaula Out of Darkness Walk this Saturday
September 17, 2025
Don’t miss the Lake Eufaula Out of Darkness Walk this Saturday, September 20. Come walk and show your support as locals bring awareness to suicide and how you can prevent it. “Being able to see the wa...
A: Main, news
Flag exchange drive
September 17, 2025
VFW Auxiliary 8798 would like to help you properly dispose of your worn out flags. We will exchange your worn 3x5 United States American Flag for a brand new one. Dates will be shared over the upcomin...
A: Main, news
Tribal Town Spelling Bee Sept. 27
September 17, 2025
The Eufaula-Canadian Tribal Town and the MCN Language Preservation Program will host the 10th annual Mvskoke Language Spelling Bee Competition on Sept. 27 beginning at 10 a.m. at the Eufaula Indian Co...
A: Main, news
Suspect awaits sanity decision in Minner case
By MICHAEL BARNES 
September 17, 2025
When a June 10 headline shook the community—Selby Minner, beloved blues musician and cultural icon, found dead—the shock reverberated through Rentiesville and far beyond. The one arrested for her murd...
Oklahoma Farm Bureau hosts 4th Annual Capitol Camp
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Oklahoma Farm Bureau hosts 4th Annual Capitol Camp
By LaDonna Rhodes Staff Writer 
September 17, 2025
117 FFA and 4-H students from across the state convened at the Oklahoma State Capitol for the Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s 4th Annual Capitol Camp held Sept. 3 – 4. The camp was an immersive twoday experien...
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