2024 Year in Review: Crime, resignations, politics, and new businesses among top stories for the year

Jan. 1—The past year has been affected by change, challenge, and growth in the McAlester area.

We encourage you to look back over the past 12 months with us as we make sense of the year with a collection of 2024’s most popular stories according to page views on www.mcalesternews.com.

Thank you for keeping up with all things McAlester alongside us this year.

January

Pittsburg County voters overwhelmingly rejected propositions for a quarter-cent county sales tax increase and a 5% county hotel/motel tax. The Jan. 9 Special Election included a proposed quarter-cent county sales tax increase. If passed, the measure would have raised the Pittsburg County sales tax from its present 1.50% up to 1.75%.

Pittsburg County Commissioners said the proposed quarter-cent county sales tax increase was to benefit the Southeast Expo Center and the Pittsburg County Fairgrounds. Commissioners also proposed a 5% county hotel/motel tax.

Both propositions failed overwhelmingly.

A Krebs man found guilty on charges of manslaughter and child abuse in the 2016 death of his daughter was sentenced to 15-years in federal prison.

Devin Sizemore, 29, was accused of drowning his 21-month-old daughter, Emily, in a pond near Krebs on July 15, 2016, and assaulting then-Krebs Police Officer Jack Suter during his arrest.

A federal jury found Devin Sizemore guilty in April 2023 of voluntary manslaughter in Indian Country and child abuse in Indian Country.

February

Remains found near an area recreational area in February were confirmed to belong to a woman reported missing in 2023. The remains of Darci Ann Sanchez were found Feb. 16 near the Hickory Point Recreational Area. Sanchez, 50, was the subject of an endangered missing advisory issued by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol on behalf of PCSO on July 11, 2023, nearly three months after she was first reported missing. The alert was issued due to Sanchez having epilepsy not having her medication.

The investigation remains ongoing and anyone with information about Sanchez’s death is asked to call the Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Department at 918-423-5858.

Concerns about the fate of cancer treatment in McAlester were brought to McAlester city councils in February. Many people who addressed the city council expressed dismay at the loss of treatment by Oklahoma Cancer Specialists and Research Institute to cancer patients at the McAlester Treatment Center and the loss of jobs by many local and area OCSRI employees, who said they cannot commute or move to Tulsa to continue working.

Former McAlester Mayor John Browne repeatedly told those addressing the city councilors about the matter that while the McAlester Regional Health Center is a public trust, the McAlester City Council has no control over the hospital’s business operations.

March

A majority of McAlester’s city council voted by a split 4-to-3 vote in March to repeal the one-eighth cent sales tax to fund expansion of the McAlester Cancer Center due to the uncertainty of the center’s future. The vote was later overturned at a later council meeting.

A McAlester man was charged with murder for a fatal shooting at a McAlester apartment complex. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation announced 19-year-old Johnathon Riggins for the death of 35-year-old Tyrann Williams. An affidavit filed in the case by the OSBI state agents were called in to assist in the investigation by the McAlester Police Department and conducted several interviews.

A Pittsburg County jury took more than six hours to find a McAlester man guilty for the death of Holly Cantrell.

Cody Ketchum, 37, was indicted by a multi-county grand jury in October 2022 on a first-degree murder charge and a misdemeanor charge of destroying evidence in the death of Holly Cantrell — the McAlester woman who disappeared in January 2017 before her skeletal remains were discovered in 2018 and later identified in 2020.

Ketchum was later sentenced to life in prison with an appeal filed in the case.

April

Oklahoma conducted its first execution of 2024 on April 4. Michael Smith was convicted by an Oklahoma County jury in 2003 for the murders of two men in two separate incidents on Feb. 22, 2002.

A motor vehicle compact between the State of Oklahoma and the Choctaw Nation was renewed for another 10 years. The compact continues to allow the tribe to issue rebates to the tribal members who purchase a tag “provided, that rebated funds are expended solely from Nation resources and are not deducted from amounts due and owing to the state.”

The National Weather Service in Tulsa confirmed damage in McAlester from an early morning storm on April 26 was caused by a tornado. Meteorologists from the weather service said an EF-1 tornado with maximum winds of 85 to 95 mph was the cause of damage observed from the Jackie Brannon Correctional Center to near the intersection of North Robin Street and West Coal Avenue in northwest McAlester.

A second tornado was confirmed in Pittsburg County on April 28 south of Crowder and was rated an EF-Unknown due to the tornado staying over the water of Lake Eufaula.

May

Now former Pittsburg County Sheriff Chris Morris was charged with embezzlement and two counts of bribery by a public official. Investigators allege the alleged sale of a UTV to the Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Department by Morris personally benefited him. Morris is also accused of receiving a discount for a lift kit on a personal side-by-side in exchange for up charging repair invoices on sheriff patrol vehicles. He is also accused of having hail damage repaired for free on a personal vehicle owned by Morris “in exchange for his promise to provide future business” from his department for future repairs.

Morris was later suspended by a judge and agreed to remain suspended and to resign and not serve his third term after winning reelection earlier in the year. His criminal case remains active.

Longtime McAlester News-Capital Managing Editor James Beaty died May 12 following a medical emergency.

The National Weather Service confirmed storm damage in the Quinton area in May was from a tornado — making it the third confirmed tornado in Pittsburg County this year. The tornado was rated an EF-1 by the NWS with estimated peak winds between 85-95 mph.

A decades old document uncovered after lawsuits between two local governments were filed eventually lead to the dismissal of the lawsuits. The City of McAlester in January asked for a judge to rule in the city’s favor over more $32,000 in unpaid stormwater fees at the Southeast Expo Center. A countersuit was filed in April by Pittsburg County Commissioners, seeking the judgment of more than $750,000 from the city of McAlester for alleged breach of contract involving a lease agreement, contending the city let the Expo Center building and property deteriorate during the approximately 20 years the city operated the facility.

The dismissals came after documents for the Pittsburg County Regional Exposition Authority was formed in June 1993 with the authority agreeing to use the Southeast Expo Center for “the use and benefit of the City of McAlester, Oklahoma, and the County of Pittsburg, Oklahoma” meaning both the city and Pittsburg County had a stake in the Expo Center.

June

Pittsburg County Commissioners named Frankie McClendon as interim Sheriff for Pittsburg County. McClendon will continue to serve as sheriff when the new term goes in effect Jan. 2.

A man charged for the death of a McAlester Police officer in March 2023 was sentenced to serve eight years of a 15-year sentence in prison after accepting a plea deal. Martin Rivas Rodriguez, 39, listed on court records with a Tulsa address, was charged with felony counts of first-degree manslaughter and causing a fatality accident without a valid driver’s license in the death of McAlester Police Patrolman Joseph Barlow following a March 17, 2023, collision in Glenpool during an escort for fallen McAlester Police Capt.

McAlester Regional Health Center’s President and Chief Executive Officer, T. Shawn Howard announced his resignation.

July

Twine Palmer, a former Kiowa Cowboy and freshman at Connors State College was drafted in the 19th round of the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft, being selected by the Houston Astros.

The Indianola Rural Water District 18 Board voted 3-1 to approve a request for a water meter to be installed at a proposed chicken farm near Indianola despite heavy opposition from members of the community. Approximately 80 residents from the community who are against the farm packed into the small rural water district office in Indianola during the meeting. None of the residents who attended were for the approval of the farm’s application. In a statement provided to the News-Capital through his attorney, Jeremy Beaver, Lon Lee said he is pleased his application was approved by the Indianola Rural Water District 18 Board.

The Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes announced the Five Tribe Wildlife Management Reciprocity Agreement at its July quarterly meeting at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa. The agreement allows tribal members and citizens of the Cherokee Nation, Chickasaw Nation, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Muscogee Nation, and soon the Seminole Nation can use their tribal membership to hunt and fish on lands of all tribes’ treaty territories.

August

McAlester elected Justin Few to be mayor after what was essentially a four-way race up until last week. Few won the with 781 votes (51.01%), while challengers Kevin Beaty received 635 votes (41.48%), Randy Roden 79 votes (5.16%), and Jimmy Plummer 36 votes (2.35%), according to results from the Oklahoma Election Board.

Marjorie “Margie” Jean King, born in Blocker, Oklahoma, became the second centenarian in her family Aug. 9, 2024. Her mother did the same. Ruby Goodman Lee Davenport turned 100 on Aug. 1, 2005.

September

A Pittsburg County judge sentenced a McAlester man charged with child sex crimes to two life sentences after no remorse from the man was shown during his sentencing hearing. Marvin Cody Wright, 36, was originally charged earlier this year with 14 counts of child sex crimes related to the rape and sexual assault of two girls. Wright pleaded guilty in July to eight felony counts: lewd molestation, rape by instrumentation, first degree rape, forcible oral sodomy, child sexual abuse, manufacturing child pornography, lewd molestation, and procuring child pornography.

McAlister’s Deli, located in the Shops at McAlester, opened its doors to the public on Sept. 18.

October

A McAlester school employee was arrested and charged after police said he showed a sexually explicit video of a minor found on a school-issued laptop to others in his department. Jason Marc Strickland, 37, was charged with felony distribution of obscene material or child pornography, according to records filed in Pittsburg County District Court. His case remains active.

Two people were arrested and charged in connection with the death of woman who went missing in 2012. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation announced the arrests of 68-year-old Mary Ballard and 49-year-old Billy Thomason for the death of 54-year-old Barbara Durant. Both Thomason and Ballard were charged Oct. 25 in Pittsburg County District Court with first-degree murder. Their cases remain active.

The world’s largest steam engine, Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 4014, made its return to McAlester.

The Stuart Lady Hornets Softball Team won the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Athletic Association championship for the second time in three years, adding the school’s third state championship overall.

November

A McAlester man who held public auditions for a mobile adult entertainment business at a public bandstand in downtown McAlester was charged. Court records show Jimmy D. Plummer, 48, was charged with one count of acts resulting in gross injury/outraging public decency, a misdemeanor. The investigation began after the review of a video on social media that captured “a female dressed in black lingerie exotic dancing on a male wearing jeans and a gray shirt” with “several people observed in the background of the video watching the exhibition” in downtown McAlester. The case remains active in Pittsburg County District Court.

McAlester Football Coach Forrest Mazey was charged for a July incident involving a handgun during a coach’s retreat. McCurtain County Special District Judge Laurie Blevins approved the charges against Mazey, 43, of McAlester. Records show Mazey was charged in McCurtain County District Court with misdemeanor counts of pointing a weapon at another and reckless conduct with a firearm. According to the affidavit, the victim said after coaches arrived at the cabin, he was relaxing in the hot tub talking with other coaches in the room when Mazey “walked into the pool house holding a handgun” and pointed it at the chest of another coach. A witness also said Mazey discharged the firearm after leaving the pool house “which made the event even more sinister because Mazey did not chamber a round before firing,” the affidavit states.

The McAlester School Board in December accepted a resignation agreement with Mazey. The case remains active.

A vote on how a position in Quinton is appointed came down to one vote and a state senator won reelection. Voters in Quinton were asked to vote on the question “Shall the Clerk-Treasurer be appointed by the mayor with the approval of the Board of Trustees.”

Results from the Oklahoma Election Board showed 160 votes for yes and 159 votes for no.

District 7 State Senator and Republican Warren Hamilton won reelection over his Democrat challenger Jerry Donathan in landslide fashion.

December

A McAlester man was federally indicted after investigators said the man took several items from the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, including munitions used for training. Court records show Garland Leon Seay, 38, was indicted in the Eastern District of Oklahoma with two counts of theft of government property and entering a military installation for a purpose prohibited by law. Seay is accused of stealing from McAAP a training missile, telescope spotlights, electronic tablets, tools, a camera, computer hard drives, spools of cable, bags of heavy machinery tools, and other miscellaneous tools and equipment between July 2024 and September 2024. The case remains active.

McAlester resident Marty Donaldson was fishing along the bank of Lake Carlton at Wilburton’s Robbers Cave State Park on Dec. 15 when he knew he hooked something big. The Rainbow Trout he hooked weighed in at 6.8 pounds and was the record trout at the state park.

A McAlester resident has been spreading kindness, love and hope on social media platforms for the last few years. Barry “Bear” Mathews is known as @bearthevoice3 on TikTok, where he talks to his followers, or as he calls them his friends, for the last two and a half years, but has been present on the platform for three and a half years in total.

The community came together to help a Hartshorne family have running water for Christmas. The request was came on an Angel sent to the McAlester News-Capital’s Christmas Angel Program. All About U Pluming said they would fix the leaks at the house if the $1,287.83 bill was paid for. A fund for the family was set up with $1,400 raised for the family in less than a week. The bill was paid on Dec. 13 with the repairs made later that afternoon.

The City of McAlester and Amazon officially announced the popular online shopping and delivery service will build a new delivery station in McAlester. The facility will be located at Steven W. Taylor Industrial Park. Construction recently started and launch plans for this delivery station are in the very early stages. No other details about the project were available from Amazon.

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