X

Unprecedented.

Uncharted territory

New normal.

A jar on a local business counter collecting quarters every time one of those clichés was uttered would have been 2020’s most profitable venture.

But 12 months in, precedents certainly have been set, a growing mountain of data produces new charts daily and the “new normal” is no longer new and still doesn’t feel normal.

It’s hard to remember now how full of promise 2020 seemed when that calendar page flipped over last Jan. 1 - a shiny new year that also signaled the start of a new decade.

“2020 Vision” was the title for the Times & Free Press “Year in Preview” series, a twist the newspaper adopted a couple years back to replace the more traditional year in review.

Even though 2020 was anything but traditional, it definitely deserves a recap if only as a reminder that, all things considered, the year still had its bright and shining moments.

What follows is a month-to-month review of local news culled from the front pages of the Times & Free Press.

(Watch for a similar compilation of county sports highlights compiled by Managing Editor Michael Swisher in Wednesday’s edition.)

January

After seven years as Okarche Public School superintendent, Rob Friesen announced he was leaving to accept the same position at Thomas Public Schools.

Tim Townsend was hired as Cashion fire chief by the town board, bringing 18 years experience with the Oak Cliff Fire Department.

Kingfisher High School American History teacher and assistant baseball and softball coach Wyatt Carter was named the district’s teacher of the year by his peers.

A saltwater purge just west of the Kingfisher-Blaine county border, first identified in May 2019, continued to flow, albeit at a slower volume. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission continued to investigate and attempt to mitigate the phenomena throughout 2020.

State law reduced $800,000 in damages assessed against the countyby a Kingfisher County jury to $125,000 fora driver whose truck crashed in a county road washout.

Gary Reid celebrated his 40th year at the Times & Free Press and 62nd year as an Oklahoma journalist.

Bids were accepted for a new parking lot at Kingfisher High School, the first phase of construction of a new seventh and eighth grade center.

The combined assets of Alta Mesa Resources and its subsidiaries, including Kingfisher Midstream and Oklahoma Energy Acquisitions were sold in a bankruptcy auction for $320 million. Alta Mesa cited sustained declines in oil and gas prices as the reason for its financial difficulties.

Kingfisher was selected as the first public school district named as a beneficiary of GO for Public Schools, which allows taxpayers to receive state tax credits of up to 75 % for contributions on behalf of the district.

Encana, one of Canada’s largest and oldest oil companies which acquired Newfield Exploration in a merger nearly three years ago, was rebranded as Ovinfiv Inc. and relocated its headquarters to Denver, Colo.

February

State Rep. Mike Sanders of Kingfisher was a guest of President Donald Trump at the official signing of the new U.S. Mexico-Canada Agreement, one of only 15 state legislators from across the country invited to the White House event.

State Sen. Darcy Jech of Kingfisher was selected to chair the Senate Rules Committee, which handles legislative policy relating to election laws, ethics, administrative rule procedure and proposed constitutional amendments.

The saltwater spring still bubbling up in a field southwest of Omega featured prominently in a legislative briefing hosted by the Oklahoma Energy Producers Alliance at the State Capitol. OEPA named the purge and “frac Bashing” of vertical wells by horizontal wells drilled in too close proximity as its two most urgent issues.

Timothy Allan Potter, 52, was pronounced dead at the scene when the semi tractor-trailer rig he was driving failed to yield at a railroad crossing and was struck by a Union Pacific Train south of Kingfisher, according to an Oklahoma Highway Patrol report.

The Presidential delegate-gathering marathon got off to a rocky start when the Iowa caucus results were delayed by a new app the state Democrat Party instituted to report results from the state’s 1,681 precincts.

State Rep. Mike Sanders was named Kingfisher’s 2020 Citizen of the Year at the Chamber of Commerce Banquet, while the faculty, staff and student body of Chisholm Trail Technology Center were named Volunteers of the Year for their more than 1,000 hours of community service.

At the same banquet, special Portrait in Courage Award was presented to the family of the late Glenda Wolf, Kingfisher Public School special education director who lost her life to Cancer last March.

Eli Davis, a Kingfisher High School alumnus and fifth generation combat veteran, was the banquet’s keynote speaker.

Lomega FFA members Tate Ott and Whitney Glazier were selected from a field of 33 candidates as finalists for the offices of northwest area vice president and state reporter, respectively.

Ott would go on to win the vice president position and currently serves as a member of the 20-21 state officer team that leads more than 26,000 Oklahoma FFA members.

Incumbent Kingfisher Board of Education member Carly Franks won re-election to another fiveyear term, carrying 67.5 % of votes in a three-way race that also included Susannah Copeland and Servrina Prim.

Other county school board candidates elected without opposition included Matthew Oppel at Lomega, Patrick S. Griffin at Hennessey, Larry Harviston Jr. at Dover and Mark Pringnitz at Chisholm Trail Technology Center.

Pioneer Telephone Cooperative began construction of an estimated $3 million fiber-to-the-home buildout in Kingfisher, which was expected to be completed in July.

Kingfisher County Health Department wellness coordinator Blair Coughlan, in conjunction with area churches, set up several “blessing boxes” around Kingfisher — nonperishable food cupboards where residents can pick up items they need or leave items for others.

Kingfisher High School honor student, Student Council president, athlete and FFA standout Harrison Themer was named a 2020 Merit Scholarship finalist.

A record-breaking turnout at this year’s Guns & Hoses blood drive competition between the Kingfisher police and fire departments was not only the most successful local drive but also collected the most blood drawn at any police-fire competition drive in northwest Oklahoma.

Dover School Board called for a vote on a $16.5 million bond issue to construct a new elementary school. The April 7 election is just one of several that was later postponed due to the pandemic.

March

At what would be the county’s last live theater event of 2020, Kingfisher Creative hosted two full-house performances of the dinner theater event “Murder at the Pie Auction,” directed by Val Snow. The shows included live auctions of donated pies, with proceeds donated to the Kingfisher County Food Bank.

Kingfisher’s Harrison Themer and Lomega’s Connor Walker were named two of the state’s 100 Academic All-Staters.

Lissette Sossa, Hennessey Elementary School’s English Language Learner director, was named the district’s teacher of the year by her peers.

Lynn Barnett, 38-year educator, retired from Kingfisher Public Schools after 20 years at the helm of the Yellowjacket Academy, the district’s alternative education program.

Okarche Public Schools hires Josh Sumrall, former Coyle superintendent, principal, teacher and coach as its new superintendent for the 2020-21 school year.

Kingfisher Police Chief Dennis Baker retired after a law enforcement career that spanned more than 30 years, including 15 years as KPD chief. City commissioners voted to appoint Asst. Chief David Catron as Baker’s replacement.

County voters approved two county questions allowing liquor and highpoint beer sales on Sunday at local restaurants and bars and allowing liquor stores to do business on Sunday as well.

Kingfisher High School’s choir earned superior ratings from all three judges at the Class 4A district contest to earn a berth at the state for the fifth consecutive year.

In Super Tuesday voting, Kingfisher County Democrats and Republicans joined their statewide counterparts in electing Joe Biden and Donald Trump as their respective presidential candidates. Bernie Sanders came in second in both state and county Democrat voting.

Rachel Cameron, Kingfisher nurse practitioner and founder of Trail Creek Wellness Center, was recognized by the Journal Record as a “Health Care Heroes.” She was a guest at an Oklahoma City awards luncheon, along with 43 other medical practitioners, re-searchers, first responders and hospital administrators from across the state.

As concerns about the spread of COVID-19 began to build, the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association announced that all extracurricular competitions would be postponed indefinitely.

A few days later, the state board of education voted unanimously to close all public schools through April 6 to combat the spread of the disease. At that time, just 10 cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed in the state.

Under the Governor’s first emergency declaration, hospitals and nursing homes began restricting visitation.

By March 22, most public bodies had held their own emergency meetings, closing or limiting access to city and county buildings and recreational facilities.

Kingfisher mayor and commission and sales tax election, Dover school building bond vote and Okarche school board election scheduled for April 7 were all postponed.

Churches pivoted to online services and nonessential businesses were ordered closed in counties that reported confirmed COVID-19 cases.

By March 27, 104 cases were confirmed in the state and a district judge, attorney and court reporter were quarantined after a possible exposure to an infected Oklahoma City attorney at a Kingfisher County court hearing.

The Oklahoma City attorney eventually recovered, but not before being hospitalized in serious condition. No local cases resulted from the exposure.

What started as an extended spring break became a cancelation of in-person classes through the end of the school year after another meeting of the state board of education at the end of March.

County school teachers and administrators scrambled to develop and implement distance learning plans and students got their first taste of virtual learning.

Meanwhile, local churches stepped in to provide grab-and-go lunches to school students who were suddenly homebound, until public schools received permission to begin offering two free meals per day.

By the end of the month, cases had risen to 565 in 47 of the state’s 77 counties, but Kingfisher and Blaine counties had yet to report a single case.

A total of 14 had died from complications of the virus and more than 100 Oklahomans had been hospitalized.

April

By April 2, the county’s first two confirmed cases had been reported, triggering closure of nonessential businesses under the governor’s emergency order. State cases had risen to 879, with 34 total deaths.

In response to evidence of local spread, Kingfisher City Commission imposed a temporary stay-at-home order and curfew for all local residents who were not engaged in essential activities.

See Wednesday’s edition for the remainder of 2020’s year in review.