Archive - 2011
December 30th
Andy Odell Ollar, 52, of Howe died Thursday Dec. 29, 2011, in Poteau. Services are pending with Dowden Funeral Home, Heavener.
Betty Jean Filipski, 67, formerly of Whitesboro died Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011, at her home in Blanchard.
Services will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 3, at Prairie Grove Baptist Church in Talihina. Burial will be in Whitesboro Cemetery under the direction of Talihina Funeral Home.
Now that the Christmas Break is concluded, it's back to business on the hardwood — and I do mean business.
From now until late February and/or early March, it will be basketball pretty much non-stop.
This week is the 2012 LeFlore County Junior High Tournament as well as Spiro's teams playing in the Muskogee Bedouin Shrine Classic, while Thursday through Saturday will be the Rock Island Conference Tournament featuring Leflore and Whitesboro. Also, Talihina's teams will represent the county at Lone Grove's Longhorn Invitational Tournament in Carter County just west of Ardmore.
Here is my first prediction for the 2012 Leflore County Basketball Championship. On the girls' side, I a predicting that the Spiro Lady Bulldogs and the Howe Lady Lions will play for the championship, and I believe that Spiro will pull off the upset, although Howe won Thursday afternoon's close contest in the Panama Holiday Festival. Either one of the Lady Bulldog big girls should walk away with the Most Valuable Player Award.
PANAMA — Each of the three LeFlore County schools whose basketball teams took part in the 2011 Panama Holiday Festival got a victory on Thursday, which was the second, and final, day of the two-day event.
The Howe Lady Lions, the top seed in the 2012 LeFlore County Tournament, defeated the Spiro Lady Bulldogs, the ’12 LCT's No. 2 seed, 40-37, but the Bulldogs handled the Lions 79-64.
The host Panama teams split their games with Acorn, Ark. The Hogs defeated the Tigers 77-70 in overtime, but the Lady Tigers tamed the Lady ’Backs 63-48.
Since I sort of did not make the 2011 LeFlore County Junior High Tournament Guide the way it should have been created a year ago, I pledged to myself that I would make amends for it when the 2012 Guide was created. So, I did.
Linda Scraper Smith, 69, of Poteau died Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011, in Fort Smith, Ark. Services will be held at noon Saturday, Dec. 31, graveside in Saratoga Springs Cemetery, South West City, Mo., under the direction of Heath-Griffith Funeral Home, Tulsa.
Barbara B. Gildersleeve, of Poteau died Friday, Dec. 23, 2011. She was born in Laurel, Neb., on July 23, 1921, to Harvey and Viola (Woodruff) Bessire. She was a homemaker and member of the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fort Smith, Ark.
She was preceded in death by her parents and a sister, Maida Fast.
Billy Gene Huie, 66, of Heavener died Dec. 24, 2011, in Muskogee. He was born Dec. 29, 1944, in Heavener to Emmit and Avielda Mae (Cooker) Huie. He was a veteran of the U.S. Marines and a brakeman for the Kansas City Southern Railroad.
Billy is preceded in death by his parents.
Survivors include his wife, Judith Huie of the home; a son, John Huie of Omaha, Neb.; a daughter Lee Huie of Muskogee; three grandchildren, Summer, Erin and Aly Huie; and other family members. Â
Cremation services are under the direction of Grace Manor Funeral Home, Poteau. Burial will follow at a later date.
