Top stories of 2008

December 31, 2008 09:43 pm

— Here are 2008’s top 10 local stories, as voted by Phoenix staff:

1. Teen Mayor Elected
Muskogee received national and international attention when 19-year-old John Tyler Hammons was elected mayor in May.
He succeeded Wren Stratton after defeating 70-year-old former mayor Hershel McBride in a runoff election.
Hammons’ election got mention in news broadcasts throughout the world and he appeared on the television show “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” over the summer.
He also was an at-large delegate to the Republican National Convention, where he was introduced to former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani.

2. Embezzlement Cases
Several area residents were facing embezzlement or fraud charges.
• Rhonda Harris, 51, a former Wagoner bank manager, was sentenced in July to 14 years for embezzling more than $5.5 million over a 25-year period from the bank whose latest owner is Arvest Bank. She was ordered to pay more than $5 million restitution.
• Larry Duane Couch, former Marble City School superintendent, was sentenced in October to two concurrent 24-month prison sentences for embezzling up to $1 million from the school over 10 years and cheating on his taxes. He made restitution of $979,000 to the school and paid $109,948.48 in court costs.
• Phillip Raglin, 23, of Wagoner was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison after admitting in May to selling unregistered securities. He also was ordered to pay more than $1 million in restitution. He faces 67 counts of obtaining money by false pretenses in Wagoner County District Court, which will be scheduled for trial in 2009.
• Jackie L. Borovetz, 57, former Muskogee County Court Clerk bookkeeper, is accused of embezzling more than $595,000 from July 1, 2007 through September 2008. She was the bookkeeper in the court clerk’s office since September 2002.

3. Danny Brian Giacomo
Giacomo 38, former Hilldale band director, pleaded guilty in March to 16 charges which included lewd molestation, rape and sodomy and received six years in prison and 29 years probation.
The charges were made in three felony cases involving 14- and 15-year-old Hilldale band students.

4. Kris Ledford
Former Muskogee police crime scene investigator Kris Ledford, 30, of Broken Arrow pleaded guilty in November in federal court to one count of possession of stolen firearms and one count of stolen valor. Ledford stole the firearms from the evidence room at the Muskogee Police Department while employed there. He also falsely represented himself to have been awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.

5. City of Muskogee Foundation
The proceeds from the lease of Muskogee Regional Medical Center to Capella were turned over to the City of Muskogee Foundation. The group made its first grant in September, $1.5 million for the expansion of Griffin Industrial Park west of U.S. 64 and south of Peak Boulevard.

6. Jerry Raney
Jerry DeWitt Raney, 44, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his stepdaughter, Sara Kendall Smart, 19, whose body was found inside a 55-gallon barrel floating in a pond southwest of Haskell on Aug. 6, 2006.

7. New City Manager
Greg Buckley became Muskogee’s city manager March 1. He replaced Walt Beckham, who served nearly 25 years in the post.
Buckley had been assistant city manager at Lawton before moving here at a salary of $110,000 per year. Beckham was earning $95,000 per year when he left office.
Buckley said his greatest accomplishment in his first year may be that the city already has reached contract agreements with the three city employee labor unions for the fiscal year that began July 1.

8. Businesses Open/ Businesses Close
Jasper’s Restaurant closed Jan. 18, ending 25 years of business. Within two weeks, Debbie Fast closed Debbie’s Formal Fashions, which she operated for 29 years. Furr’s Cafeteria closed Nov. 6 after 35 years. Other businesses to close included Starbuck’s Coffee, Addie’s Azalea Cafe and Goody’s clothing.
Businesses also came to the area. A new Wal-Mart opened in Checotah. Walgreens opened stores in Wagoner and Tahlequah. IHOP opened a new restaurant on U.S. 69. Lindenloft Pizza, a favorite eatery from the 1980s, reopened in Shadowwood Mall. Tenants also began moving into the historic Doyal-Bland building and the Severs Block Building.

9. Plane Crash
An airplane crashed Aug. 11 in an east side neighborhood near 900 Indiana St. in a vacant lot, killing the pilot. Ronald Dickey, 59, of Williston, Tenn., was flying a “kit plane” called an RV-6A that his wife said he built in his garage.

10. Voters Approve 911
In November, Muskogee County voters passed two questions on emergency services:
• One will be used to provide 911 service to the entire county. Muskogee, Fort Gibson and about a three-mile area around Muskogee have had 911 service for several years. A 911 addressing system will also be implemented.
• A 50-cent per cell phone fee will be implemented to help the county acquire funding to purchase equipment to track 911 calls made from cell phones.
The new system will upgrade all emergency dispatching operations in the county.

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