SC)--The suspect in the execution-style murders of four people at a marijuana grow operation near Lacey in Kingfisher County was arrested Tuesday in Miami Beach, Fla. Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said in an email that the man, 45 year-old Wu Chen, 45, was arrested just after 4:00 Tuesday afternoon central time without incident by Miami Beach (Fla.) Police Department officers. Chen was arrested on an OSBI warrant after a car tag reader flagged the vehicle he was driving. He was transported to Miami-Dade County Detention Center and is awaiting extradition to Oklahoma to face charges of murder and shooting with intent to kill.
According to the OSBI Chen, entered a building on a marijuana grow operation on North 2760 Road, which is just north of Lacey and west of Hennessey, at approximately 5:45 Sunday afternoon. Several employees were inside the building at the time. Chen was reportedly inside the building for a significant amount of time before the executions began. Three men and one woman, all Chinese nationals were executed, and an additional victim, also a Chinese national, was wounded and airlifted to an Oklahoma City hospital. The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control is also investigating the deaths. The agency has targeted criminal growing and trafficking of marijuana for the black market in recent years. A spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, said there is an active license for a medical marijuana grow business at the location.
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TM)--Several locations in Enid will be serving free Thanksgiving meals to community members in need Thursday. First Baptist Church will be offering free community dine-in meals from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day in the Fellowship Hall, which is located on the bottom floor. To-go meals will be provided if called in ahead of time, as will meal deliveries. For these options, call FBC at (580) 234-1133 by 4:00 p.m. Wednesday. Volunteers also are welcome to help out Thursday.
Now in its third year of providing the Thanksgiving meals formerly served by Knights of Columbus, Our Daily Bread plans on serving between 800 and 1,000 meals on Thursday. The Knights of Columbus still help preparation. Staff and volunteers will begin serving food at 10:30 a.m. in the dining room at Our Daily Bread, located at 616 W. Randolph, and end at 12:30 p.m. To-go Thanksgiving meals will be handed out in the drive-through, located on the north side of Our Daily Bread through the alley, during those same two hours. Homebound individuals also can have a meal delivered to them if they sign up before Thanksgiving day. Anyone interested can call Our Daily Bread at (580) 242-5718 during business hours Wednesday. Volunteers still are welcome and can call for more information or show up at our Daily Bread on Thursday morning. Monetary donations to the nonprofit organization are welcome.
P&T’s Bar on Independence, 408 N. Independence, will be serving free, to-go Thanksgiving meals Thursday evening. Beth Whiting, co-owner of P&T’s, said a free, to-go-style meal will be handed out to anyone who walks inside starting at 5:00 p.m. and ending either at 9:00 p.m. or whenever the food runs out.
Salvation Army of Enid, located at 518 N. Independence, will begin serving Thanksgiving meals at 6:00 p.m. Thursday in its dining room, the “Red Shield Diner.” Traditional Thanksgiving foods like turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and more will be served, and to-go plates of food will be made for those who can’t stay, as well. Everybody is welcome to attend. Anybody wanting to volunteer on Thanksgiving show up Thursday.
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AP)--Ann Price will serve as grand lighting marshal for the lighting ceremony for The One Christ Tree on Friday in downtown Enid. The tree, 140 feet tall, will feature more than 20,000 lights and 10,000 ornaments. Price is an Enid resident who was a teacher and is a retired director of Hope Outreach Parenting Ministry. The festivities will kick off alongside Enid Lights Up the Plains at 6:15 p.m. Friday and will feature pre-ceremony music at 7:10 p.m. The welcome ceremony will begin at 7:30 p.m. and the tree will be lit just before 8:00 p.m. There will be a Christmas concert at 8:15 p.m. The festivities will be hosted by Alan Clepper of My Country 103.1 KOFM, and Scott Smith of K-LOVE and Air1. The opening night kicks off a 40-day celebration of the holiday season, which will feature activities and Christmas themes throughout the celebration.
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LC)--An Enid native and businessman Judd Blevins plans to file as a candidate for the Ward 1 city commissioner seat once the filing period opens next month. Blevins is a fifth-generation Oklahoman whose family’s roots date back to claims staked in the 1893 Land Run. The Kremlin-Hillsdale graduate attended Northern Oklahoma College and received a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern Oklahoma State University. In 2007, Blevins deployed to Iraq with his U.S. Marine Corps unit. After being honorably discharged from the service, he returned to Enid to take over his family’s business, which continues to service the Enid area. For more information about Blevins’ campaign, visit https://www.BlevinsforWard1.com.
An Enid resident and retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel announced his intent to run for the Ward 2 city commissioner seat. Doug Boyle plans to file as a candidate for the Enid City Commission position once the filing period opens in December. In his announcement release, Boyle said “I was first stationed in Enid in 2002. After three tours in Iraq, I requested to be stationed at Vance Air Force Base and moved back in 2009. Our family chose Enid to raise our family and retire because there is nowhere else like it.” Over his 22 year career Boyle as U.S. Marine Corps pilot, before transitioning to the Air Force Reserve in 2014. He continues to support the mission at Vance as a civilian simulator instructor. For more information about Boyle’s campaign, visit https://www.BoyleforWard2.com.
The filing period for the Ward 1, Wards 2 and 5 and the office of mayor, begins at 8:00 a.m. Monday, Dec. 5, and ends at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7. The general election will be Feb. 14, 2023, and if no candidate receives more than 50% of the votes cast, a runoff election will take place April 4, 2023. The term for those elected will begin officially May 1, 2023.
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TS)--In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, the City of Enid administration offices, Enid Animal Welfare, Enid Public Library, Enid Public Transportation Authority (EPTA) and the Recycle Center will be closed Thursday and Friday. The library will also be closed on Saturday. The landfill will be closed on Thursday and will be opened with operating hours from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday. The Meadowlake Golf Course will be closed Thursday, and will be opened from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Friday. NOTE: Due to the holiday, Thursday’s regular trash route will be collected on Monday, November 21st, 28th, and December 1st. All other trash schedules will remain as regularly scheduled.
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CP)--The City of Enid Parks and Recreation will host “Christmas in the Park” at Meadowlake Park from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., one day only this year: Saturday, December 3rd.
Families will enjoy various craft and games, as well as have the opportunity to take photos with characters throughout the park.
- Craft: cookie decorating, ornament making, reindeer food, and toy making.
- Games: bean bag toss, bowling, can toss, ring hook, ring toss, and tic tac toe.
As part of the event, attendees will be able to support three charity drives hosted by Santa and his elves.
- Toys for Tots: drop-off new, unwrapped toys to be gifted to children in the community.
- Diaper Drive: diapers and pampers of all sizes to support families in the community. Distribution will be conducted by Community Development Support Association, Inc. (CDSA).
- Senior Drive: drop-off toiletries that will be gifted to senior citizens at several care facilities. (e.g. toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, deodorant, shampoo, body wash, etc.)
The event is FREE for all ages, however, several of the Enid Kiwanis Club rides will also be open at the park for the kids to enjoy including, the toddler airplanes, toddler cars, carousel, Ferris Wheel, and the train ride! The Kiwanis rides will be for a small fee of $1 per ticket. Don’t miss out on this fun opportunity for the family!
|
Rides |
# of tickets |
|
Toddler Cars |
1 |
|
Toddler Airplanes |
1 |
|
Carousel |
2 |
|
Ferris Wheel |
2 |
|
Santa Train |
2 |
Meadowlake Park is located at 1200 West Rupe Avenue, Enid, OK 73701. For more info on the events, go to: Enid.org/ChristmasInThePark.
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CG)--Tickets still are available for Junior Welfare League of Enid’s 19th annual Charity Gala. This year’s gala, themed “Havana Night,” will begin at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 3 at the Stride Bank Center’s arena and will feature a plated dinner, live music from the band “Drive,” a cigar lounge and both silent and live auctions. All of the proceeds from the annual galas are given back to nonprofit organizations in the community, and this year’s beneficiaries are Hope Outreach Parenting Ministry, Bennie’s Barn and Enid Joint Recreation Triad. Individual tickets for the Charity Gala are $85, and tables seating eight people are available to purchase for $800. Tickets can be purchased online by either visiting “Junior Welfare League Charity Gala” on Facebook or https://jwlenid.com/charity-gala-2022.html, or by contacting Hendricks by emailing enidjwlgala@gmail.com.
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SR)--The outdoor ice skating rink in downtown Enid is opened for the holiday season. Holidays on Ice, a partnership between Main Street Enid and Stride Bank Center, will be open through Jan. 8. Holidays on Ice, title sponsored this year by Visit Enid and the city of Enid, is located in the Stride Bank Center’s southern parking lot. Hours will be 3:00-9:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 3:00-11:00 p.m. Friday; noon to 11:00 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 9:00 p.m. Sunday. Around 10,000 skaters visited Holidays on Ice last year. Admission is $14 per person, which includes skates and a wristband that allows for all-day skating. With a military ID, the admission is $12, and for those who bring their own skates or are 5 years old and younger, the price for admission is $10. Season passes are $60 each, and group skating rates and party packages are available, as well. Certain days will have specials like buy one, get one 50% off or a family four-pack deal. The best way to find out when those specials will be available is to visit the “Holidays on Ice in Downtown Enid” page on Facebook. Tickets can be purchased either in person or online. For more information, visit https://skateinenid.com or SBC’s website, or call SBC at (580) 616-7381.
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