The Daily Chickasha Star (Chickasha, Okla.), Vol. 97, No. 87, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 4, 1998 Page: 1 of 8
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WEATHEROUTIOOK I INDEX
Randle is ready
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Doctors open practice at Grady Memorial
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.......Sports
Obituaries
Classifieds
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County Courthouse Monday at their
regular weekly meeting.
THURSDAY
JUNE 4.1998
Volume 97 Number 87
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ONLY988A YKAK* 98a9 TMa 0889
June 1-5
The Central Assembly
Church will be presenting
their Vacation Bible School
June 1 through 5 from 9:30
a.m. to 12 p.m. Ages three
through 12 are invited to
attend. The Church is
located at 902 S. 9th. Call
222-H16or222-lll7for
Church provided van.
June 2-30
Tennis 1,2,3 Players of all
ages can learn and develop
tennis skills from coaches
and players on the US AO
Drovers and Lady Drovers
tennis teams. Cost is $45 for
12 sessions, each one and a
half hours. To register, call
Scott Linn at 224-7998.
June 4
The Compassionate
Friendswill hold their
regular monthly meeting
Thursday, June 4 at 7:30
p.m. at the Epworth United
Methodist Church at Fourth
and Iowa.
The Washita Valley
Chumdashers Quilter’s
Quild will meet June 4 at
9:30 a.m. at the Parkview
Christian Church. We would
love for you to sew with us.
Potluck will be served to be
enjoyed by all and all
interested parties may
contact Mrs. Houser at 224-
2950. Mrs. Johnson. 222-
0994.
June 6
The Grady County Family
YMCA Fishing Derby is set
for June 6 at Shannon
Springs Park from 9 a.m. to
noon for ages 4-15 years.
There will be free hot dogs
and drinks and prizes in age
groups 4-6.7-10 and 11-15.
The cost is $1 per child. Call
224-2281 for more details.
The Chickasha Farmers
Market will open at 7 a.m.
and Will be open each
Tuesday and Saturday all
summer. The Market is
located at Fifth Street and
Highway 62, across from the
J&W Grill. Fresh vegetables
now available include:
onions, new potatoes, green
beans, radishes, squash,
peppers, spinach, collard
greens, beets and pecans.
Many more crops will be
coming soon.
Sharon Evangel Church
will be having its regular
Saturday Singing at 7 p.m.
Everyone is invited. The
church is located four miles
north of Amber on Highway
92.
June 11
Dedication ceremony of
the Rock Island Depot at 4
p.m. For more information
call224-3lll.
June 12
American Cancer
Society's Relay for Life will
be from 7 p.m. June 12 to 7
a.m. June 13. Cancer
survivors are asked to pre-
register by June 2 to receive
a free T-shirt. Call Lesa
Foster at (580)476-2036.
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GAYLEENLANGTHORN
THE DAILY CHICKASHA STAR
WRESTLING
CAMP
From beginners to advanced,
Subscribe To
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“ ' Photo by Gayleen Langthorn
PHYSICIANS OF FIVE OAKS Randall Jenkins, Joe Bledsoe. Thomas Essex and Don Hess. Bledsoe has
practiced in the area for 31 years, Hess for 25 years. Jenkins for 14 years and Essex is the newcomer with five
years of practicing medicine in Grady County Five Oaks Medical Group opened for business June 4.
Appointments can be made by calling 224-2100.
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What’s
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BibleVerse
7. And the Lord said unto
Joshua. This day will I begin to
magnify thee in the sight of all
Israel, that they may know that, as
I was with Moses, so I will be with
thee.
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county in writing specs for bidding Printing of Oklahoma City. Joyce
the project, but wouldn't go further. Smith, county election board
“I don’t want to be the engineer of secretary, came in to review the bids CHISOLM TRAIL RIDERS: Ray and Mary Waldron from Noble were only two of a large wagon train traveling the
recnni for this,” he said. “Unless we're and determined that Royal was the Chisolm Trail through Chickasha recently.
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by Shannon Prechti
Needham Smith, a consulting for any omissions
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professionals and noted for their ski Ils
in patient diagnosis and treatment. i
As part of the employment Each is highly respected, Crump said,
agreement, the Board of Trustees of Lastly, if these five physicians had
Grady Memorial loaned the elected to leave our medical
phvsicians funds to complete the buy- community, this would have required
out. These funds will be repaid by major restructuring of the Hospital ,
forgiveness at a rate of 20 percent per and the elmination or severe reduction Ji
year over the term of a five-year of many services our community has i"
contract for three of the physicians come to rely on, Crump said,
and on a 33 1/3 percent basis on a "We are very pleased that Dr.
three-year contract for Dr. Bledsoe Bledsoe, Dr. Essex. Dr. Hess and Dr .
who is approximately three years Jenkins have agreed to stay and
away from retirement. Please see Five Oaks, page 2
Crump said if the doctors decided
to leave the medical group before their
contracts expired, they would be
required to pay the remaining balance
of their buyout loan.
The Five Oaks Medical Group will
operate as a department of Grady
Memorial and the physicans will be
employees of the hospital. The
hospital operates as a public trust for
the benefit of Grady County under
Oklahoma state law arid as such is self-
supporting from business operations.
GMH does not receive any funds from
tax revenues for the support or
operation of any of its programs.
The consequences of these
physicians leaving the area would
have left Grady Memorial Hospital and
Grady county in a critical physician
shortage.
“It would’ve been devastating if
these physicians would’ve left."
Crump said. These five physicians
together administer care to 34 percent
of the annual admissions to Grady
Memorial Hospital and each have
several thousand patients. Crump
said.
Thse same physicians provide much
of the base of referrals to other
specialists who practice in our
community. They are seasoned
engineer hired by the County, talked requirements. Smith said the county
with the Commissioners about their would have to comply with a variety
options in renovating the heat, air and of codes including those relating to
windows of the courthouse. the Americans with Disabilities Act
Smith helped the county obtain a as well as fire and other safety codes,
low-interest loan from the Oklahoma Commissioners took no formal
Department of Commerce in the action on the discussion of
amount of $136,000. Doing an energy courthouse renovation,
audit of the courthouse was Commissioners approved a pipeline
necessary in obtaining the loan and crossing for Duke Energy Serv ices in
Smith performed the audit. Smith said District 3.
he would also assist the county in A bid for printing and delivery of
writing bid specs for the project. Optech ballot cards for a one-year
Smith’s fees for the project are $7,000. period beginning July 1 and ending
Smith said he would assist the June 30, 1999 was awarded to Royal
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If you've been wondering whether
your doctor would still be working in
Grady County this month, your
worries may be over.
On Wednesday, June 3 four area
physicans accepted employment with
Grady Memorial Hospital, another is
still considering his options.
Drs. Joe T. Bledsoe, internal
medicine and cardiology; Thomas W.
Essex, internal medicine; Don R. Hess,
internal medicine: Randall L. Jenkins,
internal medicine and Jim G. Melton,
vascular and general surgery were all
offered employment contracts in order
to retain their services in Grady
County.
Bledsoe, Essex, Hess and Jenkins
have accepted employment with GMH
and opened the “Five Oaks Medical
Group" June 4. Melton is expected to
make a practice decision within the
next few days, said John Crump, GMH
spokesperson.
The physicians will practice at 2100
Iowa Ave., in the Hospital's former
Home Health services building. Alpha
Home Health Care services has
moved inside the hospital proper. into
the space formerly occupied by the
transitional care department, and will
continue to provide a full range of
home health services. Their phone seeing a full schedule of patients by Each of the physicians were
numbers will remain the same. Monday, June 8. subject to a covenant not to compete
Crump said the home health staff Billing for the Five Oaks Medical and a continuing management
didn't mind being dislocated by the Group will be handled by Grady contract with PhyCor, the Southern
new practice. Memorial Hospital. Plains Medical Center s parent
“Everyone is very positive about Approximately 60 days ago these company. 7 his covenant prohibited
the move,” he said. “They all wanted five physicans informed GMH they the physicians from opening
to keep the doctors here.” had resigned from Southern Plains competing practices in the local area.
Appointments with the Five Oaks Medical Center and asked for The contract did have a buy-out
Medical Group can be made by calling assistance from Grady Memorial in clause so the physicians, with
224-2100 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. maintaining a medical practice in the payment of the buy-out. could
daily. The physicians expect to be county. continue to practice locally.
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OKLAHOMA
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Temperatures rise across
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talking about a lot more money.” lowest on the ballots most commonly _ 11. 1 — « 1 *
cComemngssomanzobeconesndared Usshbzommmcatonrsrequcmedbids Selling drugs nets Tuttle woman 15 years
of record, but he told them they didn’t for six-month supplies of commonly ______SHANNONPRECHTL Johnson and the informant regarding was sentenced by Judge Oteka Alford
necessarily need to hire an architect used items, ranging from office the DAILY CHICKASHA STAR the sale of narcotics. to 20 years with five suspended for
or engineer. supplies to road materials and fuel Assistant District Attorney Bret conspiracy to distribute a controlled,
“If we spend more than $50,000 for additives and a one-year bid for labor A Tuttle resident charged with Bums asked that Johnson serve 30- dangerous substance; five years for
a project like this we have to have an only on county bridges in all districts. selling drugs with her son entered a years in the penitentiary. Bums stated the unlawful use of an electronic
engineer or architect sign off on it," Bids were also requested to blind plea and was sentenced to 15- that anyone who sells drugs with her communications device and 20 years
District 3 Commissioner Jack Porter purchase a used tractor with 3,500 years to serve with the Department of child does not need to be in the with five suspended for the
said. hours or less and 100 horse power for Corrections Thursday while her son community. distribution of methamphetamine as
District 1 Commissioner Troy district 1. has been sent to the RIDD program Johnson entered a blind plea and Please see Drugs, page 2
Streber made a phone call and was Th meeting of the Gradv and is set to be sentenced in July.
assured that under Title 61 of State che’ T* mfcn& O 11 wte Linda Carol Johnson, 38. was
Statutes, “there is no requirement in County BoardlofCommis , pbe charged with conspiracy to distribute
the law to have an engineer sign off at 9 a.m. June 8 in the basement of the a controlled, dangerous substance,
on the plans, but they have to follow Grady County Courthouse. the unlawful use of an electronic
'B, v - . • F^ communications device and the
unlawful distribution of a controlled,
dangerous substance.
Johnson w as arrested in February
1997 after Tuttle Police Officer Paul
D. Bennett monitored and observed
a confidential informant purchase
drags from Johnson and her 16-year-
old son. A subsequent traffic stop on
Johnson's vehicle turned up
marijuana and the confidential funds
used hy the informant to purchase
methamphetamine.
Bennett also monitored phone calls
and conference calls between
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Commissioners consider
courthouse renovation
GAYLEENLANGTHORN the competitive bid acts."
THE DAILY CHICKASHA STAR Commissioners encouraged Smith to
write the bid specs.
Grady County Commissioners "You'll be responsible for meeting
discussed renovations to the Grady state codes," Smith said. "If I miss
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Settle, David. The Daily Chickasha Star (Chickasha, Okla.), Vol. 97, No. 87, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 4, 1998, newspaper, June 4, 1998; Chickasha, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1900461/m1/1/: accessed July 16, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.